I have made the initial planting of a food forest.
I was about to compose an email to a friend and tell him what all I have done thus far. Instead, he will receive a link via email to this post. My purpose in doing so is four-fold:
My friend can see what I have done thus far,
This site gets some additional exposure (if only by one),
Fellow Permsteaders can critique what I have done and offer criticism and feedback as they see fit, and
Lastly, this post is intend for use as a tool to be updated with significant developments as part of my own record keeping and planning process.
The current canopy layer consists of:
Apples
- Fuji (planted 1-2-12)
- Granny Smith (planted 1-2-12)
- Crab (planted Jan 2011)
Pears
- Keiffer (planted 1-2-12)
- Bartlett (planted 1-2-12)
- Pineapple (planted 1-2-12)
- D'Anjou (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
- Comice (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
- Moonglow (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
- Perdue (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 3-11-12, planted on 4-4-12)
- Warren (ordered from Johnson Nursery on 3-15-12?, planted on 3-26-12)
Cherries
- Montmorency (planted 1-2-12)
- Brooks (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 3-11-12, planted on 4-4-12)
- Coral Champagne (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 3-11-12, planted on 4-4-12)
- Tulare (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 3-11-12, planted on 4-4-12)
Figs
- Celeste (planted 1-2-12)
- Brown Turkey (planted 1-2-12)
- (plan to add a Black Jack Fig)
Mayhaw (planted 1-2-12)
Plums
- Bruce (planted 1-2-12)
- Methley (planted 1-2-12)
- Santa Rosa (planted 1-2-12)
Nectarines
- Pochohontas (planted 1-14-12)
- Sunred (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-23-12)
Tanenashi Persimmon (planted 1-14-12)
Peach
- Florida King (planted 1-22-12)
- Four trees of unknown variety (planted 3-31-12)
8 Allegheny Chinquapins (planted germinated seeds on 1-22-12)
1 Allegheny chinquapin (transplanted on 3-8-12)
Hazelnuts
- Yamill Hazelnut (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
- Jefferson Hazelnut (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
Hall's Hardy Almond Tree (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
Jujube
- Li (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
- Lang (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
Gold Nugget Loquat (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
Big Red Mayhaw tree (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-2512)
Manzanilla Olive tree (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
Asian Pears
- Shinseiki (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
- Honsui (Ordered from Willisorchards.com on 2-18-12, planted on 2-25-12)
Additional canopy layer specimens on the short list to obtain include:
Pears
- Warren
- Shenandoah
- Potomoc
- Magness
- Honeysweet
- Harvest Queen
- Harrow Delight
- Aurora
Peaches
- Contender
- Surecrop
- La Premier
- Bobeva
- Ruston Red
Nectarines
- Karla Rosa
- Carolina Red
Persian and Pakistan Mulberries
Citrus patch (to be planted on SE corner of the house around mid-April)
- Meiwa Kumquat (plated on 3-20-12)
- China 9 Satsuma (planted on 3-24-12)
- Kimbrough Satsuma (planted on 3-24 12)
- Yuzu (planted on 3-24-12)
- Nippon Orangequat (Planted 3-19-12)
(Stan McKenzie provided the citrus trees. Unfortunately he doesn't provide spacing suggestions so any input here would be welcome.)
Low Tree Layer
- Dwarf Northstar Cherry (planted 1-2-12)
- Seckel Pear #1 (planted 1-14-12)
- Seckel Pear #2 & #3 (planted 3-28-12)
- Paw Paws (Planted Jan/Feb 2011) (Will likely obtain some additional named cultivars)
- Three more paw paws transplanted from Bogue Eliah Creek on 3-8-12
- 2 Chickasw plums transplanted on 3-24-12)
- 5 figs of unknown variety transplanted on 3-24-12)
For the Shrub Layer
- Tifblue blueberry (planted 1-14-12)
- Powder blue blueberry (planted 1-14-12)
- Climax blueberry (planted 1-14-12)
- Brightwell (1-23-12)
- Premier (1-23-12)
- One blueberry of unknown type transplanted on 1-22-12)
- Seven blueberries of unknown type transplanted on 2-29-12)
(All blueberries situated on Southern or western exposure relative to trees in the canopy layer.)
- (Planning on adding 1 each of Austin, Centurion and Baldwin)
(Addiitonal shrub layer specimens on order and to be planted soon after their expected arrival date sometime in April)
- Invicta gooseberry
- Jahns Prarie Gooseberry
- 10 Autumn Olives (nitrogen fixators)
- Kamchatka Honeyberry
- Blue Velvet Honeyberry
- 10 Goumi seedlings (Nitrogen fixators)
- Crimson Star Goji/Wolfberry
- 10 Seaberry seedlings (Nitrogen fixators)
- Crandall Black Currant
- Jostaberry
- Rovada Red Currant
- 10 Siberain Pea Shrubs (Nitrogen fixators)
- Chernika Bilberry
Herb Layer
- Yarrow (planted 1-14-12)
- Nodding onion
- Red Welsh Onion\
- Amaranth
- Aquilegia
- Borage
- English Lavender
- Lespedeza bicolor
- Lovage
- Golden flax
- Lemon Balm
- New Zealand flax
- White Sage
- Chia sage
- Garden Sage
- Mexican Bush Marigold
- Blue Pepe Nasturtium
- Stinging Nettle
Ground covers (On order and to be planted soon after their expected arrival date sometime in April)
- Koralle Ligonberry
- Wintergreen
- Pilgrim Cranberry
- Emrald Carpet Raspberry
Approximately half of the existing canopy layer is on slope. For each tree that is, a swale ranging 6-10' has constructed immediately upslope. All trees have been heavily mulched with hay. Nurse logs have been positioned by 6 trees thus far.
The canopy layer currently occupies approximately 27,500 square feet or about 2/3rds of an acre. That translates to having about 5 times more area under cultivation as a forest garden than Robert Hart did.