u/cloyego

Canopy and Shrub Layers of our newly planted forest garden, planted directly into the meadow that consists of hundreds of species of wild plants that provide pollination, fertility, and pest control support to the establishing fruit and nut trees and shrubs.

Plant profiles for each labelled species can be found below along with our cultivar selection for the fruit trees.

Maclura pomifera - Osage Orange - https://www.balkep.org/maclura-pomifera---osage-orange.html

Prunus domestica - Plum - https://www.balkep.org/plum-cultivars.html

Prunus persica - Peach - https://www.balkep.org/peach-cultivars.html

Rhus typhina - Stag's horn sumach - https://www.balkep.org/rhus-typhina.html

Morus alba - White Mulberry - https://www.balkep.org/morus-alba.html

Prunus cerisifera 'Nigra' - Purple Plum - https://www.balkep.org/prunus-cerasifira-nigra.html

Prunus insititia - Damson - https://www.balkep.org/prunus-insititia.html

Prunus dulcis cv. - Almond - https://www.balkep.org/prunus-dulcis.html

Amelanchier alnifolia - Smokey Saskatoon - https://www.balkep.org/amelanchier-alnifolia-smokey.html

Corylus avellana - Hazelnut - https://www.balkep.org/corylus-avellana.html

Zanthoxylum simulans - Sichuan Pepper - https://www.balkep.org/zanthoxylum-simulans.html

Pyrus communis - Pear - https://www.balkep.org/pear-cultivars.html

Aronia melanocarpa - Black Chokeberry - https://www.balkep.org/aronia-melanocarpa.html

Prunus avium - Sweet Cherry - https://www.balkep.org/sweet-cherry-cultivars.html

You can find plant profiles for many more forest garden plants on our website here - https://www.balkep.org/forest-garden-plants1.html

#ForestGarden #Agroforestry #Permaculture #SustainableGardening #Understory #FoodForest #Biodiversity #Polyculture #Gardening #RegenerativeAgriculture

We're turning a piece of land into a forest garden. Locally, it's considered marginal—low fertility, lots of rocks and boulders. But we're building fertility using mostly the biomass already on site.

We mow pathways and certain meadow patches, then concentrate that biomass where we want to plant next season.

We also rotate the patches we mow. That keeps the meadow diverse—over 100 wild species so far. They bring pollinators, fertility, pest control, plus medicinal and culinary herbs.

Mowing happens mid-April through October, about 6–8 times total. We keep roughly one-eighth of the biomass cut at any given time.

Still figuring out the exact soil-building math and optimal biodiversity but the system feels right. And the land is responding well.

Find more info on Regenerative Design follow our Substack - https://thepolycultureproject.substack.com/s/design-and-consultancy

A photo from our home forest garden showing some understory planting. There are hundreds of other plants in the image, including native herbs, bulbs and plants concealed, quietly doing their work — building soil, supporting pollinators, and creating produce for us. It's impossible to label them all in one photo while keeping the image relatively clean.

Here are the plant profiles for the plants that have been labelled:

Canopy

White Mulberry - Morus alba - https://www.balkep.org/morus-alba.html

Cornelian Cherry - Cornus mas - https://www.balkep.org/cornus-mas.html

Fig - Ficus carica - https://www.balkep.org/ficus-carica.html

Hazelnut - Corylus avellana - https://www.balkep.org/corylus-avellana.html

Sichuan Pepper - Zanthoxylum simulans - https://www.balkep.org/zanthoxylum-simulans.html

Cherry Plum - Prunus cerasifera - https://www.balkep.org/prunus-cerasifera.html

Shrubs

Sloe - Prunus spinosa - https://www.balkep.org/prunus-spinosa.html

Chinese Quince - Chaenomeles speciosa - https://www.balkep.org/chaenomeles-speciosa.html

Small leaved Lime - Tilia cordata - https://www.balkep.org/tilia-cordata.html

Honeyberry - Lonicera caerulea - https://www.balkep.org/lonicera-caerulea.html

Herbs

Orange Daylily - Hemerocallis fulva - https://www.balkep.org/hemerocallis-fulva.html

Dark Purple Onion - Allium atropurpureum

Valerian - Valeriana officinalis - https://www.balkep.org/valeriana-officinalis.html

Rhubarb - Rheum rhabarbarum - https://www.balkep.org/rheum-rhabarbarum.html

Pendulous Sedge - Carex pendula

Lemon Balm - Melissa officinalis - https://www.balkep.org/melissa-officinalis.html

All the plants you see here – and many more – are available from our forest garden nursery - https://www.balkep.org/fruit-and-nut-cultivars.html

#ForestGarden #Agroforestry #Permaculture #SustainableGardening #Understory #FoodForest #Biodiversity #Polyculture #Gardening #RegenerativeAgriculture

Here's a section of contoured planting in Phronesis, our newest Forest Garden. This is the Fourth season after planting began, with new plants added every Spring and Autumn. We're planting directly into the meadow, as it is already rich in support species that attract pollinators and pest predators, and it is composed of many medicinal and culinary herbs.

We started by planting the canopy layer, then shrubs, herbs, ground cover, and finally bulbs. Not labelled but included between the tree contour rows is a biomass/support strip with the following nitrogen fixing shrubs -

Elaeagnus x ebbingei - Ebbinge's silverberry

Elaeagnus angustifolia - Russian Olive

Elaeagnus umbellata - Autumn Olive

https://thepolycultureproject.substack.com/