Choosing Plant Groupings for the Forest Garden
Based on the wetland and eventual canopy locations, I filled in plant
groupings on the map above. This was a pretty complicated step,
which I'll go into in far more detail than you'll care for.
First, I listed all of the plants I was interested in growing,
focussing mainly on plants which will increase fertility of the soil
but throwing in some nectary and edible plants as well. Then I
narrowed the plant list down to those which I can get my hands on for
free (primarily on my own property), or which I'm willing to spend
money on.
Next, I grouped the plants of interest into categories based on
disturbance intensity, sun/shade, and moisture level. The
categories are as follows:
- Canebrake --- wild
cane and mint growing
along barn with some kind of barrier so it won't invade the rest of the
garden. Regular disturbance as I harvest cane poles for building
and mint for nibbling.
- Fertility wetland --- alder shrubs (if I can find them), with horsetail and watercress in standing water. These are all primarily being grown to be cut for mulch and to feed nearby trees.
- Edible wetland ---
elderberry, with
cranberries between them. This habitat is primary for berries,
with nectaries for the beneficials, so it won't be disturbed much.
- Sun-loving herbs
--- Fertility plants (yarrow, chamomile, and comfrey) which I will
regularly harvest for mulch with the addition of fennel as a nectary.
- Fertility shade shrubs --- Hazel, with comfrey, dandelion, violet, and groundnut. Regular disturbance as I harvest for mulch.
- Fertility shade
herbs --- the category above, but without the hazel. I'm not sure
whether I trust shrubs not to compete with my trees, so I plan to stick
to herbs close to their trunks.
- Edible/nectary
shade shrubs --- Currants
with bee balm. Not much disturbance.
- Sunnier shrubs --- raspberries/blackberries with bee balm and chives. Moderate disturbance as I maintain cane fruits.
- Lawn --- just what
it sounds like. For our picnic/work area.
If you're still reading, here
was my reasoning behind choosing individual species. First, the
uses which are important to me.
- Building the soil ---
these fertility plants will be used for mulch, chicken feed, etc.
- Nitrogen fixers are in high demand since only a few species can take atmospheric nitrogen and turn it into a form other plants and animals can use
- Dynamic accumulators are good at reaching down into the soil to suck up trace minerals.
- Coppice species are shrubs or trees which can be cut back
repeatedly, creating woody biomass for mulch. (In a larger forest
garden, the woody biomass could also be used for firewood or mushroom
logs.)
- Attracting beneficial
insects --- nectaries
- Covering bare ground fast --- ground covers
- Edible --- I
didn't focus on this, but some of the species might make nice additions
to our dinner table.
The top species before I
narrowed it down (with ones I have nearby marked with an asterisk):
| Name |
Use |
Habitat |
| *Hazel |
edible,
fertility (coppice) |
sun |
| River
cane |
building
material |
wet,
sun |
| Ramps |
edible,
nectary |
shade |
| Cranberry |
edible,
ground cover |
wet,
sun |
| *Willow |
fertility
(coppice) |
wet,
sun |
| Alder |
fertility
(nitrogen fixer, coppice) |
wet,
sun |
| Currants |
edible,
nectary |
sun
to shade |
| *Violet |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator), ground cover |
sun
to shade |
| *Groundnut |
fertility
(nitrogen fixer), ground cover, nectary, edible |
sun |
| *Yarrow |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator), nectary, ground cover |
sun |
| *Chives |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator), edible, nectary, ground cover |
sun |
| *German
chamomile |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator), edible |
sun |
| *Horsetail |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator) |
wet,
partial shade |
| *Lemon
balm |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator), nectary, groundcover |
sun |
| *Spearmint |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator), edible, nectary, groundcover |
sun |
| *Watercress |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator), edible |
sun,
wet |
| *Comfrey |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator), nectary |
sun |
| *Dandelion |
fertility
(dynamic accumulator), nectary, edible |
sun |
| *Bee
balm |
nectary |
sun |
| *Elderberry |
edible,
nectary |
wet,
sun |
| *Fennel |
nectary |
sun |
| This post is part of our Planning The Forest Garden lunchtime series.
Read all of the entries: |
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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