6 Mediterranean Food Forest Garden

6

Mediterranean

Food Forest Garden

The forest garden area would become a sand box for the combination of traditional mediterranean species and also new varieties used in landscape regeneration.

"Forest 2 Years developments"

Educational area developed with the purpose of creating a forest adapting an old orange orchard as an example of permaculture zone 2 in the mediterranean region.

One of the main goals is to establish a system as much diverse as possible, with many different kinds of fruit, medicinal and support trees.

With the support of the “wonderland” garden as a genetic bank of plants, many new species would be introduced in this area, concentrating mainly in productive ground covers and perennial self seeding plants.

This project was developed at the Vale da Lama permaculture institute to support the educational programs.

O.B.R.E.D.I.M.C.E.

Observation

Intuitive Observation

-Almost no maintenance

-Next to zone 1 gardens

-Very exposed to wind

-Soil tilled and exposed

-Next to greenhouse

-Close to main road

-Some small fig trees

-No ground covers

-Soil compacted.

-Water tank close

-Far from main house

-Some wild olive trees

-Some neglected orange trees

-Gentle sloap

-East west orientation

Deductive Observation

-Potential for big production

-Possibility for multiple irrigation methods

-Possible area for chicken tractors

-Possibility to produce the fruits for a big group of people

-For full production high maintenance required

-Big need for organic matter production

-Large amount of mulch needed

-Easy cardboard access in the city

-Many microclimates possible

-2000 square meters area

-Possibility for ponds and vertical growth

Strategies with worms

D.A.F.O.R.

Priority of Ideas

Dominant

Needs strong improvement in soil

Potential for amazing educational area

Abundant

Importance of ground cover

Good for planting many different plants

Possible introduction of animals

Frequent

Important to have more specialized volunteers

Possible genetic bank of trees from all the farm

Occasional

Limitations on materials and tools

Potential for getting great practical experience

Rare

Possibility of heavy frost and hot summers

Weeding maintenance

Desert solutions

Boundaries

Holistic objectives

Vision

The Vision for the “Forest Garden” is to create a educational area of permaculture methodologies used in Zone 2, for the students of the Permaculture Institute.

Mission

The mission for this forest is to be a genetic bank of trees and of useful perennial plants , producing food at the same time as performing as an educational area.

Values

This project has as main values, education, integration, patience, sustainability, hope, creativity and healing.

Quality of life

By developing this project i am looking to have a deeper understanding of Natures patterns in forests and its seasonal flows, and to create a good deposit of productive plants and trees.

Future resource base

For the Future of this project the idea is that other permaculturists and volunteers can keep on learning and developing its structures and thecnics.

Energy flows

Visible Boundaries

2000 square meter area

Exposed soil

650 mm rainfall

Dry summer

Water from well and canal

No shade

Very close neighbors

Limited working materials

Working volunteers

Invisible Boundaries

-Time

-Ideas for some areas

-Presence of client

-Limited knowledge

-Budget

-Time for maintenance and development

Fertilizer factory

The scale of permanence

1-Climate

Very stable weather

Warm temperate climate

Most of rain in the winter time

Not extreme summer

Maximum rain in one day around 40mm

Temperatures between -5 and 38ºC

Possible frost for 2 weeks in February

Orographic effect due to close presence of mountains

Very big Wind exposure

2-Landscape

-Gentle sloap of around 3%

-Compacted and eroded landscape

-Rich ecossystem

-Estuary

-Forest is east west oriented

3-Water

-Water from irrigation canal and well

-Flooding irrigation system

-30 000 liters water tank

-Intensive mulching

-Possibilities for ponds

4-Access

-Road paralel to forest

5-Wild-life

-Not much biodiversity

-Introduction of flowers may attract many insects

-Some stone structures for reptiles

6-Micro climates

-Easy implementation of micro climates

-Stones to preserve heat

-Stable temperature

-Not much shade to create cooler areas

7-Buildings

-30 000 liters water tank

8-Zones

-Rural coastal context

-Easy social interconnections, local, national and international

9-Soils

-Compacted soil

-Very low in organic matter

-Deep clay soil

-Ph 7.8

-No mulch

-Tilled

10-Aesthetics

-Very coasi

-Perfect for as an example of a zone 2

-Characteristics of intensive system

-Potential for art

Subtile boundaries

-Wild olives wind break already stablished as microclimate in north side

-Water acumulation points

-More protected area next to water tank

Desire lines

-Desired lines need to be developed

-Need to implement permanent pathspaths

Local and renewable resources

D.A.F.O.R.

Bounderies

Dominant

Poor soil

Abundant

Irrigation system

Frequent

Working force

Ocasional

Combinning with other activities

Rare

Financial limitations

Water retention

Resources

Visible Resources

-Virtually unlimited water

-Unlimited cardboard

-Abundant coffee scraps

-Around 100 euros per month budget

-Some gardening tools

-2000 square meters forest space

-Vertical growing space

-Trees already there

-Irregular volunteers presence

-Local plants nurseries

Invisible resources

-Limited knowledge

-Abundance of ideas

-Around 40 hours per week to maintain

P.A.S.T.E.

Plants	Animals	Structures	Tools	Events
Annuals Lettuce Spinach garlic onions potatoes Tomatoes Sunflower Pumpkins Courgette Kholraby Melons Cucumbers Perennials Cabbage Swiss chard Petunia Primula Fleur du lis Strawberry Wild strawberry Taro “Banana” Sugar canne LEGUME Beans Peas Fava Luzern Clover TEA/MEDICINAL Mint Pennyroyal Basilicum Aloe Citronela Thyme Calendula Viola Mint Red mint Shrubs Eleagnus Fisalys Fushia Abutilon Giesta Trees Fig trees Plums Oranges Peaches Appricot Apples Pears ... Vines Passion fruit Wine Chuchu	Mammals Rabbits Cats Dogs Mowls Birds Black bird Sparrow House Martin Chickens Pigeons Insects Bumbblebee Carpenter bee Honey bees Dragonflies Sirfids Monarch Reptiles Rat snake Water snake Amphibians Frogs Fish Koy fish Cherry shrimp	Buildings 30 000 liters water tank Paths Paths needed for trees access Structures Lake	Machines Streamer Shreder Tools Gardening tools	Natural Heavy rains in April Hot summer Strong winds Courses Introduction to permaculture courses Several permaculture design courses Permaculture internships Visits Schools visits for environmental education

Education

Plants

English	Cientific	Portuguese	Function
Common broom Scotish broom Whyte retama Yellow retama Chicpea Elaeagnus	Cytisus scoparius Cytisus grandiflorus Retama monosperma Retama sphaerocarpa Cicer Arietinum Elaeagnus umbellata Elaeagnus multiflora Dynamic acumulators Comfrey Borage	Giesta Giesteira-das-sebes Piorno branco Piorno amarelo Grão de bico	Fix N+ Roasted seed for coffee Fix N+Edible flower Fix N+Attract bees Fix N+Attract bees Fix N+ Fix N+ Fix N+

You can find plant lists to use in this climate HERE and HERE

Semi arid, sub tropical and regenerative local species

Evaluation

Imput and output analysis

Inputs

Needs

D.A.F.O.R.

Dominant

-Volunteers

-Watering

-Wind breaks

Abundant

-Introduction of plants

-Propagation of trees

Frequent

-Compost

-Cardboard

-Straw

Occasional

-Chickens

-Ferilization

-Visits

-Tree plantation

Rare

-Grafting

Outputs

Yields

Dominant

-Quality of life

-Knowledge

-Soil improvement

Abundant

-Biodiversity

-Propagation of self seeding plants

-Oranges

Frequent

-Learning Experience

-Gound cover plants yields like pumpkins and sweet potato leafs

Occasional

-Seasonal fruits

-Eggs

Rare

-Enouth production

-Deseases

Situação actual das florestas em Portugal AQUI

Limiting factors

What is limiting your yield?

-The factor that limits mostly the yield is the not constant flow of volunteers.

Were can i open more niches?

-Many places to develop microclimates

What improvements can be done?

-A good organization of time and tasks

How to extend limits and comfort zones?

-Trying to implement new structures like lakes

Energy leaks

Where are you bleeding?

Watering system

Poor soil quality

Not having a constant work force

S.W.O.C.

Strenghts	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Constraints
Central area Easy resources	Time Permanent maintenance	Education Networking Experience	Other activities Climate

Systems dynamics

Guilds and irrigation

Key functions

Learning

Food production

Composting

Planting

Watering

Making fertilizer

Worm composting

Systems to support the key functions

Plant and fruits harvesting

Different watering systems

Practicing

Recycling

Researching

I.T.

Elements to support the systems

Myself

Volunteers

Students

Compost bins

Water tank

Greenhouse

Nursery

Tools  House

Planting an agroforest

Relations + + between systems

kitchen + + compost

compost + + trees

forest + + kitchen

Web of life

Snails as food for chickens

Chickens weed and fertilize forest

Forest produces food for chickens and people

Pond attracts insects

Insects control pests

frogs eats mosquitoes larvae

Flowers attract insects

Insects pollinate flowers

Flowers produce fruits

Fruits get eaten or composted

Compost fertilizes soil

Soil produces flowers

Design

Master plan

Moment 1

-Develop effective irrigation system

Moment 2

-Increase quality of the soil

Moment 3

-Plant new trees

Moment 4

-Open for visits

Moment 5

-Courses and education

Zoning

“Forest garden” is a zone 2 area

-Most of the forest for fruit production

-Vegetables and medicinal toguether

-Mixed garden with perennials and annuals and fruit trees.

Sector analysis

"Future cultivations"

P.M.I.

Plus	Minus	Interesting
Micro climates Vertical stacking Resources in close city Fast development National exposure Create the opportunity for permaculturists to learn Experience on design and implementation Long growing season Potential for subtropical plants and trees	Maintenance Not much time for observation Combining with educational activities Quality of soil Watering system	Abundance of resources Experience in semi arid landscape Easy promotion Frequent visits Use of permaculture principles Interesting for regeneration Many plants and tree species possible

Filtering Tools

Permaculture Ethics

Care for earth

Reduce

Reduction on water uses

Reuse

Use of many local species from stacking

Recycle

Cardboard from city for compost and mulch

Repair

Soils

Care for people

Social landscapes

Landscape used for many visits, courses, and education for 

volunteers.

Fair share

Seeds exchange

Open visits to the garden

Fruits and herbs for visitors

Information Knowledge

Permaculture Principles

The most frequent principles applied were:

The problem is the solution

Integrate rather than segregate

Start small

Use local resources

Each element must perform several functions

Financial analysis 

Important to have a good investment in seeds, plants and 

compost

Quality of life

-The quality of life we have tried to achieve, despite the limiting boundaries, was to have a constant fruit production and courses to share the research with students.

Grafting olive trees

Implementation

D.A.F.O.R.

Dominant

Get compost

Improve watering system

Abundant

Observation

Start germination

Mulching

Frequent

Tree planting

Plant flowers for insects

Occasional

Fruits harvesting

Grafting

Rare

Weeding

Introduce chickens

Stacking

Time

Life story

2011

Improving soil

Implement new watering system

2012

More stable flow of volunteers

Introduce lakes

Green ground cover established

Seasonal

Spring

Intensive germination

Introduce leguminous plants

Propagate worms in garden

Intensive mulching

Grafting

Summer

Planting of pumpkins and melons

Special attention to watering

Make preserved foods

Autum

Heavy mulching

Seed harvesting and organizing

Winter

Heavy composting

Improving growing lines

Space

-The project was design to use as much as possible the space without compromising the sun sector.

Examples of food forests

Maintenance

S.W.O.C.

Strenghts	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Constraints
Education Soil improvement Diversity of plants	Irrigation Permanent maintenance	New crops Experiments Experience	Weather Time

P.A.S.T.E.

Plants	Animals	Structures	Tools	Events
Water 2 times a week in summer Doesnt need water for all winter time Reproduction by cuttings Grafting Seed saving Protection from animals Harvesting	Collect eggs Improve shelters Protect fruits from birds Attract insects Worm incoculation	Harvest fertilizer plants in lake and cactus area Build chicken tractor Organize seed bank area	Organize garden tools Measure ph Measure humidity and temperature	Harvesting fruits Composting Mulching Prepare for winter rains Make fertilizer from willow and nettles Organize courses Plant pumpking

Collecting data

Most of the data collecting was done by videos and pictures since the beginning of the project.

The video reports can be seen at 
You Tube Channel HERE

Celebration

D.A.F.O.R.

Dominant

Courses

Visits

Abundant

Observation

Frequent

Building Trelices

Occasional

Art

Music playing

Meditation

Rare

Building ponds

Painting

S.W.O.C.

Strenghts	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Constraints
Central area of farm Frequent students Creates a lot of inspiration	Time Maintenance of demonstration areas Logistics	Education Sharing Relaxing Exchange	Combining with other developments Space for big groups

EVENTS

Characteristics

The events organized in the “Forest garden”were mostly related to education, having the students maintaining and developing some of the elements, and also researching and designing.

Evaluation

P.A.S.T.E.

Plants	Animals	Structures	Tools	Events
Crucial importance in choosing the best place Shaded area for shade plants Many plants collected around the farm Trees develop in amazing way Old orange trees can produce more than 100 kg of oranges	Incredible impact on the number of biodiversity Many more insects and lake animals Monarch butterfly established Turtles arrived	Constant possibility for improvements Limitations acording to resources available Many improvisations Required	Tools dont last very long Important to reduce the need of tools as much as possible Better to invest in quality	Extreme importance on doing things at the right time Events must be very well planned before Use energy flows as much as possible

Limiting factors

What is limiting your yield?

-The factor that limits mostly the yield is the need for constant working force for implementation and maintenance

Were can i open more niches?

- Better alocation of trees acording to theyr needs.

What improvements can be done?

-Make the system in a way that it can be maintained by a small number of people

How to extend limits and comfort zones?

-Introduction of fungal structures.

About this region conditions click HERE

S.W.O.C.

Strenghts	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Constraints
Knowledge Experience Attitude Networking	Finding proper niche Timming Angsiety Patience	Personal and professional growth Quality of life Learning	Language Time Confidence Luck

Systems dynamics

Web of life

A nice story about the influence of this project to the biodiversity of the area is related to the introduction of a local plant that attracts the Monarch Butterfly. 

Creation of Monarch Butterfly sanctuary

What would i do Different?
One of things i would problably do different would be to have a more constant presence on the forest.

I feel thats the permaculture zone were i really feel the extreme abundance and diversity that permaculture can create.

Its never easy to combine professionaly and at the same time all the multifunctional activities that permaculturists have.

This area combined with my educational functions, acted as my investigation laboratory and healing temple at the same time.

The time stops in this place and the time spent there is never enouth, because of all the impressions on the 5 dimention, that is the landscape were the connections manifest, and i love so much to observe  . 

Final Observations

The forests are the key to a more sustainable future, they provide most of the resources we need to survive, from the wood for construction, to the water we drink, to the fruits and vegetables we eat.

 The impact of deforestation and overgrazing are having a huge impact on the ecossystems for the last thousands of years and the lost of forests is causing huge influence on the climate change.

"500 years carob tree @ Vale da Lama institute"
 
With the mediterranean food forest garden i felt like ive helped  reversing that process, giving charcoal to the soil and old wood to give back the carbon to were it should be, and creating a green cover with regenerative plants and delicious fruit trees .

I got surprised by the speed of the impact and how i was able to in 1,5 year to create a regeneration from semi arid landscape to a pasture with 1,5 meter deep root perennial grass.

The mediterranean is consideried to be in the level 8 of the britle landscape scale very close to the 10 that is the maximum and considered to be a desert.

With a good provision of water well distributed along the landscape ive speeded up the self regulating systems of nature and the natural succession, creating conditions to grow bananas in were only spiky plants and cactus would naturaly grow.

This reminds me of what  Darren, an australian permaculturist used to say wen asked about the importance of forests.

"Foreast? 
Eats thee oonlay why meite!" 

"Ernst Gotch brazilian forestry teacher"

"This project is dedicated to all the forest people "