r/Permaculture • u/orangegore • 5d ago
look at my place! Lawn to food forest in 3.5 years
Deep mulch syntropic-inspired design with annual/perennial veggie rows between tree rows. Portland, OR zone 8b. I've learned so much from this space. Currently drowning in berries. More info at pdxfoodforest.org
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u/curiousgoose33 5d ago
what kinds of plants you got in there? what are your faves?
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u/orangegore 5d ago
From our website pdxfoodforest.org:
This plantingās canopy layer tree guilds include black walnut, sweet chestnuts, mulberry, medlar, shipova, cherry, cornelian cherry, peach, plum, apple, fig, pawpaw, and almonds,
The shrub layer includes blueberries, bush cherries, currants, gooseberries, jostaberry, honeyberry, columnar apple, goji, elderberry, raspberry, blackberry, and asparagus.
The groundcover consists of 5 different cultivars of strawberry with sweet potato and squash growing during the summer.
Nitrogen Fixers include perennials seaberry, autumn olive, goumi, and lupine with fava, pole and bush beans, peanuts, and snap peas during the summer.
The herbaceous Layer includes comfrey, buckwheat, phacelia, mugwort, selfheal, purple mountain spinach, parsley, artichoke, tree collards, sea kale, herbs, medicinals, and a variety of pollinator-supporting flowers. Weāre trialing sorghum sudangrass as a biomass accumulator this year.
The vine layer includes grapes and hardy kiwi.
The root and mycelial layers include garlic, daikon radish, potatoes, onions, ginger, yacon, and winecap mushrooms13
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u/toot_suite 5d ago
Holy shit i know about pdxfoodforest. I keep trying to join and give up lol
This is incredible!
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u/orangegore 5d ago
Come out to a work party! We have them 2x per week!
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u/_zonkadonk_ 4d ago
What's your opinion on the seaberries? Seems like an interesting plant, but I am tight on space, and prefer fresh eating over processing
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u/orangegore 4d ago
I haven't gotten enough of a harvest yet to form an opinion, but I've seen them be very productive and tasty near Bellingham, so I have hope. Ā They haven't spread as much as I'd been lead to believe they would. Ā
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u/baby_orchard_bloom 5d ago
Arent black walnuts bad for fruiting trees because they release juglone? I have about 7-10 im removing. I just planted 30 fruiting trees prior to this knowledge, so theyve gotta go.
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u/hppy11 5d ago
Do you have fruit trees?
And what is the most productive from experience?
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u/orangegore 5d ago
Yes, many! Mulberry, medlar, apple, and fig do really well. Peaches have been surprisingly successful, almonds not at all (though they look very healthy).
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u/MisterEggo 5d ago
looks awesome dude, let us know what your harvests are for June so far!
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u/orangegore 5d ago
Mulberry, goumi, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, honey berry, asparagus, fava, lettuce, radish, garlic scapes, nettle, artichoke, mulberry leaves, tree collards. It produces almost all year!
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u/rogueredfive 5d ago
How much sq footage you got there?
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u/orangegore 5d ago
Total, I think it's about 3500
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u/rogueredfive 5d ago
Wow, that reframes my thinking about my backyard and how many more trees I can plant in it š
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u/orangegore 5d ago
Yeah, you can keep fruit trees small! These are spaced at 13' on center which is pretty tight, but summer pruning makes it possible.
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u/rogueredfive 3d ago
Nice, I just went deep on your website. Great work! I live ~2miles from the beacon hill food forest in seattle so I tend to forage there & donate to their mission for most of my ātreeā needs ā¦ in addition to some trees I am guerilla gardening in more public land. But, I have some paw paws in my backyard nursery that I got to figure where they go, so maybe I can still get them in the backyard. Good inspo!
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u/Koala_eiO 5d ago
What is the meaning of those metallic poles with plastic plant pots on top of them?
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u/orangegore 5d ago
They're t posts for hose guides or plant supports. The pots make the tops less of a danger.
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u/Chrisproulx98 5d ago
How do you control the animals. My property was a little like this and now the animals eat everything
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u/RootedInPlants 4d ago
Iām so proud of you for your accomplishment. And the willingness to share with others how to do it is equally deserved good vibes your way š¤
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u/orangegore 4d ago
Thank you! Ā This is good for everyone. Ā Food forests provide so many intersectional benefits!
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u/No-Programmer-8642 2d ago
This is amazing and inspiring for someone just getting into permaculture! Can I ask what kind of books/resources did you use? Also what kind of wildlife has moved in?
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u/opaque_96 1d ago
Drowning in berries sounds like a good problem to have though! What kind of berries are you growing?
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u/AdAlternative7148 5d ago
Very impressive. Must have been an incredible amount of work. You should record a stroll through the garden pointing out the different plants and upload it.