The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life and activity; it affords protection to all beings. — Gautama Buddha
- Permaculture principle: create no waste
- 800 m2
- Started with a chicken tractor to clear the ground
- Created beds and pathways
- Planted trees
- Shrub layer of soft fruits
- "The Global Garderner" with Robert Hart
- It's not about layers, it's all about relationships
- Having the maximum number of species
- Perennials salads for each day of the year
- Forest garden is the soft living room for the family
- Flower salads with high vitamin content
- Going from food miles to food meters
- Recorded yields for 10 years now
- Total from 800 m2
- Peak yield is 1.2 metric tons of food (2015)
- Pro rata = 16 tonnes a hectare
- + 500 trees for sale
- + 5000 plants for sale
- A soft living room
- A teaching space
- Massive amounts of wildlife
- 48 species of birds nesting in the garden
- 2 tonnes of earthworms (soiltest, Citizen Science method), "my favourite wwoofers"
- They create topsoil all the time, 17 tonnes actually
- A heap of firewood
- Half our electricity
- Thousands of gallons of rainwater harvested
- Mental health, sense of place, spirituality
- A place where we appreciate life
- For winter: winter hardy kale
- Wild garlic pesto (4 kg last year)
- Leaf greens are important in a healthy diet
- Angelica with rhubarb
- Things that will store easily
- Top fruits: apples, cherries, pears, plums, damsons, gages, quinces
- A big greenhouse
- It's a holistic thing
- Companion plants? The entire forest garden is the companion, thanks to the network.
- Trust what you see for yourself
- Life in partnership also needs:
- Water
- Soil
- People
- Permaculture is a system but there is no better way to understand it than gardening
- Graham believes UK could grow half the food in gardens
Forest gardeners plant hope — Graham Bell
Gardens are not made by singing 'Oh, how beautiful!' and sitting in the shade. — Rudyard Kipling
Graham Bell - Thirty Years Living in a Forest Garden.pdf4157.9KB