Fast-Tracking Food Forest Permanence

[@titussit7349]

I can smell the cut vegatation I love it owning land and creating a food forest is my ultimate dream thanks for sharing Geoff lawton

[@samanthabailey02]

I love these shorter videos. Their easy to share and people who may not have the time or are just not that convinced are more likely to watch. Thank you. Keep it up.

[@timeparticles]

These short videos are great!

[@B30pt87]

That was great! Very useful information & ideas.

[@joecrablone286]

Great work, with a systems-oriented approach. Love it.

[@MrGrant7000]

Beautiful!

[@4philipp]

I like that camp ground tent shelters. Neat idea.

[@LeChristEstRoi]

As a groundcover I use mainly native and non native plants species which grow spontaneously in my neck of the wood. The elephant grass (miscanthus genus) is one of them, it's a pioneer species which build fungi dominated soil. Some of those weeds are also useful bioindicators of the state of the soil. Some wild fabaceae tell me that the soil is deprived of nitrogen...

[@JE-ee7cd]

Awesome! 😃

[@bullykuttabullylovedogs2018]

GEOFF GREAT MAN👍👍👍👍👍👍💪💪💪💪💪ay love nature permakulture...love from Azerbaycan👐👐👐👐👐👐👐👐👐

[@thomasreto2997]

Nice covered campsites.

[@ianlacey]

If you ever have time I would love a video that addresses one common criticism I hear of these kinds of systems, and that is the fire risk of so much material on the ground in dry areas. I'm sure you have counterpoints or strategies to reduce the risk, would love to hear your thoughts. :)

[@willieclark2256]

Fire danger is all about the levels of the forest. If you can clear the bottom (grass and shrub) levels before fire season there's little chance of it spreading. Clearing with goats is easy and classic Permaculture

[@ianlacey]

Thank you for the reply Jacob. I'm pretty sure Geoff and co are continually adding organic matter to the ground rather than clearing it out. I think what you are saying could work in an established forest with big cover trees creating micro climates, but in a case where you are getting started like this video I'd see a few probs. Firstly having bare or sparsely covered ground in the summer where I am means the heat dries out the ground and many of your trees and plants will die. We are talking successive weeks or even months with temps in the high 30's. I have found that in their establishing years (say first 5ish) I have to keep the ground thickly covered to keep things alive, even the tough pioneers, let alone productive trees. Next one, I actually have a herd of goats, just this very afternoon some got into a space where I had some young trees (forgot to turn the electric fence back on after some repairs), and even though there were plenty of other things to eat they set right to work ring-barking the young legume trees. A small herd would easily damage fruit trees beyond repair in a matter of hours. Mulberry trees for example (mentioned in the video) are among their favourite food. Sorry if blabbing too much.

[@willieclark2256]

So long as you clear one of the rungs of the ladder that you've built with your plants fire should be no issue. Also establishing a canopy with pioneer legumes is step one. I recall a pdc Geoff did with Bill in which he suggested no productive trees at all for the first 5 years. "sacrificial planting" he called it. Tedious and slow but that's also classic permaculture. Never be sorry for blabbing that's what this is about! It's true goats love legumes and I'm sorry you lost your trees! But I'm sure you'll agree that it's a minor setback in the grand scheme

[@menoname3594]

I am about to get my permaculture food forest stage one started. I am in Queensland and am considering Tipuana Tipu for a canopy tree but I see that they are nominated as invasive by QLD Agriculture Dept. Please give me some advise on planting these.

[@lasobaranch9994]

This videos are great!!! thanks for sharing

[@thengatv9254]

Awsome ! Dear how much space this farm occupies ?

[@lulusperch1742]

Why didn't I think of that! Mow the grass low, hoe it, then ground cover. I've been cardboard mulching and toiling back and forth picking up wood chip mulch.

[@valley3621]

I have two pounds of Italian clover. I know what I'm doing with it now.

[@plumerault]

Can we use Sphagneticola trilobata (Singapore daisy) in warm temperate climate ? Not too invasive ?

[@HFTLMate]

awesome video cheers

[@Christodophilus]

Once the fruit trees establish, will you leave the mulch, which naturally falls into the swale, in place? I imagine it's very valuable at this point, in providing mulch and nutrients for the establishing fruit trees. But is there a point your system matures, and you leave the swale to fill and decompose the mulch material, naturally? Or is it something you will continue to clear out? In my arid climate through the recent drought - my trees on the berm did better, where mulch material was kept inside the swale. Where it wasn't the case, my trees were in poorer condition. So wondering if you change the way you manage the swales, once systems mature and have to fend for themselves in the elements? I don't have supplemental water to irrigate my swales in the dry, so they really have to cope on their own.

[@DiscoverPermaculture]

Chris it is really your choice we are just speeding up the establishment

[@DiscoverPermaculture]

Chris it is really your choice we are just speeding up the establishment.

[@Christodophilus]

@@DiscoverPermaculture Cheers Geoff. :)

[@SHANONisRegenerate]

Hey Geoff loving your work. What is your annual covercrop please?

[@ronnievagrant3556]

I'd say it's a cow pea (summer) or lab lab (winter)

[@richlee808]

BRILLIANT I'm curious who disliked and why they did?

[@TheKlink]

maybe they didn't like the fact they did some of the work with a rotary hoe? not pure enough for them, maybe?

[@bunyiphoopsnake5870]

How do we interrupt the Singapore daisy?

[@danielaldridge5951]

On a research mission. At 1:38 you show a close-up of Singapore daisy; I've never seen before. Looks very similar to a mulberry leaf, of all things. Are they perhaps related. (i.e. left thumb, right thumb, both. Both) Such a simple thing which after noticing must be sorted out. Research it!

[@afforestareforesta4104]

Dear Geoff, Can you please list fast growing species for arid and saharan lands. Thank you

[@falkharvard8722]

Perhaps ask the staff to not use the brush cutter while you're filming? 😂 Great work. I wish there was someone in the UK doing videos like this, too. I am not in the subtropics, it rains here for 9 months. Even winter is just colder rain now

[@Jeff-hx8nt]

How thick do you mulch over your cover crop

[@BarbellMethod]

Do you have a book to reference for replicating these Ideas in North America? To know which plants are which and how/when to plant them.

[@nathanlewis42]

When are you going back to Jordan?

[@whereisangie]

i hear australia gets very hot and dry and has lots of fires. could you do a more detailed talk about managing land for fire prevention? ❤❤

[@Contanpe]

Lots of swales, water features and humid fire-stopping trees.

[@ahmadhasif979]

@@Contanpe i think also “mowing” the lawn like geof said end of video. Using animals eating grass before it dried and get on fire i think

[@Contanpe]

@@ahmadhasif979 Indeed

[@TheVigilantStewards]

Perennial cover crop, nice that's where my question was... how to sustainably keep your soil covered with cover crops off grid when you can't be buying seeds all the time

[@myronplatte8354]

Yes. Preferably, you would have two or three species of perennial cover crop that also abundantly self-seeds, like clover, yarrow, bishop's weed, vetch.

[@TheVigilantStewards]

@@myronplatte8354 That's my biggest question in the annual garden is keeping paths covered with living things... thanks for sharing

[@myronplatte8354]

@@TheVigilantStewards specifically paths? Realistically, paths that are heavily used aren't always going to be covered in vegetation. Chamomile is good, as are pennyroyal and dutch white clover, but they would grow on the edges of a path and extend towards the middle. Nothing can take constant heavy foot traffic. To keep the middle of a path clean of mud, flat stones are probably your best bet. they can be stepping stones in a river of scented herbs.

[@TheVigilantStewards]

@@myronplatte8354 Yeah not so much the foot pavers etc... but more so how to control the edge of a bed, because if you're doing a few acres by yourself how do you control that much? I haven't seen any perennial forest solutions online that remove the need for annual gardening at all... even at Zaytuna they have annual kitchen beds

[@myronplatte8354]

@@TheVigilantStewards To specifically control the edges of a bed, perennials and soil stabilizers are what you want. Bishop's weed, comfrey, maybe hosta, nasturtium (not a perennial, but works). The corners need the most stabilisation, then the edges. The flat top of the bed would get your annual veggies. Totally agree that annuals will never be eliminated from human-centered systems, and that's fine. Annuals have their uses.

[@aidansharples7751]

Goeff, why not get a pet goat or two for the campsite. keep the grass down and the campers happy.

[@thanson77]

Wheres the fungus at Geoff?

[@tylermartin3983]

Anyone know the reason for the mulberry avocado interplant?

[@js4540]

You should try some loquats, love those little fruit

[@oriondillon]

Nice lawn mower. Love you anyways!

[@kvaz21]

What are your common plants grown as ground companions to the trees?

[@DiscoverPermaculture]

Jason Kvasnak annual ground covers then perennial ground cover the the shade limits most growth on the ground,

[@deanpd3402]

Be wondering when was the last time there was a fire in your region?

[@johannsmith5697]

You thought about using your planting techniques but lining up like-trees and not letting htem get 40ft tall so you can harvest their fruits?

[@Change-Maker]

this is kind of similar to the Miyawaki method.