SECRETS to being a FOOD FOREST DESIGNER

[@redhotsizzle2121]

My left ear loved this!

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Haha noted

[@dylanminikula2162]

Bro, I'm from Papua New Guinea. I'm planning to design a food forest for my backyard, and your videos are EXCELLENT! Thank you Love from PNG

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Love to hear that! Good luck with your PNG project

[@Dono-da-Blaze]

Wow! If it's up to you, New Zealand will have food forests everywhere. Congratulations on the projects, especially the school and the 30-acre property.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Someone’s gotta do it! Excited about those projects in particular

[@snippetsofinconvenienttruth]

I Am in the Far north of NZ and keen, working at this and food forest in progress, On the land where I live and Kaitiaki too. Just maybe not quite how you would have done it. Love it and appreciate any and all time I can give to this and assisting others. Always Learning as I go.

[@blanearnold8699]

Maybe one of my favorite videos you’ve made so far. I love seeing the variety of syntropic systems, especially the smaller sized projects. Would love to see a more in depth video of the small yard syntropic design. Cheers!

[@sherinsavier5071]

The most beautiful and heart warming message you shared, is you are working with schools and children ❤!!!!!! That is so, so good! Yay. I agree, eveey school needs a food forest and that's the real school, the forest 💚🌳. I love all your videos and am always excited about new ones.

[@russellstraker8040]

Nice work bro it's enjoyable to watch your videos too thanks

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Thanks man, happy to hear that 🤝

[@helenoneill1806]

Such an awesome, informative and inspirational video Byron, I'm so grateful you are sharing your projects, so much diversity and supa interesting. Thank you muchly

[@meghamalhaarfarms]

I am in the process of designing a syntropic forest .. albeit with very small parcel of land with a shoestring budget... Your videos are an inspiration and a knoweldge vault.... Thank you...

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Love to hear that! Good luck with your project

[@brunetyannick1174]

Lovely systems. The rate of growth is astonishing ! The 30-acre plot looks heavily degraded/tough to handle, good luck. Did you ever try the techniques of static compost "extract" furrow injection (Johnson-Sue style), in order to supply an healthy soil microbiota to the establishing plants ? He gets amazing results when applied in heavily degraded soil. Reaaaal cheap as well, the only downside is having to wait for about a year to get it to the desired state.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Yeah thanks! 30 acre site will be a great opportunity for growth. Haven’t heard much about what you’ve mentioned, will need to look into it

[@meghamalhaarfarms]

wow this is going to great experience... !! All the best...

[@OsvandoGoulart]

great work brother! I'm starting my food forest now in the interior of Brazil, and it's very important to see this diversity. I'm using the principles that Ernest Gostch taught us!

[@jchandler3336]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, experiences and projects. Love all your content. You have inspired me to create my own syntropic agroforest food system. I just broke ground last summer here in central Florida, USA. and I literally have no idea what I’m doing. Regardless, I’m going to do it. It is unfortunate though that your webinar on the 8th starts at 1 am here where I live. Hopefully there will be a future opportunity to participate. I look forward to your next video.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Awesome! Love to hear you’re getting after it. There’s one final webinar for the program on the 15th. If it sounds like something you’d be interested in, I’d push you to set an alarm to wake up for a couple hours to be there for the next one. Cheers!

[@3_Star_Belt]

You sir are an inspiration! I will keep growing and wish you all the success! Much love from Germany 🙌🏻

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@WestaeastMusic]

Love your journey and growth, man! Very inspiring with so much knowledge and wisdom from experience, thank you!

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

I appreciate that! Glad you’re finding it inspiring 🤝

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Fantastic, keep pushing boundaries Byron.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Thanks Stefan! Glad you’re enjoying it. Excited to keep pushing forward

[@hardstylelife5749]

Very time effective for sure )) looking forward for seeing your course. Greeting from a humble agronomist from Alps

[@vannaklim8888]

I am also developing a food forest in Cambodia. Thank you for your videos. I learn a lot from your videos.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Love to hear that - Good luck with your project!

[@pilgrimshodl8628]

Located in Kohukohu Northland here, keen to learn and help on some of your projects!

[@Lyle-Walters]

dear brotha byron, enormous respect for you sharing. personally i need to encourage researching the function of “incorporating”. i imagine you don’t mean it in the lifeless “entity animating” way it can be interpreted, yet for some of us it’s significantly jarring to hear used imprecisely. i would instead consider going with bring in, factor in, involve, engage, apply, implement, etc. it might seem small but the detail brings the energy across potentially more accurately and truthfully. however i do see the sentiment and greatly apprecialuv what you’re providing

[@andreacharvat3586]

Kia Ora, I’m keen. I live in Whangārei NZ and have been gathering nursery stock for sub-tropicals. I’d love to start a syntropic agroforesty business on existing dairy farms. To bring NZ farmers alongside. I LOVE the possibility of reclaiming monoculture pine land.

[@hahamo_]

so so so so so important

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Agreed

[@benjaminklenner4310]

Fantastic! Great to see all these examples. Now I think I get what Syntropic agroforestry actually is. Cheers

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Awesome to hear it

[@webbedtoes2]

Brudsah, this is your breakout video.Youse a champ 🏆 now🎉🎉🎉!!! 🗡️

[@webbedtoes2]

even giving a nod to the Legend - Ernst .... 👑 💪🏻

[@suddoe7188]

Damn i wanna have a food forest

[@rudekperezacupuncturist]

I've been following all your videos, great work and content, thanks. Would it be good to to create a hybrid of the vertical system you mentioned at the beginning with a few swales to retain water?

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Glad you’re enjoying! Swales aren’t so relevant here in NZ where our rainfall is pretty evenly distributed throughout the year. Wouldn’t be practical on those slopes you’re referring to either

[@rudekperezacupuncturist]

@@byron.in.new.zealand makes sense.

[@gabrielescollo4629]

Stunning work on so many projects! Do you ever get any sleep at all?

[@barawoydichova2049]

Incredible ✨

[@philinit6476]

Do you think you could share a basic row species selection for a temperate and suptropical system?

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Watch the most recent Temperate vid

[@MsGuifre]

Hey Byron! The webinar is at 7pm new zeland time?

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Correct

[@eth_fish]

Really inspiring, thanks!

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@rahneclark1902]

Free webinar

[@meandillar69]

I wonder if syntropic systems like this have been trialled with a mixture of exotic foods and natives rather than focussing on using all exotics - I assume the focus on exotics is for fast growth and mimicking what's been done overseas. Would be interesting to see if it provided a better or more appropriate habitat for native birds, etc.

[@meandillar69]

Actually rewatched a Happen Films video from a couple of years back with the Lotz-Keegan family and it turns out they've done just that.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Difference being there aren’t tons of Native (to NZ) food sources for large mammals, compared to lots of other countries which had big mammals co-evolving with the ecology. Most of the ecology here was birds, so lots of berries etc. So there’s plenty of slow-growing natives to incorporate for other reasons though. Have a few in mine but it’s not a focus

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Difference being there aren’t tons of Native (to NZ) food sources for large mammals, compared to lots of other countries which had big mammals co-evolving with the ecology. Most of the ecology here was birds, so lots of berries etc. So there’s plenty of slow-growing natives to incorporate for other reasons though. Have a few in mine but it’s not a huge focus of mine at this stage

[@meandillar69]

@@byron.in.new.zealand I understand that the focus here is feeding humans. This was the main reason for my comment - I think a very important part of a regenerative/restorative approach to farming is helping to restore local biodiversity and it would be interesting to see some kind of trial - both in terms of food production outcomes and benefit to native wildlife, pollinators, etc. This isn't pointed at you directly btw, just thinking out loud. Keep up the great work

[@rahneclark1902]

Amazing 😊

[@rob-in-peru]

Great video and inspirational as always. How do you see the interaction with eucalyptus? Here in Peru it has been overused to reforest areas and is not recommended because of the leaves toxicity which limits undergrowth. Is it a tree that has value with careful management? I am curious to hear your POV. Cheers

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Thanks Rob - I've only seen beneficial interactions with well-managed eucalyptus. Management is the key though. Haven't seen any of the negative effects people talk about

[@rob-in-peru]

@@byron.in.new.zealand it might be something to do with the varieties available.

[@burnsy9999]

Hi, thanks 4the vids very informative! What's the best eucalyptus in your opinion in a syntropic agro 2acre plot? Cheers

[@MyApps-uf1dz]

what is your advice for namely those people who really would like to help design new food forests, but don't have the lands, the money or the experience? (besides booking your seminar) I recommend you watch the movies "Interreflections" and "Zeitgeist: Moving Forward" and share feedback

[@HonesTlyMente]

What´s about " garotas " in brazil ? hahaha. You are doing amazing! cheers from Argentine.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Haha thanks mate

[@giorgospetrakakis3643]

good evening, is it easy to tell me which variety of eucalyptus is this? and if this variety can also be used as an herb or oil?

[@LadAussie]

nice vid mate! but taking a little more time with your audio levels and getting stereo would make the listening experience much better

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Valid feedback - Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bondebeats]

Amazing work. Do you plant from seed?

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Yes as much as possible

[@John-hu9bo]

Hi Byron, have you ever been with permadynamics in the north of new zealand? Working with them together or learning from each other? The project in the sand dunes. Did you focus on creating mulch too with certain grass species? Is there some rain? Are they watering a lot in the beginning? We have a lot of trouble if youre not growing enough mulch material then in the hot summers.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Thanks John - The amount of biomass (bana grass) the beach site has produced is unreal. There's a fair amount of rain at the site (annual average is 1.4m), but they've also set up an irrigation system (not sure how often they actually use it though). Spent a few days learning from PD when I was first starting out - We ran a collaborative weekend course here at my demonstration site in my first year.

[@John-hu9bo]

@@byron.in.new.zealand wow. At least that's a good amount of water. Here in arid climate without having tons of mulch it's a serious problem. So mulch producing is absolutely crucial.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

@@John-hu9bo Absolutely. Do you find it a better use of water to irrigate your biomass plants when it's getting serious?

[@John-hu9bo]

@@byron.in.new.zealand I'm not quiete sure what you mean. Sorry, English is not my native language

[@John-hu9bo]

​@@byron.in.new.zealandByron, the zoom link for the webinar today is still valid? It says its not valid anymore if I click on it

[@airebreton]

🐮Kia ora, that's a sweet as proposal and lifestyle. I'm not an expert, but here's one of my goals: to start a cattle ranch on some waste land using the syntropic principle, focusing on cattle and big trees for shade, and mainly planting grass. I won't be growing human-edible plants, mate. If this gets you stoked, I'd be keen to add value to your channel. And if you've got any tips, I'd be grateful. Cheers.🐮

[@astridadler6467]

I'd say look into tree fodder and silvopasture

[@pietsnot7002]

And you might want to look into hollistic management/grazing.

[@jimmyh6139]

Thanks for your job. But please, I'm french and i'm 54 years old, don't speak so fast.

[@webbedtoes2]

advice sir: comment pleasantries only. 🙏🏻 and *TAP* the screen to see the ⚙️ (top right) *tap* ⚙️ settings menu to change speed of video 🤝🏻 💪🏻

[@webbedtoes2]

you'll also find CC boxes for Closed Caption in your language 🤩

[@thehillsidegardener3961]

You weren't exaggerating, I am a native speaker and still found it very fast at times. But as someone said, put it on 0.5x speed and it should be much easier!

[@vgankrl9517]

0.75 speed

[@jimmyh6139]

@@thehillsidegardener3961 @vgankrI9517 Thanks for your help. I didn't know that was possible to slow down the speed of the video.

[@meghamalhaarfarms]

Hi i am from india /bangalore what other option are there other than eucaliptus/accasia...

[@farmerjhemp]

Eucalyptus/acacia are used because they grow so fast and are used for green manure. It's ideal to use whatever nitrogen fixer that grows locally aggressively as a support green manure.

[@tcotroneo]

What time zone is the webinar?

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

NZST

[@andyward997]

Hi, I found your video really interesting and generally watch quite a lot of content on the subject, I’ve read a fair bit as well. I have noticed though that nearly everything I watch or read relates to your part of the world or other far flung countries. I live in England where everything tends to grow a lot slower due to climate! Could you recommend some good support species for Northern England?

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Poplar, Willow, Birch, Maple … Whatever fast growing trees & species already exist around your area

[@astridadler6467]

Ireland here. Alder, bramble, Sickamore , everything you can coppice, gorse, than fruit and chop and drop: Rosa rugosa, elderberry, hazel, herbaceous: comfrey, nettles, Angelika, burdock, if you are wind exposed plant dense hedge around the place.

[@andyward997]

Thank you

[@FeliciaBoamah]

I’m in Ghana west Africa and I’m trying to figure out how to create a food forest because the soil is not good and I want to grow food for my family and my village. Can you please help me?

[@Wendy-vz7fo]

How would you stop this becoming invaded with snakes in Australia?

[@anilsoman3757]

Nice initiative Byron .... Love your video editing as well ....though in the video when you speak only the left audio channel works (other clips have both channels) ... Great work Mate

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Noted! Thanks for the heads up - Glad you’re enjoying the videos

[@Sashawott9009]

Whoa. Left ear..

[@terryjones8588]

That -5 degrees is that Celsius or Fahrenheit?

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

C

[@gaza1677]

Rainfall pattern???

[@lucasbreenee]

the "MST" hat is a must have

[@JuanDeSouza7]

Please help me to understand in portuguese what "taro" means. I've heard it from other agroforestry videos also, but the dictionary is not helping. I live in Brazil and I don't know what "taro" is. Since you were here, maybe you know how people call it here.

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Inhame

[@Paulvenner]

Am I the only one missing audio during your talks?

[@Paulvenner]

Oh I get it my left ear doesn’t work and your talks somehow are only right side audio

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Have fixed this since recording. Thanks for pointing it out!

[@indigochants13]

dear brotha byron, enormous respect for you sharing. personally i need to encourage researching the function of “incorporating”. i imagine you don’t mean it in the lifeless “entity animating” way it can be interpreted, yet for some of us it’s significantly jarring to hear used imprecisely. i would instead consider going with bring in, factor in, involve, engage, apply, implement, etc. it might seem small but the detail brings the energy across potentially more accurately and truthfully. however i do see the sentiment and greatly apprecialuv what you’re providing

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

Thanks for the comment. Primary definition of incorporate is “take in or contain (something) as part of a whole; include” ..?

[@indigochants13]

@@byron.in.new.zealand if you don’t mind please see “tree-a-life television network” channel videos on “birth of the corporation” part 1 and 2. the great owl “talaqu” breaks it down quite well. we need not fall prey to convenience at the expense of sourceful routing. potentially incorporation functions different etymologically than it might seem without a deep dive into symbological origination.

[@gaza1677]

Rainfall pattern???

[@byron.in.new.zealand]

1.5 - 2m annual rainfall across most of these sites