Top 7 mistakes I've made in making my permaculture food forest.

Learn from me! Don't do these 7 things that I've done.
It's easy for a creator to show all the best parts of their gardens. But the plants you see are the survivors. The true lessons are learned in what you don't see - because those sum beeches ded.
Today I show you 7 mistakes (really 10, four of them are lumped together) that I made while making my food forest. I'm sure the years will teach me many more.
Thanks for watching.
A few things I cut out in editing to improve video flow, but are worth mentioning:
- When collecting plants in the wild, I follow a 95/5 rule. That means that I always leave 95% of the plants or foraged food I come across alone, for nature. So when I mention that I went to the abandoned Lowe's parking lot and dug up some wild seabuckthorn plants, it was a FIELD of seabuckthorn. They were doing what they do - being pioneer plants - turning a parking lot back into a forest.
- When you transplant plants, be very careful. You are spreading plant genetics and most of the invasives we have today are invasive because they were displaced from their stage in ecological development in a specific area, and put outside of that. In this new area, they may vastly out compete other plants and could become problematic.
- I cut out some lower impact mistakes such as not planting densely enough, not maintaining a good winter covercrop, and more. The video was just too long. I may include these in a future video, because overnight I remembered a really big mistake I made - bringing in horse manure from a place that I didn't know. They must use herbicide on the hay they feed their horses, because I have a dead patch of my garden (for 3 years now) because of it. Aminopyralids are terrible and will last in your soils for a LONG time.
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[@StefanSobkowiak]

In danger of falling fruit. Hahaha.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

So great to see you here! You were one of the people who started my journey and made me want this for myself. In one video you talked about how amazing wasps are, and in that moment I realized I wanted to be like you. I can't thank you enough Stefan.

[@susycue3]

I subscribe to your channel too!. I lost a peach tree due to WAY to many delicious peaches.

[@candaceplatt1700]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Stefan is the one that made us ALL want to have a food forest!! I think both your channels (plus Edible Acres) are the ones that keep us all believing we can do it too!

[@beckymay439]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Stefan is an inspriation to our family too. We're always quoting his little quips - "Let the trees have their leaves!"

[@sararichardson737]

I’m lucky enough to live under a very old very fruitful mango tree. For 3 months of the year I’m it’s servant clearing up 100 mangos each day. It’s hellish!

[@boggledegop]

If you're having issues with abundance you could try partnering with a local food bank, they send a couple people to harvest and you give them food for their operation.

[@yourgardendoc]

was looking to see if someone already said this.

[@alexriddles492]

My plantings are on a much smaller scale. Most of my fruit trees are along a fence around my back yard. So, I have to remind my neighbors of the rule about my garden. Which is, "If it's on your side of the fence it's your to harvest."

[@Howwerelivingfishing]

Great idea

[@andrewfetterolf7042]

good idea!

[@KB-2222]

Then they'll feel like they can come over when shit hits the fan and eat the food you worked hard to grow and get established? No thanks. Keep your garden a secret because one day you might not have that poisonous food in stores.

[@Leeofthestorm]

The high school in my hometown started a program where students collected fruit from otherwise untended trees (the town used to be orchards years ago, and so there are a lot of trees in people's back or front yards). The students process and can fruit, as well as make fruit leather. They make compost out of the discards, and donate the choicest stuff to the food bank. It's a massive program, and it is very successful, making the students money for other projects.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I love this so much

[@midwestribeye7820]

This is a great idea!

[@lisablakeney5676]

We need this at EVERY high school! WOW!!

[@galenhaugh3158]

I thin my peaches around 90-95% and the rules I use include: 1) just 1 peach on branches the size of pencils and limit the number of peaches proportional to the diameter of each branch, 2) cull peaches toward the end of branches and favor peaches nearer the trunk, 3) no peaches closer than 8 inches apart, ever. 4) in peach clusters, remove the side peaches and leave the lowest peach, 5) when removing peachlets, spin the fruit with bare fingers, bend 90°, and pull away from the tree to reduce bark damage. For support, I invested 5,000 hours in a 4-level trellis system based on fence bracing and triangular shapes using chain link fence components for 48 fruit trees. I don't worry about high winds, fruit load, or early snowstorms that might break branches from snow load.

[@dh.151]

Woah that sounds so cool would you ever consider making a video on it!! I'd love to see how your support system works.

[@lcostantino7931]

Incredible information

[@zionmountainfarmky8210]

Great relpy thanks for adding this!!!!!

[@peterfrance702]

100 hours per fruit tree?

[@gayledavid545]

I sincerely love the humbleness of your topic…not trying to pretend you know it all, after all no one does. I think I will remember this video more than all the others I’ve watched. Thank You!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks Gayle 😊

[@robertlopez1879]

I've found that fruit wine is a good way to quickly convert an acute surplus of fruit into a high-value, easy-to-store product that makes an excellent gift later. I manage school gardens and the fruit trees sadly are most flush with fruit right when no students are around. This wine idea has made me a celebrity among my fellow teachers and admin. Truth be told, we drink just as much as soldiers or cops ;)

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

haha nice ❤️

[@deborahjudyboucher1072]

Something I learned from a friend whose family have farmed for decades, (his mother collects her tomatoes seed from her plants where the seeds originated from her great grandmothers lpants.) But what he told me that I didn't know regarding apple trees is that if you don't remove all the fallen fruit from underneath them, a kind of bacteria, I don't think that's what he called it, but it enters into the root system of the apple tree and the apples will develop scabs on them, the black crusty parts that are often seen on apple trees that are no longer cared for.

[@mffmoniz2948]

I have a small garden. I'm jealous of your big space. We live in our house for about 7 years. The garden is a full time work. We keep improving it every year. We also end up getting more food than we actually need. Part of it ends up getting used by the insects, birds, chickens or the soil itself. Especially the pumpkins. The more interesting and rewarding has been to learn about how to atract insects, how to improve soil quality, what works best and where. It's fun.

[@jacobspranger1267]

Not to many people give back to nature. One of the main reasons I went ahead and started a food forest...

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Awesome 👌

[@PeleLua1]

I just can’t see “over abundance” as a bad thing … not with so many starving people in the world including the people next door. Plenty of help around to “harvest and help” if you are willing to share in the reaping. Seems to me that should be the goal anyway. 🎈

[@sleepn_on_me2473]

Geoff lawton always said to not hoard surplus But add it back to the earth

[@j.reneewhite915]

You should make acquaintances with master preservers (Canning, Freezing, Dehydrating etc.) Make an offer that you provide the food and They do the work and split the end results in half with you. There are people out their with apple presses and no apples. Make an offer that you'll bring the apples and they do the rest of the work and split it in half with you. What would you have to loose? There are ladies that have the skills in the kitchen but they don't have the resources to go out to the field to get the fruit. Sky's the limit my friend. It would build community as well.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I love this idea also. I'm all about building community. Do you know a good way to find them? Facebook groups or something?

[@SgtScourge]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy local meetups like vegan groups and farmer's market stands already selling preserves but maybe not the fruits you have available. Church groups with food banks or food drives will have old ladies who know how to can I'm sure as well 🙃

[@martizavala6713]

Great idea! I'd also consider adding in 4H, Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts. Have a big Apple Butter party (with a large copper pot) and everyone takes home a jar. It's a long day but it's a great motivator for young people to pull fruit off a tree then go home with it in a jar at then end of the day.

[@Undercoverbooks]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Where in Canada are you? I'm in southern Ontario, and I've been preserving food for 30+ years. Happy to help/share skills/teach.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

We are between Ottawa and Toronto. I don't usually give out exact location, but we're in that area.

[@misssummer6387]

Hey Keith, maybe you can invite people into your food forest to harvest what they need when you get overwhelmed. Permaculture is about sharing and community too 😊 just put up a sign for people walking by.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Haha this is actually exactly what we've done this year. I had a video about peaches a few weeks ago and you can see my boss picking fruit off out trees too. Always good to make a friend in a boss at work LOL

[@dorelbelciug1601]

People that don’t pay the price sweat money passion will damage the plants trees break branches. We need to teach people haw to proper respect the place

[@SolutionsWithin]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy what province r u in? I’m a fruit crazed torontonian!! I’ll come get some fruit this year if ur willing. 🙏😀

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

We are in Ontario, between Toronto and Ottawa

[@SolutionsWithin]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Nice! Must be so nice to have fresh food not from store. 😀🌎🙏

[@Lauradicus]

Yes to the flowers! There are so many that are edible and/or medicinal it’s not “wasted space”! they are truly multifunctional. Let your herbs flower too. Yes, harvest some before the plant flowers so you have good flavor. A lot of the herbs’ flowers actually supply medicinals for insect life as well. Those bees all over your mint, sage, basil, thyme, hyssop etc are there for the medicine, not the pollen.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

The last point you make is SO iimportant (and you've made it a few times in different comments - keep saying it for people to read). Having a healthy insect biome isn't just about feeding them, but it's also about their health. Medicinal plants aren't only medicinal to us, they are medicinal to the insects also. Healthier pollinators and predators are a very good thing!

[@Lauradicus]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy yes, I will keep saying it, it’s that important. (Usually the problem is to get me to shut up!)

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

@@Lauradicus Haha NEVER do that!

[@Lauradicus]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy power to the wordy nerds!

[@norikotakei9417]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy k

[@lasabras506]

Thank you for your honesty. In a world filled with social media bs, it´s refreshing to hear someone owning his mistakes. I´ll certainly keep on watching your videos.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

My pleasure!

[@sarahbezold2008]

all these mistakes and downsides are so dwarfed by how gorgeous and practical your setup is

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks! It's just getting started too. My oldest areas are 5 years old now., but even that is so so SO young for a food forest. This place is going to be NUTS in another decade. I'm going to really enjoy watching it grow, and always adding to it.

[@paularae6324]

No worries, young man! The birds, the bees, the bugs, the deer, the raccons and squirrels will all take their fill. Nothing will go to waste, because as they lay on the forest floor and rot, the microbes will also eat very well.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Exactly!

[@ellengregg1976]

I am trying to devote a good amount of my remaining energies and time to planting fruit and nut tree guilds in urban "food deserts" in poor neighborhoods. Thank you for your many videos..... Part of the work is educating people about transforming grassy sites into soil ready to receive plant communities. My method is: cardboard down in May to smother the grass; cardboard up in August and a cover crop of peas, daikon radish and oats planted to grow for 6 or 7 weeks until frost; crimping the frost-killed plants; cardboard down again to keep the site tidy; a covering of well-composted horse "contributions" with 6 inches of wood chips on top to leave for the winter, with tree, bush and herb/flower planting the following April/May. Another part of the work is getting others enthusiastic about making free fruit, berries, and herbs available to folk who rely on food banks. I've received lots of donations from people who are horrified that so many people in poor neighborhoods died of COVID because their diet was so deficient in fresh fruits and berries and foods..... As a long-time (55+years) flower gardener, I am new to permaculture and food forests--and so glad to hear your emphasis on flowers in the guilds. I also learned from a post to this video that part of my work will be teaching people how to harvest in ways that do not damage the trees, bushes and plants..... (thank you to @dorelbelciug1601). I do not think that having too much food will be a problem in places where I am planting. I just hope I can live long enough to get to the harvest stage!

[@bubskees0607]

The compost is already doing its job without you having to turn it! That's a bonus my friend

[@nmnate]

I'd update #5 to native flowers. They're just so easy to get started and can be really well behaved (sometimes correct variety selection is required). Our yard is probably at least 50% native flowering plants. I'd avoid flocking to the trendy permaculture plants when you have a native plant that provides the same function.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Definitely

[@greeneyedflower2408]

Dear sweet treasure. Build it and they will come. We are going into some years of famine. You will be able to help so many. Do not fear abundance. You have built this for a reason.

[@patmurphy8774]

Great ending! Thank you for being the first permaculture person I have heard address the issue of over abundance of a food forest. Being a plant addict I can fully understand how this can happen but I never hear anyone talk about it. Thanks.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah and honestly I'm only seeing the tip of that iceberg right now.

[@lorenrenee1]

You need to mulch the cardboard really well to keep it moist. We had the same problem when we converted the front yard to mini food forest.

[@wendyburgess2962]

Having an overload of food is a good problem to have. I’m just in the beginning stage of my forest. As much as I want to just get into it, I’m taking my time by researching the requirements of each plant.

[@kristenbrasil]

I appreciate this video so much! It also validates why I planted 10 pawpaw cultivar trees in upstate NY and why I want to keep adding more to my new food forest. I am crazy about pawpaw and I know I will be for years to come. Thank you so much for your intel!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

There's just something about them

[@champagnjethersiahdduvenag6078]

To plant and establish a managable piece of your garden at a time, before moving on to your next plot of your garden, to develop that piece and then move on and do the same there. This wil give you a space that have only maintenance and reaping the fruits to preserf in secretion. This way you wil be sure of having a plot that is producing already while you are developing a nother part of your garden.

[@Eric998765]

On mistake 7, I don't think you can have too much. As you mentioned U-Pick is always an option, but you could also do like Mark Shepherd and run pigs through. I would personally rather have 100 lbs of bacon than 1000lbs of fruit

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

100%. I would LOVE to get a pig. As long as I still work full time I just wouldn't be a responsible owner. I'm just WAY too busy. Good thing is at least we have the chickens now. They get so much of our food scraps. We also donated a bunch this year. Several full truckloads.

[@incanada83]

Goodness me! A sincere thank you for your honesty and humor too. I'm opposite when it comes to growing; I have tons of flowering perennials and not much edible "stuff", which I am trying to balance for the past 3 years to keep wildlife and me "happy" :-). P.S. You know...until your retirement, you can "save" your stash by making wines and cordials (among other things) Those require lots of fruits so.....buttle up! Why not ! Cheers🍷😁

[@Greens5511]

Yep, I find the hardest most time consuming task in growing food is harvest and preservation!

[@suziperret468]

Yeah! It’s a blessing. Encourage people to pick their own and charge them a low price . You need these people and they need your fresh farm harvest. A perfect nutritious food connection.

[@anne-marietuikka3036]

I was thinking the same. And they probably appreciate the opportunity to wander around food forest while picking up fruit.

[@jrdahl711]

My plan is to put out a sign, and a can, and encourage my neighbors to pick. Leave a donation if you like. I'll include a short blurb on what my yard is and why I want to share it with everyone.

[@Clarinda787]

You have a GREAT business opportunity. All those fruit trees producing so much more than you can harvest can become a "U-pick orchard. Allow people to come in to pick what they want and charge them by the weight of the produce they pick. Win/win for both you and your customers!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

That's definitely the retirement plan :)

[@panithera2552]

Harvest should never be a problem as long as you know how to communicate when and where these gifts of nature are available and how you want to give it away - maybe let another person organize it for you. I am going to have the same problem. From Austria, Europe.

[@acnma5940]

Nice presentation. Learned a lot. As far as your harvest goes, you don't have to do it alone. Advertise that you have fruit to be harvested and people can come pick their fruit and pay for it. They do that all the time in strawberry farms and cherry trees. People will be happy to pick fresh fruit for a reasonable price.

[@okthanks4792]

Love the transparency here, sometimes mistakes are much more helpful than glamor shots. Peace

[@farmyourbackyard2023]

Sounds like your major challenge is personal growth. If you’re already producing abundantly, there’s no reason to not sell or share and take the load off of yourself. Good luck and I hope you grow past your fears soon. You have an amazing garden.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

it's more of a time thing. I work full time, have 3 kids and a wife, all kids in sports, and run the youtube channel. It's really just a bandwidth thing. For now we donate most of our excess.

[@angela9290]

Eat it all! 🤣🤪 Thanks for the lessons, it’s always nice to know I’m not the only one with piles of fruit with nowhere to go!

[@derkadeher8369]

Usually asking some friends to help with a promise to keep some of the food works well.

[@zionmountainfarmky8210]

Omg lol you absolutely nailed it at the end of this video 😂👍😆!! So being a prolific gardener in my past (over 20 yrs) on a small scale we moved to Kentucky on 18 acres to begin our life dream! My husband sounds a lot like you in the regard of wanting MORE MORE MORE! AND he works and I plant lol 😆 I am so overwhelmed and know this is a wild ride we have only just begun! Our trees will arrive in spring as bare root. The 8 + acres of farm area was a wild overgrown native unkempt goldenrod and Ironweed field!!! (Previously a tobacco farm 15 yrs and cows 4 and more yrs ago) Wish me luck! What a wonderful video again! Love your style and can't wait to stalk your youtube channel and see what more you have to teach from your experience on permiculture! Thank you so much! 💓

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Awesome, thanks for watching. Ironwood is such good hardwood!

[@Howwerelivingfishing]

I can’t wait to buy land and start my own food forest. Hopefully next summer if the price of land in my area gets lower. Im hoping I can manage to garden and farm full time once im established.

[@miriamrobarts]

I read a book called 'Grow a Little Fruit Tree - Simple Pruning Techniques for Small-Space, Easy-Harvest Fruit Trees' By Ann Ralph. The book is directed more toward suburban gardeners, rather than homesteaders with a lot of space, but either group might benefit from growing fruit as small trees or bushes. - Keeps the tree manageable & easier to maintain, such as pruning & harvesting without ladders - Smaller yield (and less work picking fruit or cleaning it up) - Grow more varieties, or grow fruit in a smaller space It was interesting to learn that even "dwarf" varieties often grow larger than a family garden can manage, and you can get better results with pruning even a full sized variety down to the size that works for you & your space (and enjoy the flavor or other advantages of that variety).

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

The only problem with pruning a large root stock tree short is they will send SO many vertical branches.

[@sarahmchugh3375]

Can you do a video specific on flowers and their impact and important they are? Types? Maybe a video on the importance of insects and varieties as well

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I can try, but on that stuff I'm learning as I go. I may wait a year or more on a video like that, because I'd like to do more research on it first. Then try stuff out, observe and draw conclusions, etc.

[@aprilpotter3054]

Something I do: I donate to my local food pantry. Sometimes they will send volunteers to help you. Also, in NY, there is a program required for high school students. They must complete 20 volunteer hours in their community to get their diploma. You might look into your local high school to find out if that is something required in your province.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Indeed! We hammer our food bank each year too!

[@mayb.wright509]

This is awesome. Thank you so much for sharing. I'm just starting to plan my own FF and your tips are so helpful. For anyone who wants to grow a FF, but doesn't have the land, there's a local guy here who uses people's backyards - the "host" gets to keep 80% of the harvest, and he takes 20.

[@jimwolff1206]

Wow! What a great video. This is one of the most useful videos about food foresting I've seen. You do it all correctly: presentation, humbling yourself, speaking just right (no strong accents), no loud or annoying repetitious music in background, etc. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Even though I'm down here in south Florida, everything you said still applies here! Excellent video! Five Stars!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks so much Jim!

[@chulasexychica11]

We dont take fruit off we simply put more stakes on branches to help support. Even 4 by 4 if needed. When he have alot we gift them to friends and neighbors i make bags to hang of front fence with shade and a post saying "free to take please be considerate and take what you will eat ". And each bag has 4 to 5 fruits, herbs etc.

[@Katharina-rp7iq]

You can invite pathfinder groups for a lesson about food forests and tell them they can keep what they harvest.

[@jwdory]

Thanks for sharing your lessons learned. I wish more people would do this.

[@mightywind7595]

I am literally planting flowers in my garden as I listen to this. 😊 Don’t have a food forest yet but looking into it.

[@debradykstra8703]

Lol. If you figured all that out in 5 years, you're a quick study! 🌞 I've been gardening 45 years. I've made every mistake you shared. Only knew about permaculture half that time. Anyway, it sure makes me appreciate the true skill level of farmers of old. Thanks for a great video.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Absolutely! All the respect to the people who learned all this before the days of the internet!!!

[@ghostcraft9343]

I love how I loop around with creators I watch

[@heavengardens4]

What I used to do with heavy cropping trees is to prop up the branches with wood beems provided the trees have enough food to support all the fruit that grows on them.

[@myronplatte8354]

Fallen fruit? I hear chickens! Fallen nuts? I hear pigs! I made a horrible mistake with my potatoes, this year. Over-fertilization. I buried way too many food scraps under the seed potatoes, and I got less harvest than I planted. Looked it up. Apparently, too much nitrogen compared to potassium and phosphate makes potatoes NOT yield. Well, I’ve learned my lesson! From now on, I’ll stick with comfrey leaves for potatoes.

[@celt456]

Thanks for this very helpful information - I'm currently in the planning phase of creating a food forest. Regarding excess produce; inviting people from your local area, or food charities, old people's homes etc., to receive, or come and harvest to take away, is a great way of building community and supporting those who are less able to eat well.

[@sharonagoren6751]

What an amazing video Keith! You have created a garden of Eden. I can hardly imagine anything can be more beautiful then those water scenes, flowers and fruit abundance. Goldenrod is my favourite. Thank you for all the tips. I love love your channel!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

haha! Thanks as always Sharona.

[@Ladadadada]

It is definitely easy to end up with too much food at once. One year we got 200kg of apples off just three mature trees, all picked within a week. And that was after losing plenty to the ground and leaving some on the trees. One way to avoid this is for each type of fruit tree, plant several different varieties that ripen at different times. I worked on a cherry farm that did this which meant that instead of needing 200 pickers for two weeks they needed 40 pickers for 10 weeks. That's better for both the farmer and the pickers and it will be better for you too.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

100% It's a big reason to plant diversity (among many).

[@koicaine1230]

Word!!! The volunteers that grew in my Compost piles were my best plants!

[@IS-217]

Lmao. I loved the end. “It is a problem” haha 😆 Then he just starts eating, and eating, and eating. Great video Keith. Thanks for sharing. I hope this doesn’t turn into too much for you. You may have to figure out some kind of volunteer help to manage the property? Or what happens when you just leave it. Take what you want but leave some too. Let more fruit cycle back into the system. Prune the trees and bushes, keep them small close to the house and keep them tidy so as not to attract wasps. But let the others further away just do their thing. Take some leave some. Don’t stress too much man. Enjoy it. It’s beautiful. You’ve done such an amazing thing. You’re an inspiration for sure man. You inspired me. Find a helper ;) Enjoy the harvests Cheers!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Some of the abandoned food forests that we just recently discovered (in British Columbia I think?) give me great hope for what this place would be if I just abandoned it. Honestly, it would take an army to get me to leave this property, but if that ever did happen, it would be really important to me that it goes to someone who wants this. All of it. Something tells me that won't be hard to find though. A mature "orchard" is priceless.

[@trevormuir8421]

Abundance, guess what? it's free,fulljoy ,showoff😃💯🥗

[@mathsvideoshis5701]

First - thanks for sharing the mistakes. For those of us starting out (mine is year 2), it is very valuable. For what it's worth, I'll share my two bits about abundance. I could not have started this project if I had to worry about canning and freezing everything that grows. I don't see rotting food as waste. Everything living is compost. If you have the capacity to do many of the things suggested with it, then that's fantastic because giving back out of abundance is part of the permaculture ethical framework. In addition, rotting food has value in the cycle. I think it is better to let it rot than to spend less hours than you want with the people you love. I don't have as many trees nor the space to grow that many but I have two older trees - a cherry tree and a quince tree. There are a lot of high cherries that are too much risk and work for me to harvest but I was amazed how few of them reached the ground. The birds and insects took care of most of them. The quince that falls is nibbled on by rodents and then I put the rest in the compost (but only to make sure our rabbits don't gorge themselves on it). In addition, I already have way too many leafy green things to be able to consume all of it as salad. Somehow that doesn't feel like as much of a waste as the fruit. Of course, I try to share it with people too, but sometimes I just don't manage to organize it and that is okay too.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah, waste is a human creation. Nature doesn't do waste.

[@helenamcginty4920]

Back in the mid 1960s my parents bought an overgrown acre with a house. This was in NW England. Cloudy most of the time. .wet. windy. Never really cold though frosts in winter into April and even May. Mum bought 2 gross or so of 2 lb preservimg jars and 1 of 1 lb ones and she my sisters and I would bottle exess fruit in a light syrup. Even the hymalayan blackberries that grew along the hedge. Tomato puree for soup in winter. Plus we made apple jelly from windfalls. Re fruit we thinned out the king apple or pear in each group as needed. If we got a gale in off the sea at blossom time we had the opposite problem. Very little fruit. Its a dodgy business growing food. I even preserved eggs in isinglass. (Never heard of water glass). I had 7 buckets, some plastic a couple steel. I put slabs of stone on top of 6 buckets as per instructions in old book but ran out so no 7 had aluminium foil. The book explained why stone should be used but forget why. I do know that the eggs in those 6 buckets remained eatable but the tin foil covered bucket all were bad. As with all eggs back then we cracked them into a cup prior to cooking to check they werent off.

[@danacorbin3199]

I really appreciate you comments about making paths with wood chips without adequate cardboard underneath as I was planning to get a load of wood chips without any cardboard at all!!! Also planting in the compost pile, been there, done that. Fruit breaking down limbs, I didn't realize since my fruit trees haven't produced much yet. Great video. Thanks

[@johnmcginnis5201]

a) Lay down the cardboard during the rainy season. Won't have an issue. b) If you have a heavy clay soil you need a absorbent layer before you sheet mulch. Otherwise the clay just repels water.

[@microsnook3]

what would you put down, cardboard? I have clay soil and its very dry here. I do have a sprinkler system though!

[@johnmcginnis5201]

@@microsnook3 The cardboard does two things: 1/ Retains any residual water. The cardboard will swell holding the water. 2/ It provides a weed barrier preventing seed growth. I put wood chips over the cardboard. I live in NTX where our summers are fairly dry and extremely hot. I don't have a sprinkler system and 3yrs in don't need one. The breakdown of the material has significantly changed the soil conditions. The materials I used were free too. You put an insane amount of effort up front, but end up doing less and less later. Earthworms have invaded the soil at this point breaking down into the clay layer. Next year I will have to lay more wood chips down to bolster some thin spots where the worms have churned the material in.

[@chadgillespie4066]

You should make a video of the varieties of apples, pears, peaches, persimmons, paw paws, etc. that you have had success with. I am Zone 4 in Minnesota. I am looking at expanding my fruit trees and always looking for suggestions on cold hardy plants. This would spark a good discussion from others. Example: I do not plant dwarf or semi-dwarf apple trees anymore because of the cold climate. I have found St. Lawrence Nursery and Fedco Trees to be good suppliers. Varieties are very important.

[@mikeash7428]

We live and we learn, huh....nice to have a problem of too much and figure out how to handle it. Thanks for sharing your learning experience. Last year my sizable orchard had not a piece of fruit due to an uncommon cold spell after all the trees bloomed and some with small fruit were frozen. So having trees with a diversity of weather tolerance can help.

[@Kyaide]

Very valuable lessons, thank you for sharing! I have to keep my planting in check so I don't get that overwhelm later on.

[@LittleSpaceCase]

You can also prune young trees to keep them about bush size so the yield is manageable even with a wide variety of trees

[@elenidemos]

Looming overload is a great thing. Good quality scales (for both large and small amounts). List on craigslist/gumtree/other range of fruit(s) currently available & day of week available. The extra money would allow other improvements to garden/lifestyle. You can also donate LARGE amounts to charity organisations or shelters. Great quality food would be greatly appreciated from these groups (may even be able to guestimate what/how much you maybe able to bring next time (after experience)).

[@janibgood]

You could make contracts with local grocers and restaurants to come and get your in-season produce. If they send their own harvester, they can have a cheaper rate than if they want it pre-harvested. There will be food shortages and inflation in the days to come. Community solutions will be our salvation. Thank you for showing up to show the way. ❤️

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks for the idea

[@janibgood]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy you are so welcome. Goodness knows you have given me more than a few good ideas! ❤️🙏

[@mrod954]

Have no fear, checkout restoration agriculture! Graze livestock throughout your land, allowing them to eat from the over abundance and you gain an extra revenue all while giving those animals a really great life. Most commercial livestock live suffering unnatural life so I really believe you should see the excess as a great benefit and more so, with that such a heavy nutrient feeding tree system, you may need the extra fertilizer of animals to keep your system in check. I definitely recommend listening to Mark Sheppard on a podcast or KZbin video about this... Goodluck! And make sure your water system is as good as it can be!! If you got a late start to that as said...you may not even e seeing the greatest effects yet.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Indeed, I've wanted to do that for 5 years now. Maybe one day. Family isn't on board yet.

[@nmnate]

That goldenrod patch is pretty nice. Ours has been in full bloom for about 2 weeks now. I find it goes really well with the late season asters, putting on quite the show in late August through frost.

[@lars_larsen]

Good stuff! Everyone knows to learn from their own mistakes, but people underestimate how much there is to learn from other peoples mistakes.

[@scottguitar8168]

It made me laugh when you learned you had too much. I have been dabbling with growing my own food and had both experience where I planted too much and not enough. I'm still learning and we are in the process of moving to a new house with more land where I am considering a food forest, but I will start small so I don't overload myself with abundance.

[@bobhotaling3984]

Finally! A truthful conversation about wood chips! I used layers of cardboard each year for TWO years, and the weeds still encroached! My biggest problem is nutgrass. Even though you pull up the roots easily through the wood chips, it just keeps coming back. It becomes a monumental task to keep weeds from spreading that is almost impossible to maintain. But, I will not succumb to the weeds. Gotta keep going for my Food Forest. It's worth it!

[@Marco-hb4pt]

why waste time and energy? just let em grow, they are living mulch. "weeds" only grow when the soil needs them, they will stop growing once the soil has enough organic matter and shade

[@banksarenotyourfriends]

The look of "this is fine" on your face when you're talking about your over-production problem at the end had me in stitches mate 😂 The way I look at it, is that the fruit and nut trees I plant are as much for the next generations as they are for me, and those generations are likely going to have a struggle on their hands thanks to the climate - so if I accidentally create an overly-abundant 'climate lifeboat' for a group of future people, then so be it, I'll cope with the harvests in the meantime.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

This is exactly my line of thinking too. So I have a wee problem and need to deal with too much food during my time here. What I leave for my kids and their kids will be priceless.

[@galenhaugh3158]

Experts that aren't brainwashed with insidious climatology activism estimate that from 15% to 25% of current foodstuff production worldwide is due to the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide in the past 50 years! Also, trees grow from 30% to 70% faster depending on variety! The climate change activists deny any benefit from increases in CO2 and they never, ever mention the fact that carbon dioxide is only 1% of the five combined greenhouse gasses and it isn't even the most effective one--water is! When they start proposing taxation of water to mitigate climate change, you can start to worry! Otherwise, grow on with confidence because carbon dioxide does NOT control the climate but those that push carbon taxes do it so they can control you!

[@damienomen68]

Amusing that you are being totally ignored, except by me.

[@MrLeefrancis83]

I think overabundance of food is an amazing problem. 😂 Love your videos

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks 😊

[@danielguy1891]

Don't feel too bad about the Seabuckthorn tree you have. I bought a couple named varieties, and they were still very thorny with small berries.

[@dinosaur0073]

Thank you very much. For me, I think we should not consume all fruits and keep remaining for animals over/under the ground. It helps to build soil structure.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Just be aware of pest problems you may have which could possibly be exacerbated by it. Plum curculio is a prime example.

[@GoTrojanz]

Great video. I've just planted a a mini fruit orchard with the goal of keeping my plants no higher than my height of 6". My enthusiasm has me looking to plant 30 more trees your video has given me some great food for thought.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Awesome!

[@morrish.6784]

Adding some animals to the system may help. From "Reviving the Independent Farmstead with Shawn & Beth Dougherty" part 4 around 40:00, they mentioned that the pigs on a farm was used to convert surplus and waste nutrients into meat (which can keep fresh as long as its alive), and high quality compost; which chicken can do kinda the same, but not as much.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Definitely.

[@Tsuchimursu]

I have so much land that I don't really care if I overplant. If I'm ten years half the crops fall to the ground and rot, it'll be a positive problem... can always ask neighbours in to help or just let the wildlife have a snack. In a way I want that, as I'm hoping to act as a showcase in Finland, given how little traction Permaculture had gained here. Having more good than I can handle works out well for that :)

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

This is my general philosophy LOL

[@JRoadzReegz]

Too many gardening vids want to show people the coolest newest nice thing to try - not enough lessons learned much more valuable - thank you!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Well said!

[@dgraham4966]

Great video! I'm off to watch the sheet mulching video! Regarding the last tip... teach your kids! They will be such an asset and you'll be able to share with them as they age both in skill and bounty. :)

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Definitely, they are being taught every step of the way. The world they live in may be very different than the one I grew up in. Not just food and environment but also economics (global and home). These are skills I think everyone needs to develop. More now than ever.

[@sharonagoren6751]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Lucky kids.

[@dgraham4966]

Yes, completely. I figured you probably already were! :) My kids are pre and early teens and sad we didn't plant more fruit trees earlier knowing that the main harvests will come after they likely move out! Haha. Berries are shorter and keeping the attention for now though.

[@jerseygirl5486]

Amazing video and thank you! Mistakes may be the hardest way but are definitely the best way. I grow so much from my mistakes and after a few minutes of beating myself up, embrace them. You have my utmost respect and have taught me so much. Thank You again….

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Much love ❤

[@teresasuderman2199]

We moved last winter and left a yard that was full of many different fruit trees and bushes. The people that bought our house were all excited for the yard, but have rented it out instead to people that ignore all of the free food (our old neighbors give us updates).It isn't our house anymore so whatever but I don't understand that kind of ignorance. Anyway, we are starting all over here on more land and this year instead of being a little overwhelmed with the harvest we were lacking in fresh fruit. Next year should be better but I can hardly wait til the overabundance starts again. I had to laugh out loud when you said the number of fruit trees you have planted. That will definitely be something when all of them are in high production!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah, I just don't get it! Man, if I were buying a property that had a mature fruit tree on it (even before I got into permaculture), I would have been PUMPED about the free food. But to just let it go to waste.... man, that is like nails on the chalkboard to me.

[@saltriverorchards4190]

You and I have the same retirement plans my friend. I currently have 150+ fruit trees that are a few years from production and I have that thought in the back of my mind of how in the heck am I going to harvest it all as well lol. Hey, it’s a good problem to have. Abundance is a good thing. Share share share that’s my plan. U pick is definitely in my future as well as supplying food pantries and farmers markets and a roadside honor stand. Hey btw, you would be proud of me. Yesterday I planted my first berries around my Apple trees in my orchard. I had about 20 elderberry cuttings that I did this spring. I also put in garlic around the few strawberry plants that I have in that row. Thanks for all the inspiration.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

That's awesome. I was creeping your channel the other day. I dig what you are doing brother.

[@saltriverorchards4190]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy thanks for looking at my channel. I don’t get to post as much as I would like. Maybe in the future. Feel free to critique and give advice there if you want. It’s all about to change dramatically next spring as I start seeding new plants.

[@m.a.rogers9158]

I really like your "you pick" idea. There are so many people out there who don't have the time and space for a food forest and would love access to one. ♥️

[@tiffanyrowbotham3663]

Wonderful video. I love the "problem" of too much food. Maybe a couple of co-op students who want to learn about food forests. Or sharing with young families, having them pick their own fruit in exchange for doing a chore. And I love seeing all the native plants in your video: native plants are the perfect partner for native insects/pollinators. Your work is amazing. I am just learning as well and also "addicted" to planting trees, shrubs and flowers!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thank you kindly 🙏 ☺️

[@dddilworth12]

Brilliant! Thank SO MICH! These tips are widely applicable - even to those of us in the Appalachians of North Carolina.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Oh for sure! Most of the stuff I do is applicable everywhere. The plants may change, but the concepts are all the same!

[@miracleshappen4483]

People need access to fresh food and you got a surplus. How about making jams and nut butters? You can also donate to charities as a thank to Mother​ Earth for providing you with so much abundance. The volunteers will come and pick from the trees you select. I love your water system, great job! 😀🤗😁😉☺️💖

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah, our local food bank said they can't take any more of our food. Too much stuff that spoils. They only can take so much at once. I will give them pears in a few weeks. Thanks for the other ideas.

[@JoelKSullivan]

Haha. That ending was great! Thanks again for the great info!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks for watching Joel 👀 🙂 🙏

[@tomsears9245]

Awesome video! You are right, talking about the negative things and the challenges is very helpful for people like me who is still in the very early years of growing a food forest. Thanks!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Absolutely!!

[@ks_hunter7327]

Go to the local farmer’s market with samples of what you grow. Make a calendar of what will be in season each month and get an email list of interested customers. Then send them a reminder whenever the food they desire is in season.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

My issue right now is that I have no idea what my production will be, because I'm mostly growing perennials, and those perennials are getting more productive each year. I would have never thought I'd grow this much food this year if I had to guess in the beginning of the season.

[@Plug604]

Learning from someone else's mistakes and not having to go through it yourself is a huge benefit! Thanks for this video!

[@christopherrector7461]

This is the first year I didnt thin my peach tree. Its over 10 years old now, so not too worried about my branches, they are strong. But it has been an interesting learning experience

[@peterfrance7489]

Excellent and useful approach, both on the practical level and on the broader human level. Mistakes are the best teachers.

[@brockberrick2727]

an amazing thing to do with all the fruit is to juice it, it will take a lot of fruit even to make 1 liter, but it is amazingly refreshing for the whole family!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Funny you said that, we spend an hour making apple juice the other day. We filled jugs and 3 days later they are all gone! We need to do more.

[@johac7637]

As a retired stone fruit grower, your peach trees have to much thin wood, we prune off everything minus pencil size , and they love /thrive on pruning, we also post harvest pruned for light penetration, also shaping, we gauged our nutrient feeding by getting at least a foot of new growth by Aug 1st. more is to much, less is not enough. And yes give take, but you get strong fruit bearing wood.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I definitely learned this lesson this past year! You are bang on.

[@johac7637]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy I now spend Canadian cold months away from the Okanagon of BC in Arizona, and boy do I miss the soil, here it's poor dirt, hot, no organics in dirt, so I've been building, alfalfa pellet plant waste, do a bit of manure, we already are high sodium, have collected wood from where ever and have a yearly pit burn for charcoal, and compost a pile, add sulfur, mag.mang, iron, the elements the soil and tissue samples come up short, got my PH to 7s, organics from 1% to 7-18% as it varies depending what I do, the big help was cover cropping, legumes, brassicas, grains, flowers, I just give it twice a year, cool, hot 🔥 temp dictates, and it really has come to life. But am encountering pests, miss the frosts for what it kills, so now getting the beneficial to stick around, this summer it it sunflowers, cow peas, hope they climb the sunflowers. It's been a learning curve. Next week we are headed to BC, messing with my Rachio timer, I hope it helps, I can modify from anywhere.

[@craigmetcalfe1749]

Hey Keith! One thing I dream about in Permaculture is how I can give back to my community - (Begin with the end in mind). My food forest skirts the footpath outside my home. The shade and microclimate is a welcome respite through long hot Aussie summers (confirmed by the comments from total strangers who choose to walk past my house with their dog, children, elders etc). My public facing part of my food forest feeds the downtrodden, the people who drive really slow in the ultra fast lane, the bitcoin investors, entrepreneurs who are down on their luck, unintended COVID-19 victims who have fallen on hard times. The marginalized in my community are especially welcome. I want them to live healthy lives even though they feel like they can't go on. They can always stop at my place. Mine is a mental health oasis for both me and my community. Gilead can do better! Cheers!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

At least someone is looking out for the fast lane slow pokes. This lane is for crime. www.reddit.com/r/BrandNewSentence/comments/plass9/this_lane_is_for_crime/

[@seanbailey8545]

Mistakes are part of the journey as long as we learn from them. We see what does and doesn't work and try something new or do some more research/asking others with more experience and we grow as people as well as farmers.

[@mothernaturesapprentice5720]

I agree, you need to start small and show the difficulties and mistakes of growing your own food

[@katalenaanastasia]

Tell all your family friends to come take what they want. This will take some of the pressure off and would be super cool