Hi from Ontario Canada

[WildEdibles]

Johnny's instructions were a little off but I know my way around the internet
Glad to be here
My hubby and I love looking for wild food, gardening and raising animals
This year is going to be different we ended last year giving into town rules and moving our animals to a friend's farm
We are volunteering there learning lots
Since we are putting lots of time into learning about farm life my food forest at my house will be neglected this summer
We have the opportunity to raise animals and have a garden at the farm too but my own garden I can't see me having the time or energy for
I can't do both but I will try
My hubby and I are disabled and learning what we can do to help local farmers will come in handy
My food forest is about 20 years old now and it does grow food on its own if I did nothing there would still be a 100 to 200 lbs depending on the apple season
We do share and preserve food
Trying to pull everything together this year will be tricky but I'm growing food wether there's a challenge or not I gotta eat

This challenge always for me is about helping each other
The more of us together the more we notice when someone is having a hard time and we can lift them up
Mulch love earthlings

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum!

[Tormato]

Welcome to the forum.

You are able to do what you will do.

The truly disabled can, but won't do.

[Whwoz]

Welcome to the Junction from Down Under @WildEdibles

[bboomer]

Hi and welcome!! I've heard that Raffi is touring Canada but not the US (:. My grandson and I may make it up there and rock out at the show! (his Canadian grandparents would approve).

[AKgardener]

Welcome from alaska

[MissS]

It's great to have you here. Welcome!

[bower]

Welcome to the forum, from furthest east!
I also volunteer at a friend's farm and I just love it, I have learned a lot and there's always more.
This is a good place to discuss what foods are easy and effortless to grow. Like you said, we gotta eat!
I hope the farm garden goes well for you, and a good bounty from your food forest too.

[zeuspaul]

Welcome @WildEdibles from California.

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

Welcome from America's Dairyland!

The Gotch

[DriftlessRoots]

Hi and welcome! I hope you'll share some pictures of your food forest some time.

[PlainJane]

Welcome from N. Florida!

[AZGardener]

Welcome to the Junction!

[GoDawgs]

Welcome from the great Southeast! I too would love to see pics of your food forest once it gets going after winter.

[AFISHESANDLOAVESLIFE]

Hey Wildedibles,
Welcome, and so sorry about your animals, hope it lead to maybe something good you all might have missed out on otherwise. And Wow, Oh, my goodness a 20 year old food forest? I too would love to see that!
I have to admit though I am getting so confused and would love some clarification. I always heard Food Forest used for tropical locations or super hot locations, ie like Greening the desert with Geoffrey Lawton, David the Good down in Broward County FL. Pete Kanaris and his Sandhill Farm, so I thought Northerners had orchards, and the hotter climates used Food Forest type designs more to grow food. What makes it a Food Forest compared to an orchard with polyculture under it, and would that meet the definition too? Is it any set it and forget it type of polyculture with various heights of plants? I have seen most up until the last two years most making them using permaculture principles? Do you have to really follow those principles to call it a food forest? I only started mine 3 years back,with such very basic knowledge and a diagram I got from a permaculture website or post, but I wanted to study a bit of more of permaculture but my life hit some detours. I a couple years back my first banana circle. Then the ducks kept digging out my banana roots and eating them and knocking over my banana plants, so I abandoned that, and just moved the banana pups near the house where the ducks would leave them alone, but I planted a canopy tree, Moringa, was going to use Jamaican Strawberry as my second one, but was not impressed with it’s berries, and removed it, bought a grafted mango, and it got fire blight and basically, I could not save it. I had my passion vines meet ill fates under my Strangler Fig twice! Once was the neighbor’s handy man ripping there old fence out along with one that was flowering and trying to set fruit. It had gotten trapped between our new fence and their old one. I still have a sour sop, but now since getting the fence have to cut my moringa to the ground, and start my canopy trees over, (as the Moringa is too close to the fence and is already causing issues with it).
The new fence also messed with my observations of shade vs sun hours and winds etc in my back yard. So I froze for a while on adding anything but a banana pup, that I will probably remove. Did you give it this much thought, or just picked things you knew you would eat in the various elevations to make it a forest?
I know Howie who knows and uses permaculture has one too in Canada. I guess I just am hearing people calling everything a Food Forest now, and wondered with your experience maybe you could help me and others to know what really defines something as a Food Forest? And where did you learn about them 20 years ago?
Sorry so long but on a zero lot line I have to start getting my choices right, ripping them out gets to be a bummer. And sometimes pricey.

[bower]

https://projectfoodforest.org/what-is-a-food-forest/
Seems like the many layers upward and outward is what defines it. Nothing regional about it though, @AFISHESANDLOAVESLIFE . I started my permaculture experiments here 30 years ago, but ended up producing more perennial medicine than food, so far. Always evolving!
I would also love to hear about what has worked for you in Ontario @WildEdibles . It sounds lovely
I got hazels from Ontario and apples and currants and roses from NB back then in the early '90s, and seed for Pine Nuts, Oaks, Mulberry, Sugar Maple and others I imported pounds of seed from Shumacher in the States hoping to get hardy survivors. Well I do have survivors alright (and some total fails) but moose and rabbits and just very slow growing conditions have kept me from getting the tree fruit and nuts I hoped for. I may be able to give it another push in the right direction after I retire next year. Never give up