How to Start a Food Forest the Easy Way

You don't need to do a lot of planning to start a food forest. Plant like nature does, and get growing today!

Starting a food forest can be complicated - or it can be simple. I recommend planting a food forest by starting a ton of plants from cuttings and seeds, and then planting all over, selecting out what works and chopping down what fails. By progressively thinning and creating islands of fertility (i.e. plant guilds), you can build a lot of biomass quickly and get your food forest growing fast.

[midwestribeye]

I would LOVE to do this to our backyard!!! Unfortunately, my husband has a sick addiction to grass. However, every year my vegetable garden some how gets larger and larger. (Evil laugh and smirk😏)

[CMSCK]

Thank you for this. I am a senior starting a food forest in a neighbourhood of manicured sprayed lawns. I started three years ago and almost gave up this year. The pointing and whispers hurt and I feel like the crazy lady. You made me feel better. I will continue planting, chopping and dropping and stop worrying about resale value of my property. Thank you.

[sujo]

This is a liberating point of view. I think that very thing has kept me from growing lots of things for lots of years. Nowadays it’s “Let’s just see what happens” and understanding it isn’t going to look like Charles Dowding and many others I do admire but cannot emulate. More afraid of not trying than failing these days. Youtube is great for inspiration (selected channels, anyway) but at some point you just have to go outside and do it.

[painterswife]

Thank you for saying this ! I started my food forest 3 months ago - it’s a wild mess ! My husband asked what the heck I’m doing out there ! You’ve given me the inspiration to continue - I have a vision no one can see but me ! Thank you !

[jcmustian]

David The Goods primary job on YouTube is to keep us all out of analysis paralysis lol.

I want to add that the benefit of having animals makes the haphazard style all the more appealing. Animals will eat so much of what we think are garbage and an escaped goat has a smaller chance of demolishing an orchard if everything is camouflaged like this. I have started planting sunchokes near trees for just this reason.

[leomiranda-castro]

Love the very basic model that could be applied to any situation. I'm a retired biologist, and I can tell that you are 100% right that nature works in a similar way.

Also, I like your analogy of building islands and expanding, connecting to other islands. Hey, they may become continents 😅 You may call that "plate tectonics gardening" 😂😅😊

[shawnnaschmidt]

I go out to the yard, dig a hole and bury kitchen scraps including seeds. I have plants growing that sometimes get moved. I love this, so much less stressful! Thanks for your encouragement of doing it nature's way!

[mollytrap]

Yeaaaah… my toxic trait is planting the seed from every mango I eat… so I have 373848573727485 mango trees and I still have to buy mangos because none of the ones I planted are fruiting yet..😆

But YES, I agree with your overall point and am encouraged that my mess of mixed up plants isn’t so bad after all.

[Mindy]

A couple years ago my peach tree died! It was incredibly sad for me but I found one peach tree that was coming up near it! I was so happy to see that one tree come up! The next year I now have 6 and I am waiting to see what is going to stay! Because God knows so much more than we do! You are right about the scarcity mentality being wrong! Our daddy knows what is good for us and he gives and keeps giving!

[thomasthibedeau]

I left an oak tree stump in the ground to rot and got another oak tree grow because of it. Five years later and the new tree is looking great.

[ponderosabones]

From now on, whenever somebody asks me what guerilla gardening is, I'm just going to say "gardening with a machete"

[donnavorce]

I quit mowing my acre the day I moved here. What Mom Nature did was amazing. Just get out of the way and leave it alone. About a month later, start planting fruit and nut shrubs and trees. Make guilds with a small tree then around it some small shrubs. Just go for it. Plant some garden vegetables. As David says, it's not complicated. Just start. Evolve. Flow. Enjoy. Empower!

[helenloughrey]

LOL Exactly! The local police showed up at our new house last summer to give us a wellness check because I decided the lawn needed to go to seed and to produce more straw debris to build up soil on clay and rock ledge. Then in the fall I allowed oak leaf litter and branches to remain on the lawn. Later I put down cardboard and compost & mulch islands and planted zone 4-compatible edible landscaping. We are in zone 6 ( now 7) but I want everything to survive a polar vortex anomaly.
Previously the lawn was managed by a poison & chemical fertilizer delivery service. There were no insects or birds. This spring, robins showed up. Hoping we might see fireflies this June …

[melissab]

I've tried the graph paper method and spent hours planning everything out. It works for a few months and then something dies and something else takes over. I don't bother anymore. It's more fun and I learn more without the plan plus it's way less frustrating

[writethisthat]

Love this "let's see what happens" approach to gardening. It's my mantra, so much fun.

[hamburger]

I think it takes time to appreciate the “mess”. On the cover it looks like chaos, but I think after you’ve actually tried your hand at gardening you can really start to appreciate this system. Love what you’re doing thanks again

[tbone]

My husband while mowing cut the THISTLE (PLUME) (ASTERACEAE) I been watching it, as I learn to forage in my backyard. 😮. I already found Lambs quarter, Jewelweed & Goldenrod.

[Lky]

I love the common sense in this video, making things so practical. Thank you for making it simple for those of us who like to complicate things :) the most robust veggies in my garden are the ones that just spontaneously grow out of the compost pile

[ursamajor]

I love my garden now that I've switched to GRG. I direct seed a lot of it and start some seeds in pots. When i go to transplant the potted ones I just wander around in the garden until I see an empty spot and that's where I plant. All of the plants are growing and producing better than I've ever grown. TY, TY, TY for providing this great information.

[latoracole]

Alabama neighbor here 🥳 I’ve gone tiny and have started my food forest. Thank you for this wonderfully, funny and informative information! Happy Gardening 🥰