Food Forest Walk and Talk

Join Geoff as he takes us on a journey through his favorite part of the food forest at Zaytuna Farm, Australia.

Geoff walks us through one of the older sections of Zaytuna’s food forests. As the property transitions into an eco-community, it has changed how maintenance is done, and this bit of forest has been left to its own devices. Nothing dies, and nothing goes wrong, but the forest has become much more like a productive wildland. Geoff has been coming lately to gather goat forage by slowly chopping and dropping the larger nitrogen fixers.

As we meander through, Geoff points out a variety of useful plants such as guava, khat, mugwort, black locust, bunya pines, mango, jackfruit, coffee, mulberry, tipuana tipu, lemons, loquat, custard apple, bamboo, casuarina (with climbing yams growing up them), coco yam, dragon fruit, Kei apple, arrowroot, feijoa, and Mexican tree fern… the list just goes and goes. There is plenty to eat growing wild in a forest Geoff describes as being controlled by rampancy.

To illustrate another food forest option, we visit the camping area for students. Filled with the same types of plants Geoff has already pointed out as well as pecan trees and Brazilian cherries, the food forest here has been maintained to keep it comfortable as living space. Much of the groundcover has been cut back. The large legume trees have been pollarded to let in plenty of light for the fruit trees.

One of the pleasures of fiddling in a food forest is the many options at our disposal. They can be high maintenance and high production if we choose, or we can allow them to be low maintenance with casual production. It’s really up to us as stewards, and it’s important to understand this element of growing a food forest.

Key Takeaways

- Unmaintained food forests will get much wilder, but nothing really dies or goes wrong. It just gets very rampant.
- We can keep food forest very tame if we want them to be comfortable places to live in.
- A food forest with a high maintenance schedule will provide high production. A food forest with a low maintenance schedule will provide casual production. Either, or anything in between, is fine.

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About Geoff: Geoff is a world-renowned permaculture consultant, designer, and teacher that has established demonstration sites that function as education centers in all the world's major climates. Geoff has dedicated his life to spreading permaculture design across the globe and inspiring people to take care of the earth and each other and return the surplus.

About Permaculture: Permaculture integrates land, resources, people, and the environment through mutually beneficial connections – imitating the no waste, closed-loop systems seen in natural systems. Permaculture applies solutions in rural and urban contexts and at any scale. It is a multidisciplinary toolbox including agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural building, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture, appropriate technology, economics, and community development.

#permaculture #foodforest #forestgarden

[mtownzach]

Geoff, I think that whenever your time comes to leave this world, you will leave it forever altered and marked in a positive manner, by your presence, wisdom, work and family. Yours is a life not squandered.

[ainabearfarm]

Been working very hard on my food forest for 4 years and can’t wait for the “low maintenance” era 🤙

[troygoss]

A magic project. As I see it, the only hope for the future of humanity♾

[jameskniskern]

I'm in zone 6b Temperate in Kentucky USA. I've always been amazed at our foot forest potential. Now after 8 years in place, I've cut back on the "work" and adopted a more casual attitude towards it. Less establishment of new trees, and much more chop and drop/biochar production. The trees are different, as we are continental winters here, and everything goes dormant in winter.
Your idea of a course on food forest management is excellent, as it is so different from commercial monoculture practices.
The idea that I can ignore the thing for a year or three and come back, do a bit of chop and drop, and set things to rights is amazing! It is truly a marvel and a garden of eden type thing. It just keeps on doing its thing.
Thanks for the walk through.

[sauermaischeyahoo]

Reminds me of the way we used to live when I was a child, we had four 80 year old pear trees, which provided more pears than we could eat, a blackberry patch which we only robbed fruit from, while my uncle had Bramley apple trees and Victoria plums which too were only approached to take their fruit, and another uncle who had gooseberry bushes. That's how we operated back in the early 1960s, we planted the fruit plants and did no maintenance.

[ZoneGrowing]

This kind of walkabout video is EVERYTHING I wanted from Zaytuna farm. I could watch this for HOURS.

Just literally have Geoff walk around talking about anything that catches his eye. Amazing

[duffy]

Thanks for sharing what's possible Geoff. Its a glimpse of paradise.

[johnowens]

The low maintenance sounds great, I wonder when and how thing will change as it becomes an old growth permaculture forest. Our time to observe these changes is so short, a human life time is but a moment to the forest. At 200 years Zaytuna forest will just be a teen and in 500 years reaching real maturity. Humbling to think of the reach our lives can have by planting. I planted 7 trees today for my children and grandchildren. My sons are 12 and 14 but I am teaching them to think in terms of generational planning.

[robertdoupe]

Shout-out from zone 4a Montana, loving the beard Geoff. We are holding water back and growing what we can every year. There is no going back once you start, as above so below. Repair your land to harmony and it happens inside as well.

[peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo]

Thanks Geoff, for the beautiful tour of Heaven on Earth 🌎
I'm in Windermere, Florida (Orlando) zone 9b USA 🇺🇸 🌞 🇺🇸

[groover]

Thank you Geoff. We’re just at the start of our project(Alentejo Portugal) your walks through the mature and new food Forrest’s are totally inspiring. They fill us with hope and each time we learn a little more 🙏🏻

[intimatespearfisher]

I wonder how Bill Mollison's farm is doing after all these years? I bet those jack fruit have killed a few passers by lol
Thanks for sharing Jeff

[Im-just-Stardust]

Thanks a lot Geoff. I'm starting my food forest around my garden and it is extremely exciting.

[sarimahnurilabas]

MasyaAllah. Tqtqtq Geoff. A magic project what as I dream it in my dry land. We’re just at the start of our project. Your Food Forest really inspiring.

[one_field]

Could you add to the description of this video a list of all those trees you named in the video? The bubbles that show up on screen with the common and scientific name are fantastic, and many thanks to whomever edits them in! But a full list would be really handy for looking these species up afterward.

[philurbaniak]

👍👍 just lovely to see, great passion and great knowledge, thanks for sharing!

[MogiMann]

This was a fantastic journey! I hope to one day visit and take a course from you (Or an online course), as you Geoff, are one of my permaculture farming heros. All the best to you, from the west coast of Canada.

I am planning our Usda zone 7 food forest plantings and expansions, and talking them over with the land mates as we speak. As I am warm and cool stratifying sooo many tree, shrub, bulb, and herb seeds this winter, for spring growth. Should be funn! I also tracked down some fun perennial vegetables to try out as well for continuous yields for up to 10 years if not more!

Thanks for being an inspiration!

[pinkelephants]

It's all really impressive but the best way to compare the difference between how impactful a food forest can be and land minus its tree cover, is the big clearing/intersection next to the Tamarillo tree. One's terribly lush and productive, the other fairly dry with compacted soil.
Can absolutely appreciate how easy it is to take a walk through the property and get lost in marveling over everything, despite you having been one of the key instigators of Zaytuna Farm's transformation.
I find myself doing just that in my tiny backyard garden; nature is amazing given half a chance. My garden's a typical (mostly) concreted over landlord's courtyard. But in the summer, after my having stuffed it to the gills with planters of various sizes to the point whereby I can now only do the penguin shuffle to get around in it, everything is so lush, it looks like it's all planted into the ground.

[danielnaberhaus]

Geoff you are my hero, please do videos more frequently you are a Godsend!

[litaanderson]

Hi! Geoff, I’m back visiting your vedio blog again always a delight to see your property full of your fruit labor. Geoff you are the Guru of forest greenery how the time passes by so fast before our eyes. Those fruit trees and trees you planted are towering your property it is very delightful to see what you had accomplished and reap from them now. You are a great teacher always find the way to preserve our mother planet. Salute goes to you sir. God bless you and your family🙏.