Food Forest

Claus

Jedi Council Member
So today I found something on Telegram, on the chanel of Eva Hermann.
It is about a Farmer, who started a projekt in 2009, he grew a food forest.
In her post there is a link to a german page, but there is also an english part in the end and also english videos about it.
I only read the article, but i will watch them when I have the time for it.

Here I will quote the englis part of the Page:

Food forest Ketelbroek​

In the end, it takes years before Wouter gets to work on his food forest plans. After fighting against the cattle industry and pesticides at Milieudefensie for a long time, he decides in 2009 that he wants to contribute a positive piece of the puzzle. So, together with his business partner Pieter Jansen, he buys two and a half acres of farmland in Groesbeek, which they cycle past one day. Wouter: „It was a barren field full of silage corn, used for cattle feed. We paid the appraisal price and then set to work planting trees, hedges and shrubs. We also added elevation on the lot and created a meandering stream for toads and frogs.“

„It’s great to see nature coming back, that restorative ability is unimaginable,“ shares Wouter. For example, food forest Ketelbroek now hosts more moth species than in the nearby Natura-2000 area and you can find over thirty bird species, weasels, fireflies, ring snakes and beavers. There are also trees that are already over fifteen meters tall. „It’s like Noah’s Ark full of animals that have found a place in the empty arable landscape and are all hitching a ride. And the harvests are increasing every year. That’s the fascinating thing: nature wants to be generous, if we give it the chance.“

From dairy farm to food forest​

A food forest, because of the planting process, requires an investment especially up front. But once you get past the start-up phase, it pays off just fine, according to this study by the HAS, among others. „That’s because as a food forest farmer you don’t have costs for fertilizer, pesticides, fossil fuels or machinery. And you also don’t have to re-sow and plant every year, as is the case with annual crops,“ Wouter explains. „It is true, however, that you only get decent harvests from the forest after about seven years. So as a regular farmer you can transition just fine, but gradually, by regularly adding a few new acres to your food forest.“

With Stichting Voedselbosbouw, Wouter guides farmers through this transition. „We work with farms that want to set up at least five acres as a food forest for at least twenty years,“ he explains. „Together we apply for the necessary permits and make a design. Some farmers, for example, want to bet on combinations with ecological tourism, then it’s nice to have lots of summer fruits. Others see less of that, but want to make their own apple cider or walnut oil. In all, there are about a hundred varieties that are hardy and disease resistant, give a good harvest, taste good and flourish in a Dutch food forest, we discovered on Ketelbroek. So whatever you want, there are always plenty of options.“ Read more We Are the Regeneration

Netzfrau Doro Schreier

What do you think about it?
 
Came across this concept about two years ago.

We actually have put aside a part of our land for a food forest - only started last year planting some trees. We plan to plant more trees this year - then we’ll wait a few years before planting shurbs and berry bushes.

Of course the guy above, Wouters, goes on and on about climate change, and a mostly plant-based diet. That’s not the reason we want a food forest, because we eat a mostly carnivorous diet. For us it’s more a case of having a plot of land where biodiversity is coming back (we live in a rural area that is mainly into cattle grazing and monocrops) and a place to enjoy nature close to home.
 
So today I found something on Telegram, on the chanel of Eva Hermann.
It is about a Farmer, who started a projekt in 2009, he grew a food forest.
In her post there is a link to a german page, but there is also an english part in the end and also english videos about it.
I only read the article, but i will watch them when I have the time for it.

Here I will quote the englis part of the Page:



What do you think about it?
Amazing.. Was thinking wouldn't it be lovely if there was something like a natural forest that we cultivated for food and someone has actually done it! Wow, wonderful thanks for sharing.
 
Back
Top Bottom