Apr 16th, 2017: Food Forest

[xoxoxoBruce]

What the hell, a drawing, a sketch in IOtD? Yup.
No matter, nobody’s going to see it anyway because they’re all busy with Easter, so kiss my keister.
There are different levels of we lazy bastards. Before I graduated to couch potato, then internet troll, I was wiling to expend
a great deal of energy to build something. But when it was done so was I. Maintenance? Boring, Fugetaboutit.
Probably that’s why this plan intrigued me.

Canopy: This layer is primarily for large nut trees that require full sun throughout the day, such as pecans, walnuts,
and chestnuts, all of which mature to a height of 50 feet or more.

Understory Trees: This layer is for smaller nut trees, like filberts, and the majority of fruit trees. The most shade tolerant
fruit trees include native North American species like black mulberry, American persimmon and pawpaw, though many other
fruit trees will produce a respectable crop in partial shade.

Vines: Grapes, kiwis, and passion fruit are the most well-known edible vines, though there are many other more obscure
specimens to consider, some of which are quite shade tolerant, such as akebia (edible fruit), chayote (a perennial squash),
and groundnuts (perennial root crop). Kolomitka kiwi, a close relative of the fuzzy kiwis found in supermarkets, is among the
most shade-tolerant vines.

Shrubs: A large number of fruiting shrubs thrive in partial shade, including gooseberries, currants, serviceberries,
huckleberry, elderberry, aronia, and honeyberry, along with the “superfoods” sea berry and goji.
Herbaceous plants: This category includes not only plants commonly thought of as herbs—rosemary, thyme, oregano,
lavender, mint and sage are a few of the top perennial culinary herbs to consider for your forest garden—but is a catch-all
term for all leafy plants that go dormant below ground in winter and re-sprout from their roots in spring. This layer is where
perennial vegetables, like artichokes, rhubarb, asparagus and “tree collards” fit in.

Groundcovers: These are perennial plants that spread horizontally to colonize the ground plane. Edible examples include
alpine strawberries (a shade tolerant delicacy), sorrel (a French salad green), nasturtiums (has edible flowers and leaves),
and watercress (requires wet soil), all of which tolerate part shade.

Rhizosphere: This refers to root crops. It’s a bit misleading to call it a separate layer, since the top portion of a root crop
may be a vine, shrub, groundcover or herb, but it’s Hart’s way of reminding us to consider the food-producing potential
of every possible ecological niche. Most common root crops are sun-loving annuals, however so you’ll have to look to more
obscure species, such as the fabled Andean root vegetables oca, ulluco, yacon, and mashua, for shade-tolerant varieties.

I can see the appeal to critters too, so deer/rabbit/woodchuck proofing would be smart.

You can read the whole what to/how to at Modern Farmer.

CAUTION: creating this and eating the results, may make you healthy, so don’t forget to plant some Cheeto and M&M bushes.

[Snakeadelic]

Critter-proofing a garden like that would be BRUTAL. The only successful "deer-proof" fence plan I've ever encountered requires that the top of the fence be 8 feet above ground, and that the fence itself be tilted outward from its base at about 30 degrees short of vertical. That seems to be the only fence deer won't try to jump, because sure they can make the 8 foot jump up, but they can't tell if they can clear the tilted interior.

For rabbits and ground squirrels and skunks and the like, you'll need to dig out about 2 feet of soil and make a box inside that hole. Said box needs to be heavy-duty plastic-coated wire and has to cover the entire bottom and all 4 sides, plus sticking up at least a foot above ground at the base of the fence. Then you fill it back up with dirt to actually grow the garden. Leave off the low fencing or use uncoated wire and rabbits, ground squirrels, and similarly-sized garden destroyers can and will chew right through. The mesh should be under 1 inch to keep moles and rats out, because anywhere a rat can stick its head, its whole body follows. As for mice, your best bet is don't kill any snakes in your yard--many of the venomous AND non-venomous species in the US live on rats & mice. Heck, corn snakes are rumored to have gotten their name hanging around in corncribs and silos to eat the mice and rats that invariably swarm such places.

If I ever win the lottery, tho, I'm having a massive glassed-over "courtyard" garden and I'll be referring back to this plan!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Perimeter, anything that moves or gives off heat, even in the dark.

[blueboy56]

No problem, just get one of them there super accurate crossbows and put a bolt (smeared with super glue) into the barrel. Instant jam and up blows the barrel. So there.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Do the deer around you carry superglue?

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Snakeadelic

Critter-proofing a garden like that would be BRUTAL.

Benny brought me a woodchuck last night. Get a collie with a little spare time and the rodent population will drop.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Griff

Benny brought me a woodchuck last night. Get a collie with a little spare time and the rodent population will drop.

A woodchuck is a long way from a gimme. They can be, and usually are, vicious little fuckers.

A childhood friend's dad had a blue heeler mutt that knew how to dispatch groundhogs with a vengeance. His summer record was 62 or 64 groundhogs brought to the front door of the barn. Graveyard dead.

Dog's name was Judas.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by BigV

Wait a minute. . .

A border collie's spare time comes straight out of MY spare time. Who benefits?

If he has a farm to roam he's a lot less maintenance. Killing varmits is a known approved activity so he'll spend all day patrolling. My dude is not a purebred and while a busy fella he isn't out of his mind like some.

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

A woodchuck is a long way from a gimme. They can be, and usually are, vicious little fuckers.

A childhood friend's dad had a blue heeler mutt that knew how to dispatch groundhogs with a vengeance. His summer record was 62 or 64 groundhogs brought to the front door of the barn. Graveyard dead.

Dog's name was Judas.

That is a hella run on woodchucks, but heelers are built for that shit.
Chucks are tough. I remember my childhood dog getting in a real blood bath with a big one. Benny figured out how to handle them after getting cut up on his first chuck.

[BigV]

Wait a minute. . .

A border collie's spare time comes straight out of MY spare time. Who benefits?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by BigV

Wait a minute. . .

A border collie's spare time comes straight out of MY spare time. Who benefits?

WTF, you spend 24/7 with your dog?

[SPUCK]

Back to the OP: If you plant enough of all that you can ignore all the critter predation as they simply won't get it all. They typically seem to zero in on only certain spots an not rummage the whole place. I guess only a certain number of one type critter tends to fit in an area and so the predation is limited to what that number can ravage.

Excluding:
Starlings
Rabbits
and $%@*!)__##$@! Rats.

Was helping my daughter change her CV-half axles in the dark, in the driveway, Friday night. We were backs against a 10 foot Eugena/Ivy hedge and this rat literally stuck its head out between our shoulders!

[Griff]

Freaking rats! Despite all the chickens here, we haven't had a rat problem, luck and dogs I guess.

[SPUCK]

OMG: That's exactly why we have rats - we had chickens.