Weeds, which are often referred to as the right plants in the wrong places, can be a nuisance for some food foresters and gardeners.  In this episode, we'll share ways to control weeds in a food forest or agroforestry system.  Before we jump in, we'll talk a bit about why they are there in the first place. Understanding the concept behind their presence in the landscape will help us navigate them in our own garden spaces.  

This episode covers weeding strategies like hand-pulling tips, smother crops, edible weeds, adding beneficial understory plants, utilizing chickens and livestock, burning, and more.  Weeds and other understory can be utilized in a way that provides for pollinators, cover the soil, and build organic matter.  However, as land stewards, it's our job to orchestrate their presence and work with the natural processes. 

So, instead of working against what nature is doing - let's learn to help nature accomplish its goal of covering the soil and building organic matter.  

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

Should you hire a permaculture designer or simply do it yourself?  Both are viable options, but it's important to understand the journey a bit before getting started.

This podcast episode explores the benefits and drawbacks of Homesteading DIY vs Hiring.   If you want to do it yourself, we have some really practical strategies on how to streamline the process for your homestead.  Not to mention...a few pro-tips!

If you are interested in hiring a designer (or installer), we also offer some practical tips, tricks, questions, and considerations to weigh before hiring someone.  In this episode, we'll cover practical questions to ask your designer, how to spot designers that are not going to be a good fit, common pricing concerns, and how to explore mentorship after your food forest is planted.   

Whether you are just getting started with a homestead design or you already have a food forest and need to be mentored on how to maximize production - this permaculture podcast episode will give you some gold-nugget tips.  And a few interesting bunny trails (i.e. a rant on growing apples in Florida).

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

One of the most effective initial ways to cover, build, and protect your soil is to blanket new garden areas with a deep layer of wood chip mulch.  As they decompose, the mulch builds organic matter and increases the soil biology, resulting in healthier plants and more abundant fruit.

Although there are many benefits for a land steward when we choose to continue the wood chipping process, it's not a blanket scenario that needs to happen indefinitely.

So, if you are wondering how long you need to keep mulching the food forest or garden... the answers here might surprise you.   This episode covers practical ways you can wean off wood chips and find other creative ways to keep your soil covered and microbiology protected.

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

How do you help your garden or food forest after a natural disaster? Regardless of where you live, increasing weather extremes can have a massive impact on the food forest and home garden.  If you are in the cooler climates, the harder (and dry) winter months can wreak havoc on your fruit trees.  In the coastal regions, hurricanes can leave us in panic mode before or after the storm hits.  And nation-wide, hail, drought, or tornado threats can cause unnecessary stress. 

This podcast gives practical and strategic ways to help your food forest and garden recover when you experience any of these external stressors.  We'll talk about how to strengthen the root systems naturally, the best ways to cover the soil, how and when to prune a fruit tree.  We will specifically talk about how to help plants recover from a deep freeze, and give several more practical tips to boost your food forest and improve the recovery process.

Get ready for a great episode of our permaculture, planty podcast.

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

A successful food forest starts with rich and living soil.  If you want to experience high yields of fruit and vegetables from your food forest, the soil life is the key to abundance.  As with all things, there are many ways to approach soil building, amending, and fertilization within a regenerative system.  Some methods require human interaction, while others invite animals within the system.  Some methods are free, while others will cost money for the whole ingredients.  

This episode covers the gold standards of fertilizing fruit trees and food forests, how to engage in best practices for chop-and-drop, composting methods, and dives into whole ingredient soil amending.  So, if you are wondering how to organically fertilize a food forest - this episode is worth saving and bookmarking for future reference.

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

Crack the code on how to deal with pests in the garden and food forest.  In this podcast, you will learn about how to deal with various insects, rodents, and other pests around the homestead.  Learn how to stop songbirds from eating fruit, halt insect and rat problems, and how to prevent deer from eating your fruit trees.  

As a permaculturist, there are unique ways to deal with pest problems around the farm.  This podcast will help you navigate the journey of living with the pests and helping them find balance within your ecosystem.  

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

If your food forest is struggling to meet the expectations for annual food production, it is often beneficial to step back and analyze the system.  No one wants a "food-less forest" when the initial goal was abundance.  In this permaculture podcast episode, we will have a lengthy chat about what can cause a slowing of production and what can be one to bring back the abundance.  

Whether your new system (< 3 years old) has never started producing OR your mature food forest (5+ years) has stopped or slowed in its production - there is a solution.  So, before we solve the problem, let's figure out what is causing the bottle neck.  

It's time to go from a food-less forest to productive abundance.

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

 Native species of plants are a multi-layered gift to the ecosystem.  Not only are they hardy and resilient, but they also support soil life, insects, and songbirds.  In this episode, your hosts (David and Kris) will interview Chris & Christie Leibner from Wild Garden Co.  Chris and Christie specialize in Florida native plants and garden design, and have served many families in Central Florida by integrating natives into the food forest and home landscape.  

This episode will focus on each of our favorite “native forward” plants that we suggest people integrate into their food systems.  So, if you are looking for our favorite recommendations – this episode will give you plenty.   This episode will cover some powerhouse natives spanning multiple layers of the food forest, including top story trees, bushes, flowering plants, vines, and more!  Get ready to take notes, because you might learn about a new plant or two to add to your shopping list.  

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

 Wouldn’t it be nice if we each had $500K to get started on our dream property and food forest?   Better yet, wouldn’t it be nice if we had $1M and could retire and just become full time farmers on that land?  Well, unfortunately many of us need to start on either a limited budget or limited time constraints, however – we can still take steps forward.  

In this episode, David and Kris will share not only how they got started planting their food forests, but also give tips on how to make progress right where you are.  Whether you are starting with .22 acres in suburbia or 22 acres in the country, it’s time to plant those trees.   You will learn not only some practical tips for immediate success and gratification, but also some of the pitfalls that many people face.  

Learn how to start a food forest on a budget and be sure to have a notebook ready, this episode is packed with some real gold nuggets for both new and experienced gardeners.   It’s time for abundance. 

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/

One of the initial hurdles to creating an abundant permaculture property is choosing the planting style.  Do you want the space to be neat and formal with repeating colors and patterns?    Or, would you rather your space be like a woodland forest covering a larger area?   In this episode, David and Kris will talk about some of the options for planting styles, the benefits and drawbacks of each, and how these styles can impact overall yield.  

 Among the many planting styles, some of the ones being covered include agroforestry, silvopasture, food forests, wild spaces, and formal designs.  When listening to this episode, be sure to take mental notes on which areas of your property may be the most suitable for each expression.  Whether you are going to hire someone to help jumpstart your property or you are planning on tackling it on your own, the tips given in this episode will help you navigate through the process of getting started.  Let's get planting!

Link to the food forest designer website! 
https://permaculturefx.com/how-to-plant-a-food-forest-part-4-installing/