What are the main advantages of food forests?

Advantages of a food forest to our planet:

• Food forests develop into largely self-supporting systems, which require far less and optimally no outside inputs. 

• No nasty chemical fertilisers or pesticides need be used, protecting entire eco systems.

• The permanent and evolving root structure retains water well.

• Ground cover reduces weed competition.

• The inclusion of greater diversity of species allows for far more variety of produce.

• Complex root systems stop loss of topsoil from rain and flood events.

• Undisturbed soil in established systems protects plant health through symbiotic relationships between plants and mycorrhizal fungi *

• Help for pollinators, beneficial insects and biodiversity

• Trees and plants lock carbon dioxide into soil.

  

Advantages of a food forest to people:

• Food forests are low-cost systems, once established, providing free food for many years to come.

• Super low maintenance once established (which typically takes around three years.)

• Unlike annuals, the plants in a food forest rarely need replanting. Some perennials might be shorter lived. However, taking cuttings, dividing crowns and harvesting seeds could ensure that plants don’t need repurchasing.

• Food is nutritious and non-toxic.

• The diversity of plants provides a wide range of taste and textural experiences, providing access to lots of new and exciting foods.

• We can experience food plants from the past which have been replaced by homogonous, less varied fruit and vegetables.

• There can be access to more exotic foods, albeit as a result of a warming planet.

*fine filament threads of fungus living in soil which is an essential part of Earth’s ecosystems