[PDF]Permaculture: West Coast Food Forestry-A permaculture guide

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Rain Tenaqiya



Copyright Notice



Copyright 2005 Rain Tenaqiya.
All images copyright 2005 Rain Tenaqiya, unless otherwise noted.

Excerpts from this book may be used free of charge for nonprofitable purposes,
as long as the title, author's name, and author's contact information is included.
For business purposes, a reasonable donation would be appropriate, in addition to the above citation.
The entire book may be duplicated and distributed for $10.00 a copy.
Please see How to Contact the Author at the end of the book.



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Contents



Acknowledgements 4

Introduction 5

Section 1: West Coast Food Forestry 8

Special Characteristics of the West Coast 8

Food Forests of the West Coast 1 8

Section 2: West Coast Food Forest Plants 32

Food Forest Plant Profiles 32

Fruit and Nut Harvest Seasons 118

Plant Characteristics 121

Appendix: An Introduction to Permaculture 130

Permaculture Ethics and Principles 130

Zone and Sector Analysis 133

West Coast Permaculture Resources 135

Plant Information and Materials Sources 137

Photo Credits 139

Plant Index to Food Forest Plant Profdes 140

How to Contact the Author 143



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Acknowledgements



I would like to thank Gary Bornzin and the Outback Farm at Fairhaven College, Western Washington University, Bellingham,
Washington, for first introducing me to Permaculture, in 1992. It was there that I saw the phrase "Plant Perennials" painted on the
side of a small shack which has since been removed. I have taken the words to heart. I would also like to thank Jono Neiger and the
Forest Garden at Lost Valley Educational Center, Dexter, Oregon for giving me my first opportunity to practice and teach food
forestry. I am also grateful to Brian Barth of Dreaming of Eden, Santa Cruz, California, for asking me to join his business and try my
hand at making a living at Permaculture design. I would also like to express my gratitude to the forest gardening movement in the UK
and acknowledge the debt I owe to Robert Hart, Patrick Whitefield, and Ken Fern.

Thanks to the following people and organizations for contributing directly to this book:

Heiko Koester of Urban Ecogardens, Eugene, Oregon, has been a friend, employer, and mentor, sharing his plant lists, ideas, and
gardens with me freely. He also went over much of the text with me over the phone. Jude Hobbs (Eugene, Oregon), Penny
Livingston-Stark (Pt. Reyes, California), Larry Santoyo (Los Osos, California), Rick Valley (Corvallis, Oregon), Vince Pastori
(Corralitos, California), Bruce Beernink (Santa Cruz, California), Shawn Jadrnicek (Bonny Doon, California), Hampton Bynum
(Healdsburg, California), Mark Albert (Ukiah, California), Richard Jeske (Willits, California), and Terry (Santa Cruz, California)
shared their ideas and/or gardens. Forestfarm (Williams, Oregon) and Raintree Nursery (Morton, Washington) generously contributed
plant images. Toby Hemenway (Oakland, Oregon) offered his support and experience with writing. Alfonso Tovar Fonseca and Jane
Ng helped with technical issues. Laurel Quirk loaned me her digital camera (and eventually gave me one of my own) to take the
photos for this book (thank you so much!).

I offer my profound gratitude to Gaia and all the plant lovers around the world that helped create the dazzling diversity of food plants
that we now have to work with.

Finally, I'd like to express my love and appreciation for my partner, Zephyr Quirk, for encouraging me to write this book, for help
with editing, and for getting excited every time I added new plant images.



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Introduction



Since Robert Hart 1 coined the term 'forest garden,' a major movement has begun to create people-oriented forests to satisfy
our vital needs in a sustainable way. Variously called "forest gardens," "homegardens," "food forests," or "analog forests" (with
numerous local names), these anthropogenic ecosystems are revolutionizing industrial culture's relationship with Earth. Utilized for
millennia by horticultural peoples in the tropics, they are now being designed by permaculturists, international conservation and aid
groups, 2 anthropologists, 3 agroecologists, 4 and others as an alternative to exploitative conventional agricultural and forestry practices.

The basic principle in designing these forests is to create an ecosystem of plants which are appropriate to their context, mimic
the structure and function of the local flora, and serve humun* needs. They may be based primarily on timber species or, more
commonly, on food and medicinal plants. Stephen Gleissman defines a forest garden as:

an ecosystem of humans, plants, animals, soils, and water, with trees playing key ecological roles. It usually
occupies a well-defined area, between 0.5 and 2.0 hectares in size, in close proximity to a dwelling. Rich in
plant species, [forest] gardens are usually dominated by woody perennials; a mixture of annuals and perennials
of different heights forms layers of vegetation resembling a natural forest structure. The high diversity of
species permits year-round harvesting of food products and a wide range of other useful products, such as
firewood, medicinal plants, spices, and ornamentals. 5

Forest gardening is a central practice of Permaculture, an ecological design strategy for sustainable living. Permaculture's
design principles and methods (see Appendix) are invaluable in the creation of forest gardens which are productive and harmonious
within the greater landscape (including the social "landscape"). In a typical Permaculture forest garden, you are likely to find plants
for all uses. However, in very limited space, a 'food forest' may be the best choice.

A food forest is a garden with at least three layers of food plants. My specialty is food forests, and the main focus of this
book is on plants that can be included in food forests on the West Coast of North America, primarily the areas west of the Cascades
and Sierras. I have spent my life living and gardening from Bellingham, Washington to Big Sur, California, and grew up outside of
Portland, Oregon. The plants listed in this book are suited for this region (usually for USDA Zones 8 and 9, unless otherwise noted),
though many of them can be grown throughout North America and other temperate regions.



See Robert Hart's Forest Gardening: Cultivating an Edible Landscape (Chelsea Green, 1996).

2 See the various projects of Counterpart International, Inc. at www.forestgarden.org.

3 See the work of Anabel Ford at http://marc.ucsb.edu/elpilar.

4 Gleismann, S. R. Agroecology: Ecological Processes in Sustainable Agriculture. Lewis Publishers, 2000.

5 Ibid.

* I use this spelling to avoid the androcentric connotations of "human," and to draw attention to our origins in humus.



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Groundcover Layer



Tall Tree Layer



Root Layer



Vine Layer
Shrub Layer
Herb Layer



Short Tree Layer




The seven layers of a food forest.



Two of the main justifications for growing food forests are that perennial plants require less labor and cause less destruction
to the land. These two facts are really one fact: perennials require less energy to grow. For this reason, many people are modifying
their diet to include more perennials. Emphasis is being placed on perennial vegetables to replace annual vegetables and on perennial
legumes, grains, and nut trees to replace legume and grain field crops. Chestnuts and other nut trees are especially relevant since our
current diet is so heavily based on wheat. Chestnuts can be dried and ground into flour with characteristics similar to wheat. Other
nuts can replace a portion of the wheat flour in recipes, and offer superior nutrition. While annual crops like potatoes, soybeans, and
quinoa may still be part of a future ecotopia, perennials will regain their importance to our sustenance.



This book is intended for experienced gardeners west of the Cascades and Sierras (see map below), who have already studied
Patrick Whitefield's How to Make a Forest Garden, an excellent guide to the design and installation of food forests. Another
prerequisite is Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, which places food forests in their wider
Permaculture context. In an attempt to avoid covering topics that have been written about elsewhere, I have only briefly defined
unusual terms and have provided references to other books that explore these topics in detail.

In Section 1, 1 first discuss some of the particulars of the West Coast which are relevant to growing food and working with
the land. Creating a sustainable lifestyle (or permaculture) is something that has to be done region by region, and here I try to sum up
what I have learned about how to live within the wild flows particular to this region. Next, I go on a tour of some of the existing food
forests on the West Coast. Much knowledge and inspiration can be gained from observing what other people are doing. Why reinvent
the wheel?



How to Use this Book



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Section 2 is the heart of the book and consists of profiles of the plants I feel are appropriate for West Coast food forests.
Spreading the word about the amazing diversity of food plants that can be grown in this region was the main impetus for writing this
book, and I hope it inspires more people to turn their yards into food forests. To this end, I have created charts, in addition to the plant
profiles, to help in food forest design. The Fruit and Nut Harvest Seasons charts allow one to design food forests that spread the
yield out over the whole year, so that there is always something to eat from the garden. The Plant Characteristics lists catalog plants
according to various traits, allowing one to design for specific sites or for specific functions.

In the Appendix, I have tried to sum up the essence of Permaculture, a system of ecological design which can be used for the
design of food forests, as well as for the larger ecosystem of which it is a part. By using these principles and design strategies, one can
create systems that are largely self-maintaining and ecologically sustainable.



Region Covered by this Book




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Section 1: West Coast Food Forestry
Special Characteristics of the West Coast



The West Coast has traits which make it different from the rest of North America, and which are important to consider in the
design of food forests. This is a reflection on some of those traits and their influences on food forestry. It is important to remember,
however, that the West Coast varies from dense, coniferous rainforests to hot, arid grasslands (see the pictures below), so it is crucial
to work with the conditions of each specific site.




On the humid side, Tryon Creek State Park, near Portland, Oregon On the arid side, Potter Valley, near Ukiah, California

Climate



The West Coast has a Mediterranean or semi-Mediterranean maritime climate, which is found in only a few regions on Earth.
Heavy Winter rain is followed by dry Summers which typically receive only 1 to 8 inches of rain at low elevations from May through
September (except along the ocean north of Coos Bay, Oregon, where Summer rain is higher). In most cases, irrigation is essential to
plant establishment, and required indefinitely for many plants the further south (and east in California) you go. Like the storages of
salmon, acorns, and berries that sustained unusually high numbers of Native American peoples in the region, water storages are
essential to survival here. These can be above-ground, as with ponds and water tanks, or in the soil, as with swales 6 (level berms),
keyline plowing, 7 wood buried in swales, pits, or trenches, and soil organic matter. The importance of humus in the soil to hold water
(in addition to many other functions) cannot be overstated and many permaculturists are ever-hungry for sources of organic matter.
Water conservation is equally important and can be accomplished through drip irrigation, heavy mulches, windbreaks, and many
vegetation layers which create shade and block evaporation (as in a food forest). Maintaining a diversity of irrigation water sources,
such as rainwater catchments, springs, ponds, and tanks, is also wise, in case one of these sources fails. Plants can also be a water
source. One of the ways to bring water up to the surface is through the use of deep-rooted species such as trees and other perennials
and even some annuals. In addition to reducing evaporation by blocking the wind and sun, the water that these plants transpire creates
a moist microclimate that reduces water stress for the plant community as a whole. Deep-rooted trees may even share water with their
neighbors through interpenetrating root systems. In areas with fog, plants can condense water on their leaves and add significantly to



6 See Hemenway, Gaia 's Garden, p. 83.

7 See P. A. Yeoman's Water for Every Farm (Second Back Row Press, 1981).



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the soil moisture during the Summer. The taller a plant is, and the more leaf surface area it has, the more water it can collect.
Redwoods can obtain a third or more of their yearly precipitation this way.

Because of the dry Summers, the most widely distributed native trees here tend to be conifers and other waxy-leaved
evergreens which can conserve moisture during the Summer and also take advantage of our mild Winters to continue storing sugars.
Native deciduous trees (other than oaks) are less common on the West Coast (outside of riparian areas) as most need a steady supply
of water while they are growing leaves. Unfortunately, other than pine nuts and acorns (which are a pain to leach of tannins), native
trees here don't have a lot of choice food to offer. While we do have an abundance of native berry-producing shrubs (all of which will
fruit in the shade) food forests on the West Coast must be composed primarily of domesticated exotic plants if they are to sustain
modern US appetites, especially if we want to minimize our consumption of animal-derived foods. Fortunately, an abundance of food
plants will thrive here in our mild climate and varied geography.

The ease of establishing these plants on a site is dependent on the aspect (it can be difficult for plants to get established on
bare, south and west-facing slopes), soil type, proximity to water sources, and vegetation structure. A plant that is growing among
other plants and that has a good layer of mulch around it will do better than an isolated plant in bare soil. However, some sites are so
hot, dry, and/or rocky that pioneer and nurse species need to be established first in order to create an environment suitable for less
hardy species (see Gaia's Garden, pp. 1 17- 120, for a discussion and list of nurse plants). Using larger plants that have been grown in
a pot (to minimize root disturbance) can also help. Many established food plants can survive on the West Coast without irrigation,
though most plants will grow faster with additional water up to a point. The choice of whether or not to irrigate permanently and how
much to irrigate depends on the environment, proximity to the house or community center (see Sectors in Appendix), and how much
plant diversity or food production you want. At least one to three years of irrigation are required to establish most species, depending
on the location (plants take longer to establish in drier and hotter areas). Here are two examples of possible irrigation schemes. In
Eugene, Heiko Koester recommends weekly irrigation for one or two years, followed by deep waterings every three weeks thereafter.
In California, away from the immediate coast, I would recommend irrigating at least twice a week for three years, followed by weekly
waterings thereafter for all but the drought-tolerant species, some of which need no additional water. For a good primer on irrigation,
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