Experimental veg garden takes shape
17 March 2010
An experimental garden using a woodland's ecosystem as the model for growing fruit and vegetables as permanent crops is being created by the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), at Machynlleth in Wales.
The Forest Garden mimics the natural levels in a woodland – canopy, mid-storey and understorey – to grow food from fruit trees to salad leaves with minimal disturbance to the soil's ecosystem. Unlike a traditional vegetable garden, weeding and hoeing is kept to a minimum, relying instead on ground-hugging edibles to provide permanent ground cover.
The idea was first developed in the 1970s by ecologist Robert Hart, who identified seven possible layers of growth in his system: his pioneering forest garden can still be seen at Wenlock Edge in Shropshire.
“It's a three-dimensional system,” says the designer of the CAT garden, Chloe Ward. “You can take advantage of all the soil life such as mycorrhizal fungi, and the soil is also generally covered all the time, so you don't suffer erosion like you do with normal vegetable patches.”
The garden's canopy is provided by fruit trees, including Bramley apples, the Welsh plum 'Denbigh' and a filbert tree. A mid-storey includes tayberries and blackberries grown over archways and a bed of soft fruit including raspberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants, while the understorey is full of shade-loving edibles such as wild garlic, salad leaves and sorrel.
Mushroom logs and a Phormium tenax – used to make string for plant ties - provide further useful features.
The Forest Garden is open to the public.