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FOOD FORESTS All strains of wheat come from Mesopotania. Two random genetic crossing happened.

Firstly, the seeds got larger, allowing it to become a main food stuff. Secondly, the seed stuck better to the plant. What would the world look like if wheat wasn't the main staple. Chestnut for example. They wouldn't need farming, they would just need harvesting. They would provide all manner of materials for us. Big trees are slow to grow because they are putting all their energy into competition, fighting for sun, space. There are seven distinct levels in the forest. The Canopy Emergers, such as palms (popping through the canopy to make use of the intense sun) Midsize trees, such as nut trees. Dwarf trees, such as fruit trees. Understorey such as coffee. Herbacious shrubland, Ground cover Root zone Microbial, fungal layer. Also creepers and climbers using the structure of the others. They shoot up fast as they don't need to waste energy on developing a strong structure as they hold on to trees etc. Parasitic plants. All interactions happen on the edges. More abudance, versitility. Over time, there may be too many shadows and certain species won't grow. New piece of land. Observe, analyse and plan Good to map it all out to work out sizes of trees etc Until trees get to full size (30 yrs maybe) we can plant other things underneath that will die after a few years. Goals articulation House Paths and access

Take soil samples all over Add 30% to the diameter of the trees to give an understorey. Unless you want more shade to stop weeds etc from thriving. You can buy bareroot trees (roots wrapped in wet stuff) or container trees with soil on roots. When you plant a tree, you do not want to put lots of compost in hole as it will anaerobic (maybe just a bit in the bottom). You also don't want to put it right next to trunk. You don't want a tree with root balls. Cut them off. When you prune a tree you are tricking it into thinking it is dying, so it will produce more fruit. You would do this in winter/late spring. You can cut an apple tree trunk and graft another one onto it! You can lay cardboard and put compost on top. Then put 3-4 inches of straw on top. Then you can plant into this. This will have killed most of the weeds etc underneath. In a tropical climate, you plant when the rains come and cut the weeds at the start of the hot season. In a temperate climate, this is best done as follows... Spring Planting seedlings. Plant ground covers Grafting (mid/late). Divide perennials and take stem cuttings. You can chop certain things up, like rhubarb and provided each piece has a shoot, you can plant them all. Collect multch (nutricious). Stop coppicing. Take flowers off woodies (speeds up growth/succession). Good time to eat greens/shoots/root crops/flowers/mushrooms. Summer Plant containers. Mulch with dynamic accumulators (plants that collect more nutrients than most). Irrigate. Composting weeds or making nutrient teas. To limit size of a tree, prune now. Look for gaps in flowering. Good time to eat berries, fruits, nuts, perennial veg, greens. Between Summer and Autumn, stop nutritious mulch Autumn

Seed saving. Heavily water before it gets too cold. Remove or add mulch to keep plant warm (depends on climate/plant) Guard against mammals maybe with fences (natural fences eg spiky bushes) Store food, ready for winter. Good time to eat fruits, nuts, mushrooms, root crops, veg. Winter Build up mulch Might still be able to eat root crops. Start pruning at the end of winter, start of spring WHEN TO HARVEST THINGS Root crops when plant has gone dormant (leaves have withered). Some are good to pick after a frost. Shoots spring. Early in the morning, once dew has dried off, but before sun gets too hot. Greens late in afternoon (store longer). Flowers soon after opening. Dry but not hot. Fruit when it is easily detached from plant but not yet dropped (once this far, they are getting ready to seed). Some needs to be picked early and allowed to ripen (pear, papaya). Pick all fruit late in the afternoon as they will be higher in Vitamin C. Nuts usually ripe before outer looks ripe. Promptly crack and dry them to store them. Seeds need drying. ripe 40% moisture content / store 20% moisture content. Culinary oils and medicine in early morning. Mushrooms pick promptly when they show mature form. Fruit trees want to be pruned before they start budding. Nut trees want to be pruned just after they start budding.

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