Forest farming is the incorporation of non-timber forest products, including edible, therapeutic, and handicraft or decorative crops, under the canopy of an existing forest. In other words, it is the practice of cultivating the understory of the forest in order to produce valuable products other than timber.
Forest farming has the potential to provide economic opportunities while also offering environmental benefits, such as preserving woodlands and wildlife habitat, plus supporting and enhancing biodiversity through the preservation and reintroduction of woodland forage-ables. Win-win!
Forest farming starts with investigating the existing area to identify what plant-gems are already present. Often, there are a multitude of beneficial plants that only need to be nurtured, and perhaps lovingly propagated to increase their presence. Some plants will already offer benefits – either directly, or as supporting plants for those you wish to nurture. There could be saplings of desired canopy trees, or plants that already yield valuable food or therapeutics, and so on.
Forest farming can take the shape of:
- wild-stewarding, or simply supporting the growth of wild populations of plants, sustainably harvesting only some.
- wild-simulated production, or cultivating low- to medium-density plantings in the natural conditions of the forest that are similar to wild populations
- woods-cultivated production, where site conditions are altered slightly to support larger-volume production
In all cases and whenever possible, the interior or core of the forest is respected and untended, and is left entirely to Nature.
There are many more details to share on forest farming. If you have a quick question on any of these options, please feel free to contact me at kindness [at] BackardNourishment.com. Note: the “[at]” should be replaced with “@”, as is customary in email addresses.
If you have more in-depth questions or are seeking help with consultation or design, I am grateful for heart-centered honorariums in compensation.
Here are a few links or sites you might also find helpful:
Find Your State Forester http://www.stateforesters.org/about_nasf
Cornell Agroforestry Working Group
Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmers Coalition www.appalachianforestfarmers.org