Forest Garden: Planning

We have a small, triangle-shaped area that was originally part of a treed ridge. It was also full of shrubs, so when it became part of a paddock, it was quickly eaten down by the goats. And it was the bucks favorite girl-watching spot, so it saw a lot of traffic. Dan wanted to do something with the area for years, but we didn’t know what. First, we tried to establish it as silvopasture, but never got much to grow, probably because the boys favored the spot so much. Finally, the goats stressed the fence between the two pastures to the point of needing repair, so Dan took out a dead pine, thinned the oaks, and fenced it off to keep the goats out.

We’ve discussed ideas from time to time, but it wasn’t until I finished the forest lectures in my PDC course, that we decided that the most productive thing to do with it was to turn it into a forest garden. A garden in a forest? More like, the forest is the garden. I was familiar with the concept, but the course gave us practical information and a plan. 

So, here’s what we’re starting with; pretty much a clean canvas.