Leaf, Root & Fruit Pty Ltd.

Edible forest gardening is the ultimate in producing, food whilst keeping in harmony with nature. This workshop will give you an understanding of how to design and implement gardens, to mimic natural forest ecosystems. It is suited to anyone looking to grow a low maintenance, aesthetic landscape of any size or scale.

Edible forest gardeners use the forest as an inspirational design tool. You can carefully design your outdoor space with similar structures and functions to a forest. Using productive and useful plant species allow you to focus on creating a resilient ecosystem, to meet human needs in a small space.

Anyone with a small patch of land can grow a forest garden. They’ve been created in small suburban backyards and large parks, on suburban blocks, and in small plots on rural farms.

This workshop will give you an introduction to:

• The theory behind Edible Forest Gardens
• Plant guilds (polycultures) and the different functions that plants can play
• Wildlife, insects, domestic animals and how they integrate with an Edible Forest Garden
• Mycelium and Soil Succession and the role it plays in Edible Forest Garden
• Different types of plants we use in the foodscapes we implement for clients
• Design considerations for Edible Forest Gardens
• Preparing the soil and planting an Edible Forest Garden

At the end of the workshop you will understand the basics of Edible Forest Gardening, some design considerations and how to prepare and plant one in your own backyard.

A set of notes will be provided to all participants

The workshop will involve a combination of theory in a class room setting and practical activities, including:

• A tour of our plant propagation nursery to explore different plants, their functions and how we propagate them
• Design activity to create your own guild or polyculture
• Planting an example polyculture (group activity)

What to Bring:

• Enthusiasm for learning
• Notepad and Pen
• Your lunch
• Water bottle
• Closed toed, practical shoes

This is an all-weather event. We have a covered, outside area to run the practical demonstrations in the case of inclement weather.

There will be opportunities to purchase many of the plants from our propagation nursery. Please note that we only accept cash at our plant sales.