Thursday, March 8, 2012

Biggest Public Food Forest in the USA


fastcoexist.comThe Beacon Food Forest is a seven-acre oasis of edible shrubs, trees, and plants that makes it a lot easier for Seattle residents to freely take what nature has to offer.

Set to be the largest public food forest (or you could call it the largest public edible landscape) in the country, the forest will feature chestnuts, walnuts, apple and mulberry trees, berry shrubs, vegetables, and all manner of herbaceous plants. The forest, which is being built with help from a $100,000 local government grant, will also contain edible arboretums, community garden plots, and tree patches (garden plots containing trees).

The whole thing will be built using permaculture design, which aims to imitate wild food landscapes, minimizing hard labor by humans. In permaculture, certain plants are included because they attract insects that can provide natural pest management, for example. Other plants alter the soil to provide nitrogen and mulch. The end result is a landscape that largely--but not entirely--takes care of itself.

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