Zone 2 is the “Food Forest” or Orchard. Basically, it is a forest (as large or as small as you like) of permanent food and non-food trees and animals, that support each other. The goal is to have Zone 2 take care of itself through natural processes that require little input from you.
For maximum results it should have a variety of canopies:
ground covers- small shrubs
- larger shrubs
- trees
- creepers/vines
- large trees
Each canopy plays a role, be it as a home for insects, pest management, putting nitrogen into the soil to benefit other plants, acting as windbreaks, reducing salination of the soil, creating shade and feed for the animals.
Your Food Forest might also include free ranging poultry (ducks, geese, chickens), pigs, and bees all of which play important roles too. They may be compost creators, soil tillers, pollinators, and control pest numbers.
When planning your Fruit Forest aim to create a happy eco-cycle, or ‘waru’. This is also known as a Guild, where all living organisms operate independently and interdependently… all benefiting from each other and all helping each other. For example, the fallen fruit from the tree is cleaned up by the poultry, who dig around tilling the soil, keeping weeds under control, and pooping. The poop is broken down by insects and works as fertiliser to assist the tree to produce more fruit. Then the trees drop their leaves creating a thick mulch which retains moisture in the soil. It also creates homes for insects and the lizards and frogs that feed on them, keeping pests to a manageable population.
Remember to plant a variety of food plants and avoid the monoculture bias of big commercial plantings, which need to use chemical fertilisers and pest control.
Depending upon your land size, Zone 2 may also include dams and swales.
When looking for mulches that are low maintenance, consider living mulches (live plants). They don’t require ‘topping up’ and contribute to the happy eco-cycle as a food supply for your poultry and bees, and add nitrogen to the soil. Some good living mulches to choose from are carrots, comfrey, daisies, dill, fennel, legumes, nasturtium, sage, and thyme. Simply plant them and let them do what they do best.
When choosing what plants to place in your Food Forest, go through your Lifestyle Pattern List again and work out what you eat and then consider the environment that particular fruiting plant favours. Only then can you make the right choices. Take into account the plant’s preferred climate, water needs, height and spread. Remember too, choosing local species is a sure-fire way to get a strong orchard up and running.