Updated Food Forest Design

I love it when things come together in a synergistic way.  I am so happy I started this blog right now, as writing seems to help focus my thoughts.  I have to give some credit to Toby Hemenway, since I am currently reading his book Gaia's Garden.  The section on patterns definitely changed my view on things, and I am borrowing somewhat from the natural fractal shape found in leaf veins and rivers and such.  But it was while writing my last bit on Food Forest design that this design popped into my head.  Specifically it was while typing the word "trapezoid" that got me literally thinking outside the box.  I realized that I could achieve my basic goals of having straight fence runs while using much more interesting shapes and increasing edge space.

 

I like this design better for numerous reasons.  I am having a much easier time visualizing earthworks for water harvesting without making the paths too rugged.  We still get 7 forest gardens that can each be encircled by a 164' section of movable electric poultry netting, but the edges are much longer than in my first drawing.  The shape allows one to use the paths to get around the gardens much more efficiently, and the shapes offer a lot more interesting design opportunities.  It also incorporates the existing fire pit in a more fluid way.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading, I welcome constructive comments and suggestions.