A New Movement in Organic & Sustainable Gardening.
I attended a Mini Food Forest workshop in Portugal.
Here’s what I learned. I am excited to try it myself!
Med Garden inspiration!
I am dreaming of having my own home grown supermarket in my Med Garden to feed my Mediterranean & Metabolic Diet Recipes!
Fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts are the essential ingredients - yet how to grow an abundant veggie garden in the extreme heat and drought conditions of the Mediterranean climate?
The Economist Intelligence Unit report: FIXING FOOD: THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION confirms that “climate change, soil and environmental degradation, water shortages and rural depopulation is reinforcing the need for resilient, productive and sustainable farming solutions.”
Organic, sustainable and regenerative gardening has a new movement of champions that are teaching us how to do it ourselves! They are building a global network of Biggest Mini Forests, and engaging the local communities with them, which is their main goal.
At a Garden Fair last fall I met the founder of the Orchard of Flavours project, accredited by Botanic Garden Conservation International. It is a project that is experimenting with growing an expanded set of edible plant species in the Mediterranean, and specifically Portugal, for adaptation to climate change and to prepare our food basket regions in the Mediterranean for the future.
It is enormously inspiring.
I attended the Biggest Mini Food Forest workshop at the Orchard of Flavours last month. It was an eye-opening experience and full of extremely useful guidance and inspiration!
In this blog I share what I learned and how I am preparing to create my own Mini Food Forests in my Med Garden. With TIPS from the Biggest Mini Forest Project on how you can do-it-yourself!
What is a Mini Food Forest?
I learned in the workshop, from the drivers of the Biggest Mini Forest movement, that they have based their Mini Food Forest method on a blend of 2 practices: The Miyawaki Method and Syntropic Agriculture.
The Miyawaki Method : A reforestation technique developed by Japanese botanist Dr. Akira Miyawaki with the objective of recovering degraded land and ecosystems.
This method is scientifically proven. Its uniqueness lies in creating high levels of biodiversity with rigorous soil preparation, and in the density and diversity of the planting - 4 levels of multiple species of plants are planted in close proximity to feed the soil and protect each other.
The Syntropic Agriculture Method : An agroforestry approach pioneered by Ernst Götsch - A Swiss farmer and researcher working mostly in Brazil - with the objective of fast and abundant production that eliminates the need for external fertilisers. This method also applies the density and diversity principles - planting multiple species in close proximity - and adds: natural succession principles with careful management through pruning and selective “weeding” of species. Companion planting is a key feature through the interplanting of trees, shrubs and vegetables according to their lifespan and sunlight needs.
The Biggest Mini Forest Approach : Combines the soil preparation and plant density approach of the Miyawaki method with the diverse and collaborative mix of plants of the Syntropic method, and proactive management. Based on a standard design module of 2m x 2m (4 m²), planned to produce food for several generations without relying on any chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
Orchard of Flavours hosts an increasing number of Mini Food Forests, which are part of the Biggest Mini Forest movement, a network of edible and regenerative food forests.
Biggest Mini Forest Website: https://www.biggestminiforest.com/
In essence, and in my words, the Biggest Mini Forest method aims to achieve rapid food production in an organic, sustainable and regenerative way - working very well in our current Mediterranean climate - and with a vision for global influence.
Essential Ingredients for Success
Soil Preparation: A lot of organic compost, organic horse manure, and mulch!
As I watched with great interest the preparation of the soil in the workshop, I was taken by the colour and richness of the soil cocktail they were creating - a rich black colour. I thought to myself, all plants must go to heaven in that rich nutrient home!
The soil cocktail consists of organic compost, organic horse manure, and river stones mixed with the native soil plus more shredded wood or straw as mulch on top.
The soil preparation is critical for rapid food production!
Density: It turns out that plants love friends too!
This is counter-intuitive to my previous understanding of gardening. I had learned previously that we need to give plants space to thrive, and not to crowd them, as other plants too close can take away nutrients.
The Biggest Mini Forest approach suggests the opposite - that planting different species in close proximity helps the plants to feed and protect each other. I love this as it provides the opportunity to grow so many more plant varieties - for more food!
Diversity: Plants that give and take!
Just as we thrive by learning about the rich traditions of different cultures, so do plants! Learning about which plants feed each other is kind of like online dating. Figuring out the compatibility match for long term happiness!
The Biggest Mini Forest approach suggests selecting plants to include fruit trees with a mix of longer and shorter lifespans, and to include edible shrubs for density and to add nutrients to the soil. With a protective perimeter of annual vegetables around the longer lifespan trees - that you can change up with the seasons!
Water: Keep the soil moist with sprinklers at first; until the system retains its own water.
This is also counter-intuitive to what I have learned previously about caring for drought tolerant, desert gardens - The care instructions of many Mediterranean plants like citrus, lavender, rosemary, etc. include letting the plants dry out between watering.
However, a watering approach that more closely mimics natural rainfall makes a lot of sense. As I learned from my plant doctor earlier this year, my drip irrigation was not providing water to the full root system of my plants, only a part - resulting in stunted trees and plants. The sprinkler system will blanket the entire area with water for more ample nourishing of the entire root system of the plants.
The Biggest Mini Forest experts further explain the importance of the approach to watering: to create a system that retains significantly more water compared to conventional methods, requiring far less irrigation in the long term and eventually eliminating the need for irrigation altogether. At the beginning with small trees, seeds and cuttings, maintaining constant moisture is quite important (via low range sprinklers that simulate rainfall). This allows fast growth of the system, as all of the species work together together on the soil. After just 2 to 3 years, the system retains significantly more water. I love this water-wise approach for Mediterranean climate gardens.
The proof is in the pudding as they say. What I saw at the Orchard of Flavours is proof that you can create a fast growing food forest in the Mediterranean. At the Orchard of Flavours their botanical garden of edible plants is only 2-4years old and it looks like a tropical forest already! The Mini Food Forests are less than a year old and already rich with lots of ready to eat healthy food!
How to Create a Mini Food Forest in your Med Garden
I would fully recommend taking the Biggest Mini Food Forest workshop at the Orchard of Flavours in Tavira, Portugal! Or another location closer to you.
Find a calendar of workshops on their website: https://www.biggestminiforest.com/
As a teaser, here are my Key Take-Aways from the Biggest Mini Food Forest workshop that I attended.
Summary of My Key Take-Aways :
Soil preparation: This seems to be the “secret sauce" of this method. Create a nutrient rich soil environment for rapid growth and production of your Mini Food Forest. Particularly key in our Mediterranean climate environment of poor and degraded natural soil environments.
Diversity: Select a diverse set of plants for planting so that natural symbiosis occurs and they take care of each other. I love this as there are always new plants I want to try.
Density: Plant plants close together. Plants not only feed off the soil, they also add nutrients to it. Planting close together regenerates the soil. In addition the close proximity creates protection from the elements. In my corner of the Med we get a lot of wind, I can see how a dense forest would protect my plant babies!
Chop & Drop: Prune plants continuously to ensure optimal sun exposure and add cropped biomass back to the soil. I love this circular cycle of life approach!
Keep the Soil Moist (but never soaked) with rainfall mimicking sprinklers in the mini food forest area of the garden.
My Mini Food Forest Plans for 2024
I signed up for the Mini Food Forest workshop at the Orchard of Flavours looking for guidance on veggie gardening in the Med, and found a community of fellow garden and sustainable living enthusiasts!
I am so excited to get started! I have planned 4 Mini Food Forest projects for my Med Garden this year. I have many beautiful fruit trees in my Med Garden already - and some that I have planted myself in the last 2 years, which aren’t doing as well as I would like. Referencing my Mastering your Mediterranean Garden & Mistakes to avoid blog.
I have planned the 4 Mini Food Forest designs around the fruit trees that I have planted - that need more tender loving care (the soil cocktail), and more diverse food forest friends! For the plants, I will add a more diverse selection of fruit trees and legume shrubs for density, with a wall of all of the veggies that I love for my Med Diet Recipes around the perimeter - as per the Biggest Mini Forest Approach.
A serendipitous encounter: I conducted a tour of the garden and agricultural supply centres near me following the workshop to advance my Mini Food Forest preparations - and ran into a couple that had also taken a workshop at the Orchard of Flavours.
The concept seems to be catching on - a welcome movement for people and planet! Kudos to the Orchard of Flavours and Biggest Mini Forest teams!
They are building a global network of these Mini Food Forests, and engaging the local communities with them, which is their main goal.
I will report back on my Mini Food Forest experiments and learnings in future blogs!
Plan your Mini Food Forest designs in the Mediterranean Garden Notebook -
Join the Biggest Mini Forest movement! https://www.biggestminiforest.com/
Visit the Orchard of Flavours edible botanical garden in Tavira, Portugal! https://www.orchardofflavours.com
I’m inspired!
Jade
Lewon
Med
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