Wednesday 12 May 2010

Choosing the plants

We've been writing up a long-list of suitable plants to use in the Food Forest. A short-list selection will be based upon three criteria.

1. the local Cadigal food plants for ecology building.
2. the taste buds of the local community to determine desired foods.
3. the availability of plants from local nurseries.

This short-list palette of plants will help complete the design. In other words, the three plant zones (as seen in the previous post) will be filled in using this diverse palette of edible flora.

1. ground covers, herbs and beneficial flowering plants will skirt the exterior ring of the forest.
2. mid to large sized shrubs and small trees, such as citrus and guava, will predominant.
3. small copse of larger trees such as avocado and macadamia will complete the skywards gradation.

These three zones together will constitute a dynamic polyculture.

What are your favourite edible plants, and do you think they'd grow well in Sydney? We'd love to hear your suggestions.

2 comments:

  1. Not really sure about what would grow in Sydney - but I reckon you should try cape lantern gooseberry - a big hit with kids. And - mulberry. Rainbow chard is lovely to look at, easy to grow, yummy to eat.

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