What is a Forest Garden

In the United States, more than half of Americans suffer from chronic diseases. According to the National Institute of Health, improving nutrition in Americans' diets can significantly enhance overall health and reduce illness. As the country faces rising food costs, maintaining a balanced, nutritious diet becomes increasingly challenging for families. According to the USDA, over 17 million households experience food insecurity, affecting nearly 13% of the U.S. population.

Food cost is not the only issue; the quality and safety of our food are also major concerns. Understanding what is in our food can be disconcerting. Pesticides used on our food have been shown to increase heavy metals in our bodies and may be linked to a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and various types of cancer. Contamination during packaging led to 135.2 million units being recalled in 2023, an industry high and a 19% increase from the previous year.

Bioengineered foods are the latest food quality and safety issue, with little research on their effects on the human body. While bioengineered foods have been produced since the 1990s, only recently have food manufacturers been required to disclose bioengineered ingredients in our food.

With these growing concerns about food quality and safety, we at Elm Meadow Farms want to make healthy, locally grown, organic food accessible to all Americans. We also aim to teach how to use a small area to feed a family year after year. We believe in the power of educating people on the joy of gardening and sustainable living by returning to our roots and teaching how to preserve what the garden provides.

A permaculture forest garden, also known as a food forest, is nature's way of creating food. Forest gardens consist of seven layers that form their own micro-ecosystem. 

These layers include:

• Upper Canopy (Sweet Chestnut)
• Lower Canopy or Sub-Canopy (Crab Apple)
• Vines and Climbers (Grape)
• Shrubs and Understory Bushes (Blackcurrant)
• Herbaceous Perennials and Annuals (Mint)
• Ground Cover (Strawberries)
• Roots and Rhizosphere (Ground Nut)

Primarily composed of perennial plants, a forest garden uses only plants that serve a purpose to the gardener. By selectively choosing the right plants and their placement, a forest garden becomes a controlled ecosystem, offering natural pest control, higher yields, and reduced maintenance as the garden matures.

A forest garden not only benefits the gardener but also transforms landscaping from relatively useless grass to a habitat for animals, birds, bees, beneficial insects, and bats, thus enhancing our environment's health.Aesthetically, forest gardens are beautiful and, when done properly, can serve as attractive landscaping while producing vegetables and fruits to feed a family. Forest gardening harmonizes function and beauty, growing food for all to enjoy.

1. Implementation: Establishing a forest garden, identifying areas for improvement, and creating a replicable system for others to follow.
2. Education: Developing a manual and offering courses for those interested in sustainable growing methods within their available space.
3. Realization: Consulting others to utilize our replicable system to create their own gardens.

We see the immense potential of forest gardens in the United States. We believe that regardless of where someone lives, they can cultivate a garden to provide for themselves and their family. Our goal is to adapt this concept to be versatile, working in rural or suburban landscapes, as well as urban settings on rooftops, patios, or indoors.

We believe that knowledge is power. By educating others, we can transform the gardening mindset, making it accessible and achievable through the right system. We aim for these forest gardens to sustain themselves year after year, producing healthy, organically grown food.