Commensalist in the Press

Children spend at least 12 years of their lives in school, but their breaks are often spent on a bare, concrete playground.

Based on your analysis of wet and dry zones and the terrain's relief, you'll determine whether any earthworks are needed to improve water management. First, determine where (swimming) ponds or pools will be located. Gently sloping bank areas on the south side ensure that animals (and people ☺) can warm themselves well in the sun.

A "sun trap" is a design technique that retains heat and sunlight. This creates a microclimate favorable to crops that require more heat and/or light.

In a food forest, we always work from top to bottom. We plant the tallest trees in the far north, and the shorter trees and shrubs in the south. This south-to-north pattern (or vice versa in the Southern Hemisphere) can be applied multiple times throughout your food forest. The main structure of the design usually starts with the tall-stemmed fruit trees, after which you gradually add smaller trees, shrubs, and plants.

A crucial step in designing your edible paradise is surveying your terrain. We now have fantastic technology to do this quickly and accurately. You can create a truly accurate terrain analysis with a surveyor, a drone, or a smartphone, and the right software.

Measuring the contours of the land where you plan to plant a food forest can be very useful for your water plan. If you need this done very accurately, it's best to hire a surveyor, although there's a fee. If you'd rather roll up your sleeves, it's not very difficult to get started yourself. You just need some time, patience, and basic tools. You can find contours on the website www.geopunt.be, but these are much less accurate than measuring them on the ground yourself.

Wind, like sun and water, can also be destructive to a food forest. It can dry out crops, crack branches, cause fruit to drop prematurely, and topple trees. The climate is also becoming more extreme, forcing us to protect ourselves against it.

How do you research the soil of your future food forest?

Fruit trees don't like a water table higher than 60 cm, as their roots can rot if they're too wet. The solution for a high water table is to dig ditches and swales.

When designing your food forest, it's very helpful to apply permaculture principles. One of these principles addresses zoning. Zone 0 is the heart of your property.

How to integrate buildings into your food forest?

Regenerate. Inspire. Celebrate.

Commensalist Ventures into Uncharted Depths: The Promising Future of Underwater Food Forests

The definition of a food forest is: a human-designed
• ecosystem
• composed of different layers