Growing an Urban Food Forest on Less Than 1/5 Acre โ€“ Autumn Garden Tour

Growing an Urban Food Forest on Less Than 1/5 Acre โ€“ Autumn Garden Tour

Welcome to my urban food forest garden in Perth, Australia. It’s currently the end of autumn, the mornings are finally starting to feel cooler, but we still haven’t had much rain….not since last year before the summer, so the garden is just hanging in there. Today, I want to share an update on my urban food forest progress and the wide range of fruit I’m growing in a small space!

๐ŸŽฅ Watch the full Urban Food Forest Garden Tour

YouTube video

Starting a Productive Urban Food Forest on Less Than 1/5 Acre

My garden is high-density, featuring over 200 types of fruit trees, as well as herbs and annual vegetables, all within a property of less than 1/5 of an acre in total. My goal is to have small amounts of many different types of fruit and be able to harvest fruit 365 days a year. This means I’ve said goodbye to spacing rules, utilised dwarf fruit trees, vertical gardening, learnt to multi-graft, and I keep my trees pruned to not only let light in but also create more green material to chop and drop and feed my soil.

I first became inspired by this style of gardening after creating an edible fence screen using food forest style planting in my backyard, which we will take a look at soon, but more recently, I have taken over the front! If you have been a regular YouTube subscriber, you would have seen the process of how we have transformed my front yard from a bare lawn to a mini high-density food forest with lots of tropical fruit trees, raised garden beds to grow annual veggies and a mini wildlife pond home to small fish and frogs. Below is a current update on where we are now!

 

Tropical Fruits Growing in my Front Yard

I started off this front garden by planting evergreen hardy fruit trees to create an edible screen that could withstand the temperatures out here. I have a lime, feijoa, blood orange, guava, mandarin, more feijoa and a lemonade. I have since gone in and added 3 mangos, an avocado, dwarf grimichama, mulch plants, nitrogen fixing plant and edible ground covers.

I have 4 different custard apples now planted, and I definitely have a passion for collecting new varieties of these. It’s a fruit that was rare back home in NZ, but we could grow the Cherimoya, and I was lucky enough to be introduced to that by a rare fruit grower when I was a kid. Now being in Perth, I am lucky enough to have the heat to grow more varieties, and I have (so far) Africa Pride, Paxton Prolific, Hilary White and a Bullock’s Heart, along with a bunch of seed-grown ones. These tend to lose their leaves a bit in winter, so they let light into my raised bed patch in winter, but in summer, they help keep it cool.

I have two different nashi pears, which are another favourite of mine and fruit well in warmer climates, unlike many other pears.

Some of the other fruit trees I have in the front yard include: Louisa Plum, unknown yellow Plum, multigrafted 4-way Plum (Satsuma, Mariposa, Santa Rosa, unknown), Indian Blood Peach, Lemon Mango, Orange Sherbet Mango, Sweet Tart Mango, Thai Mango, Linda Avocado, Choquette Avocado, Soursop, Starfruit, Lychee and more!

Living Shade: Building a Grape Arbour in Hot Climates

We have also constructed a metal arbour to grow living shade with x4 types of grapes planted. But with such intensely hot and dry summers, the grapes have not done much growing, but I am determined to make my dreams grape arbour happen!

What Iโ€™m Growing in my Raised Gardens this Autumn ๐ŸŒฑ

I have only just planted out my raised beds (at the end of Autumn) with seedlings and seeds because it’s just been so hot and dry, it didn’t seem worth it. But the cooler mornings and with rain forecast for this weekend, I think we might be ready to start the cool-season crops.

Just like my fruit tree planting, I also densely plant my raised beds. This helps stop any weeds from growing and gives me lush garden beds full of food. Currently, I have planted:

as well as filling all the gaps with:

Edible Flowers for Beauty and Biodiversity

Edible flowers are a non-negotiable in my gardens. I love having the added colour as well as providing food for pollinators and beneficial insects. Plus, by choosing edible flowers, you can also use them to brighten up your meals. It’s a win-win.

Wildlife Pond: Attracting Frogs, Pollinators, and Beneficial Insects

The wildlife pond is getting a lot more shade now with the winter sun lower in the sky. The frogs have mostly disappeared as they go to find more sun or hibernate until warmer temperatures. There are still plenty of tadpoles, but I think these will stay like this until spring and summer because I believe they need more sun to transform. The wildlife pond has been one of my favourite projects out here in the front yard. There’s always so much wildlife to see, and it has become the main hub of my gardens to feed and nourish all my pollinators and beneficial insects.

The Driveway Patch: An Urban Food Forest Extension

Now for an update on my driveway patch! This was a new extension, and I have mainly planted deciduous fruit trees in here. This spot gets lots of hot sun during summer, but in winter, it gets a lot of shade. That’s why choosing deciduous fruit trees is a great idea. They go to sleep during winter, so they don’t mind at all.

I have planted a seed, growing papaya, and it is thriving! It has started flowing along with another 5 I have planted throughout the rest of my gardens. Papayas grow well from seed and quickly! In warm climates, you can go from seed to harvesting fruit in just 1 year! In cooler climates, you may have to utilise greenhouses for winter. My plan is that this will get nice and tall to act as a bit of a natural umbrella for summer.

Summer in Perth is relentless, and with many days over 40 degrees, this garden will very much appreciate an umbrella. I have been adding more shade plants like this throughout the garden to try and help cool my summer gardens.

Creating Shade and Microclimates in an Urban Food Forest

Using plants strategically is something I have been doing a lot in my gardens.

Creating shade: I have a miringa planted in the middle of my tropical section to create beautiful dappled shade for my Soursop, Starfruit, Lychee and Avocado. I also have native plants such as Hakea that grow in poor soil and have quickly become the tallest plants in my new garden. They offer shade and wind protection, plus stunning flowers that the bees love.

Creating Mulch: Mulch plants are another thing I have throughout my gardens that I use for shade, wind protection and then I can chop them back to let light in and feed the soil and act as moisture retention. These are plants such as Pigeon Pea and Queensland Arrowroot.

Backyard Food Forest Updates: Mangos, Papayas & Avocados

Out the back, my original food forest garden has been getting lots of upgrades. I have just planted another mango, this one is the ‘lemon zest’, I also have the ‘Irwin’ and the ‘dwarf palmer’. My biggest seed-grown papaya is flowering, and I am hanging out to see it start to fruit! With more plants starting to flower, hopefully, I get some pollination happening!

In my last video, we took out the lemon tree that was just getting hammered with gall wasp and planted a giant avocado. It’s already pushing new growth, which is a good sign.

Pomegranates are ripe, and I should have harvested them, but I left it too late, and something else has beaten me to it! This Pomegranate has multiple different varieties grafted on it, but so far, just the main Azerbajani has fruited. These are amazing, like nature’s candy!

My bananas are looking good, and the plantain has shot up! My Pinkerton Avocado is looking nice and bushy, and next to that, another seed-grown papaya that has just started to flower. The rollinia is looking rather sad but has started to push all new growth off the side so fingers crossed! Behind that, we have my golden passionfruit growing vertically along the fence and a small sweet granadilla down below that I am cautiously optimistic about.

Urban Nursery Corner: Seedlings, Grafting & Downsizing Goals

In my patio nursery, the shade cloth has come down for winter, and I am trying my best to find homes for as many things as I can in the garden. I want to downsize this a lot! I have lots of seed-grown plants here, like mango and custard apple, that I want to use for grafting practice, plus I have blueberries, finger limes and a lot of other things.

I hope you enjoyed this Autumn update of my urban food forest, and make sure you are subscribed to follow along with the progress!

Happy Gardening,

Holly ๐ŸŒฟ

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10 Edible Plants to Sow in March – Autumn Garden

10 Edible Plants to Sow in March – Autumn Garden

These 10 edible plants to sow in March will get your Autumn garden off to a productive start. These edible plants can all be grown in containers or the garden so you can grow more of your own food at home. I am gardening in Perth, Australia and these 10 edible plants to sow in March are great transition plants to bridge the gap between summer and winter to help you produce a continuous supply of food at home.

There is nothing better than walking out into your garden to pick and harvest your own fresh, nutrient-rich food. No chaotic shops are needed!

WATCH 10 Edible Plants to Sow in March

Top 10 Edible Plants to Sow in March

1. Radish

Raphanus sativus

Radish are so easy to grow, they can handle a range of soils and environments, and they are also one of the quickest veggies to grow! From seed to table in just 4 weeks. Also, the whole plant is edible. The roots are delicious fresh in a salad, or, added to your roast veggies, and the leaves can be chucked into stirfries or blitz to make pesto or chimichurri to dress your salads and meals. There are a lot of different varieties of Radish that range in flavour, so if you don’t enjoy the pepperiness of Radish, choose the white or light coloured varieties. Radish also makes delicious pickles and you all know I’m obsessed with pickles.

If the Radish is not harvested it will send up a flower and create seed pods. The seed pods are also edible when they are young or they can be left to dry and save the seeds for a sustainable food supply.

The thing I love most about Radish is you can plant them in between your veggies. They grow so fast that they are ready to pick before the other vegetables take up too much space. This means you maximise your space to grow more food.

2. Rainbow Chard

Beta vulgaris

Rainbow chard doesn’t do too well in the heat of summer so most climates will only grow chard over the cooler months. Rainbow chard has large leaves so it can lose moisture and wilt quickly. If you plant Chard over the summer choose a shady location. Autumn is a great time to sow your Rainbow Chard seeds. Rainbow Chard is super versatile in the kitchen and it brightens up the winter garden with its’ neon coloured stems.

Rainbow Chard can be used in nearly every meal as a substitute for spinach.

3. Lettuce

Lactuca sativa

Lettuce can be a delicate plant to grow and doesn’t tolerate the heat well. Autumn is a great time to plant lettuce in the garden. If you want to grow lettuce during summer then find a cool spot that receives shade during the hot afternoons. Otherwise, it will just go to flower and seed if it gets too hot and then it tastes awful and bitter. Due to its’ delicate nature, lettuce is best sown in seed trays and planted out into the garden when it is a seedling. Little seeds and seedlings will be susceptible to pests such as slugs, snails and slaters. Check out natural pest management for tips on how to reduce loss from pests.

4. Beetroot

Beta vulgaris

The whole Beetroot plant is edible and the leaves can be used just like chard or spinach. You can pick off the outer leaves just one or two from each plant while they grow to get a prolonged harvest.

Fun fact: Rainbow chard is actually part of the beetroot family!

You can use the roots grated fresh in a salad, roasted beetroot is sooo good, especially the yellow and white varieties they are so sweet! Beetroot is also delicious pickled and canned to preserve the harvest.

I have planted the White, Golden, and Chioggia varieties. The Chioggia has beautiful candy cane stripes. It is also very sweet.

5. Spinach

Spinacia oleracea

Spinach is another great Autumn veggie to plant and will offer you an abundance of greens for the rest of the year. There are many different types of spinach and a few that I like to grow are the Malabar Climbing Spinach – it seems to do well here in Perth as it is more like a succulent type of plant. Perpetual Spinach is also another great producer that can offer you greens for most, if not all of the year.

6. Onions

Allium cepa

Onions are a staple vegetable to grow for adding flavour to meals and there are many different varieties. Planting onions randomly throughout your gardens can help deter pests due to their strong scent. Egyptians walking onions are a great perennial onion variety. They grow onion bulbs on the base like most onions but the difference is, they also grow mini bulbs on the tips too and as these grow they get heavy and bend over to touch the ground and then this bulb will start growing so they sort of move around the garden which is pretty neat! Plus, they just regrow on their own which supports a sustainable garden.

7. Rocket

Eruca vesiculate

Rocket or Arugula is a great leafy green to grow because it is fast-growing and it can be added to a range of meals. Add fresh baby rocket leaves on top of your meals for added flavour and nutrition. Rocket will get quite bitter if it doesn’t get enough water and also will bolt if it’s still too warm. If you are sowing it early in the season or in summer, grow it somewhere with a little shade. I sow little patches of Rocket throughout my garden at different times to have a continuous supply.

8. Rosella

Hibiscus sabdariffa

Rosella is a type of hibiscus that has edible leaves that you can use as a substitute for spinach. The flower buds are edible and are great for making tea, syrups and jams.

Edible Plants to Sow in March

9. Fennel

Foeniculum vulgare

Fennel is a top edible plant to grow at home as the whole plant is edible. During the warmer months, Fennel plants mainly produce leaves/fronds and flowers which are great flavour enhancements for meals or pickling. The fronds can be used to make a delicious pesto. Once the weather cools down in Autumn the bulbs will start to bulk up. Fennel is so crunchy and fresh and pairs really well with citrus. Roasted fennel is also super delicious. There are two main varieties green Florence and bronze. The green Fennel does tend to go a little wilder than the bronze.

10. Chives

Allium schoenoprasum

Chives have a delicious onion flavour and produce purple flowers that are also edible. Chives are another edible plant to mix in your garden beds and help deter pests naturally.

chive

Comment below if you are going to grow any of these Edible Plants to Sow in March ๐ŸŒฑ๐Ÿ‘‡