First tree in the food forest

Today I transplanted a small Fig tree that was in the area where my future vegetable beds will be. This is the third time I have transplanted this tree since I moved here . It is being planted in the area that will become my food forest, so this should be the last time it gets moved.

I'm going to be using hugel culture methods for my food forest. I've read that hugel culture is German for mound culture, which means growing in a mound. This would be accomplished by placing a stack of wood (tree trunks and limbs) on the surface and covering it with a mound of soil. But in Florida's sandy soil, I think a mound will dry out too fast. So I will be burying the wood, then planting on top of it, creating a bed that is only slightly raised.

I started out by digging a planting hole about 2 feet deep and 3 feet wide.

 

 

Then adding 2 layers of well aged fire wood with a rotten stump in the middle.

 

 

 

On top of that I added some rotted moss covered limbs that came out of my Oak trees during some recent high winds. This layer along with the rotted stump, should start soaking up water quickly, to retain water during dry spells.

 

 

 Then I topped that off with some leaves and palm fronds that came out of a load of wood chips.

 

Then I backfilled with soil and planted the Fig tree, creating a watering ring as I watered it in.

Inside the ring I mulched with leaves and twigs from a Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera), which is a nitrogen fixing, native plant that grows in this area. I think this should start decomposing by spring, releasing nitrogen into the soil to replace nitrogen that it being used up by the rotting wood. Outside the ring, I mulched with a thick layer of wood chips, creating a bed for this tree that is 6 feet in diameter.

 

 

In the spring I will plant some beneficial plants around it to create a fruit tree guild. By this time next year, we should be able to see the benefits of this permaculture method.

 

 

Sooo.... Until next time....HAPPY GARDENING!