This video was the video I needed 5 years ago when I first started learning about permaculture. It combines a lot if not all of the best principles and practices from all my favorite permaculture pioneers without all the guru jargon. I love it. Once I have a property and can start my own system I will definitely be pulling this video up again!
Love to hear that Theodore! Doing my best to provide free food forest / agroforestry content that's better than any paid courses out there. Glad you got some value from this!
Grande maestro! I would love to hear your insights on Mediterranean lands like Portugal.. Heavy rains for 2 to 3 months and then almost nothing for the rest of the year with heavy winds.. So watering and wind shelter is always an issue here.
Brother, thank you for sharing your experience. Im currently maneging a land in Sinaloa, Mexico, and i have found the info you share very helpfull. Let"s restore this beautifull world. Blessings!
I’m in a local food forest permaculture group here in Texas - this video just explained concisely and clearly the concepts it takes folks months to learn on their own. I appreciate your breadth of knowledge and that you’re willing to take the time to share it with others.
We have some challenges depending where you are in Texas like 106f temps and less water,but it can still be done,it just needs to be tailored to our states climate.
No. No. This is not the gardening plot you are looking for (waves hand left to right between their eyes. Please disregard. Running out of oxygen up here. Night, y’all.
Months or years. I suspect a local food forest permaculture group raises or pools funds, and that appears the only way to accomplish a permaculture forest, with a large group of people and a pretty huge pool of funds to buy a LOT of seeds and plants you will never use. SMH This sounds like a modern day yuppie movement to me.
I'm in Southern California and have great interest in developing a few acres of family owned property into a Noah's Arch of fruit trees. I'm so glad your video popped up on my timeline, I gained lots of good information from you presentation and the least I can do is drop a like and leave you the appreciative comment you deserve!
I should have found the video like this six years ago. I will start doing what I have learned from you from this rainy season. The most beautiful part is that your food forest is full of the kind of food trees we grow in our land. Thank you for sharing. Big heart from Thailand
@@Benjaminoism Let's exchange our experiences. Let's keep in touch. I will go back to my LMK Tiny Forest after finishing the project in the factory. I have been supporting a machine installation as a Japanese interpreter. This project will complete by the end of June. Thank you very much for your kind words.
Dude, your awesome. I'll keep watching. Syntropic Agroforestry, Edible Forest Gardens, and natural catchment of water are the foundations of sustainable civilization. The movement is finally rising to noticeable popularity and more and more people want to get involved. Thanks for sharing your research and expertise.
I'm an aspiring court reporter/stenographer/closed captionist. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for all of the challenging vocabulary. This is a weird thank you, but thank you! Interesting video!
Yes it's absolutely wonderful to be not talked down to, as an intelligent adult. I have been a book editor and more. So I get it. It's good for our brain, it increases the growth of neurons, it's enjoyable beyond description. It's comfortable to let your mind be how it is, and not be talked down to, as everything nowadays is dumbed down so badly it's like people are talking to a retarded two-year-old anymore.
@@byrongrows oh I have to be able to 'type' 225 words per minute in a year or two. Sometimes having a lot of new/phonetically long words helps me because it makes casual speech seem slower/easier!
Fairly basic yet high impact concepts that most, myself in particular, would have otherwise overlooked, start small and build on it. Great advice! Thank you.
Good job Byron! I had a permaculture farm in the middle of the Shawnee National forest in S. IL. My garden and food forest was only around 2.5 ac. The other half of my property consisted of a chinampas aquaculture and duck ponds and horse pasture. Even on such a small farm we had more production than we could ever use. We have since moved back to a small- to mid-sized town the S. Appalachians. I plan to build up my permaculture farm at my residence in the town and at a small property that we will buy outside of town. We feel that urban and suburban permaculture farms in small- to medium-sized towns are the way to go. You are close to markets, labor, potential students and potential clients and there is more opportunity to influence people as more people will actually see what you are doing and get to experience for themselves the successful alternative ecologically-based lifestyle that you can provide for them. That’s our focus now. Food forests on small farms, community gardens and small suburban and urban properties. Having a smaller property means less maintenance and more time to design, teach, write and consult. You don’t need a huge tract of land to do this. You just need good design, fertile soil, available water and sunlight - all of which is easier to achieve on a small holding.
I think the small acreage style homestead is definitely better if you can manage the abundance. Sometimes it’s nice to have extra land for diversifying microclimates and even for storage of scavenged building materials etc. on the other hand small acreages in suburbia have greater access to markets, closer to towns and small cities to educate like you mentioned. The more people know how food is grown the better. Running for the hills might not be the best for anyone if you are too far from anything to benefit from the strength a community provides.
So thankful I found your channel! I’ve been casually researching permaculture the last 2-3 years but this past year I’ve realized I need to take it more seriously and truly learn all I can to successfully steward a food forest system for not just me but my community.
Really? This guy is really doing a good job of explaining what he has done and sharing the info. There are lots of people who sell the idea of permaculture being a walk in the park, but I don’t think that’s happening here at all.
As someone who did not inherit land and my land is in zone 4, Im here to tell you its doable! You will just have a different situation that requires different solutions. Buying land that is more remote or smaller are some ways to work around the costs, it surprising how self sufficient you can be on a small plot of land and choosing land further out from population centres might make selling fresh produce not an option but there are other products to sell that don’t require selling the day you harvest, I highly recommend selling seeds for rare and heritage varieties or growing specialty wood species such as apple and cherry and coppices or pollarding them to sell as specialty wood for smoking, or growing basket willow to sell for craft and decoration or even selling hand made baskets, selling bare roots nursery plants for rare species, or/and even breeding of rare/endangered breeds of heritage animals(especially rare fowl, rabbits, or dwarf ruminants) as they command a premium. Basically anything that earns a far amount even in small spaces and is lower input so can be done without expensive equipment it would take having inherited land to afford. Personally i advise avoiding fresh produce like the plague unless u mange to find land close to the city because investing in any product that spoils quickly if u don’t sell it immediately is not a good investment. People tout selling high value products like berries and salad greens but personally i find them finicky and require to many imputs, so i only grow enough for my own needs and instead if annuals i adapted my diet to focus on lower input perennials instead. Due to low food bill, lower property tax due to being remote, being off grid, and not having overbought equipment i can support my self off of very little land. It’s doable don’t give up yet, just look for things more applicable to your situation
That makes sense because agro forestry and permaculture is a decades long process. Inherited land is a fast way to get into it. A neglected orchard already has established trees and infrastructure to build onto and rework. If you started off with purchased land there’s likely going to be land clearing, brush and dead or invasive forest to remove, landscaping, irrigation, etc. unless you can shell out a lot of money for already developed land the only way most people will get into it is through generational development or getting into it while you’re young and have a great work ethic. I mean as you can see this guy started out with something already set up as a orchard and had just been neglected for a few years and he’s already spent over 5 years on it and it’s still in a relatively early stage
@@RoflMcCoptrson probably true, but also true that the vast majority of people who inherit land do nothing with it, or develop it, or sell it off and do something more lucrative. People who stay on the land and treat it with respect are privileged, no doubt, but it also takes a lot of work and dedication. I could work much less hard and make much more money if I just sold my farm and went and got a decent job.
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KEEP TEACHING AND SHARING WITH THE WORLD PLEASE... WE NEED DEDICATED AND ENTHUSIASTIC FOOD GROWERS LIKE YOURSELF TO SECURE OUR EDIBLES FOR THE FUTURE!! Amen Retired/Veteran
I am in Nebraska started off with some fruit trees, chestnut and thornless honey locust last year. This year adding hazelnut, more chestnut and after watching this video I am going to try to get some divisions of the goose berries that grow rampantly in my area, maybe some elderberry and mulberry as well since those are all local ecotype that I can multiply off my land. Thanks for the video! Gotta figure out what I am going to do for herbaceous material to support the tree lines now.
Byron, what I like is your combination of acute observation of which plants work well together and an organized system that can be iterated and optimized over time, so you are both horticulturalist and systems engineer. This is the future of agriculture
This is EXACTLY the solution I need. We bought land with a 7 acre mature citrus grove last year and have been throwing around ideas of how to manage it well…turning down all the traditional management techniques “experts” in the area have thrown at us. They told me to pour Round Up on all the weeds around the trees and I accidentally laughed out loud. We’ve been chopping and dropping the weeds in the meantime, but I can definitely start strategically planting more desirable species in there. I have lots of the ones you mentioned in my garden closer to our home so it will be easy for me to get it all going.
Thanks Stefan! I remember originally watching your video a few years ago when I was doing lots of online learning - Super valuable! Hope you're enjoying a warm spring
Great stuff! This approach is perfect to pair with electro and magneto culture. I bought my home almost a year ago and finally have opportunity to transform a bit of the world into a functional edible yardening hobby. Truly appreciate the knowledge and perspective to get started.
Absolute beginner here, little to no formal bio background, looking to pivot from engineering eventually. The ways you’ve presented these concepts are clear and exciting. Feeling hopeful, thanks!
I have wanted to move to NZ since 2015. I went to school for a master's in ecology and evolutionary biology. Thank you for this video and hope my dream stays alive after putting my children through college.
Tree Fountain (aka Tree of Life) 1- Bore a hole into and up a tree being careful not to bisect the core of the tree. Alternative: Use bamboo or grow sugar cane as a natural and permeable plumbing and cultivate it so that the tree grows around it. 2- Coat the inside of the hole with beeswax. I would highly recommend making a place to put a beehive in the tree near some water. The natural hum of the bees can promote health throughout the structure and through the water. 3- Put a water basin at the top and a fire pit or fireplace at the bottom. The water basin can actually be used for a secondary water source that would promote growth and potentially allow for the tree to grow taller. 4- Put copper pipe around the inside of the fire pit or up the chimney for a fireplace. This will act as a pump. (You can also use a hotplate if you prefer) The copper pipe should only be used close to the intense heat of the fire. Any amount of heat promotes upward movement in this case. 5- Add water wheels (fidget spinners can be used for some decent mini water wheels) for electricity. This electricity can also be used to promote growth in the structure and in gardens. Check out how electricity is used to directly and drastically improve plant growth. 6- Add hanging gardens for fresh produce. A vertical style garden will do several things to improve overall health and productivity. 7- Splice other saplings and/or fresh tree cuttings using the tongue and groove method for shelter. This can be done with roots as well as branches. Encouraging roots to intermingle and cultivating a healthy mycelium bed are both ways that allow all the plants to share nutrients and different forms of protection. This would create a natural network that can be used similar to a computer for both the plants and people if a computer interface is plugged into the chemical language of the plants. This design provides food, filtered and conditioned water and air, electricity, shelter and SO much more! Everything a person needs for life and survival. Hence the "Tree of Life" nickname! In addition to the benefits listed and the techniques described, this structure will grow and get stronger over time. Crystals can be used as a natural source of low level energy creation and as forms of transistors. Cymatics can be used as a form of communication directly with the plants. There is SOOOOO much more that can be done using this method for creating structures and homes BECAUSE it is living. -This idea will eliminate 90% of the demand for large corporations and industries. - This idea will reverse air pollution and filter the world's air naturally and beneficially. - This idea will reveal the counterproductivity of governments and starve the governments of their power. Your fear and desperation. There will be no need to clear cut entire forests to build ever again and this will encourage the natural ecology in our world instead of fighting with it. Be a part of the change. Not a part of the problem through government. We have made excuses for ignoring the fact that we are supporting all the problems we state we are against. Let's be the change!!!
Thanx for this legend, clearly a smart fella, lots of people want to do this sort of thing . Im doing my own experimentation with preanuals her in northern NSW AUS Good stuff giving inspiration to people is a good offering to life. I wish everyone would do this
Thanks for the video. I liked all of it. Particularly I liked when you stressed the importance of networking. A few months back we went to a little agro fair here in Jalisco, and my friend said we should bag up some cherry tomato seeds that I'd dried. Cherry tomatoes are common in Mexico, really quite a basic plant, one of the first things we managed to grow. Even so, almost everyone that had seeds at the fair was willing to trade with us, even giving us much more than we'd given them. Partly it's Mexican hospitality, partly it's something about brotherhood and goodwill. They see that you're serious about growing plants and they want to see their plants propagate, and acknowledge the camaraderie of really being a gardener. A little note about the audio. Your voice is coming through quite clear, but the wind noise can be distracting. If you buy a basic lav mic for about $30-40 and put it under your shirt, it will improve your sound quality a lot.
I've never even seen this, i've never even heard about it, but as soon as I saw the picture, I realized what a good idea this is. The fact that I can see the value of something simply from a picture speaks loudly about how we should be planning our land from now on. I'm definitely going to consider doing this on my new land when I plant. It's already made me rethink my planting locations for certain things. I wonder how it'll work in Canada. There's lots of different plants I can put it, but they are so different from what you've chosen.
That’s awesome! Glad you found it helpful. Lots of the plants you’ll include are probably already being grown by others in your local region! Connect with other people to see what they’re growing successfully
thanks a lot!!! awesome video and information. I am giving courses on syntropic ag and abundance farming in mediterranean Portugal. And loved to hear your angle on all of it. I was surprised to hear your take on not adding the comfrey in the treelines (but rather on the side) I was just so happy they were outshading those funky creeping grass species that are taking up any open spot. Any way i wish you a lot of succes with the second plot! Its inspirational!
Amazing Byron love your work 👏 Definitely learnt a few things. Very useful for where I'm at with larger scale property conversion. Eradication of grass here we grow...
Happy to hear that! So far it seems like Mexican sunflower and bana grass will be my two most effective species for the ‘large scale’ conversion away from grass
Thanks so much for this video Byron. This information is perfect for one of the permaculture properties I manage her in Perth, Australia. I'll be following along from now on. I've created a great microclimate by adding 10 ponds, and now we're able to grow tropical, subtropical, and temperate fruit trees. Cheers
Excellent breakdown. I've watched much of the permaculture info freely available you broke it down very succinctly and I learned a few things. Many thanks!
I was watching a video on Pbs Terra about deforestation and replanting tree program large failure rates that are not equalling any success. I think this is what they need to understand whether is for food or for climate change efforts to reduce carbon. Thanks for sharing what you've learned.
First and foremost your presentation was EPIC! High energy fast paced and truly factual. I had to stop and take deep breaths just listening! :o) But most of all a whole lot of knowledge in a short time. Don't worry the brain gets it even if most people don't think they did. On that note Syntropic Agroforestry was a trem I wasn't really familiar with, but 2 years ago the term Food Forest was foreign to me. But following the Permaculture, Earth Science side of self sustaining agriculture. It all makes sense. Having said that I believe we are on the cusp of High productive small scale farming operations which the world has gone away from in the past 50 years which has led us to the poor state of health and land management we're in now... Sorry that's a whole nother subject. Keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing more of what you may accomplish and give back to the growing community!
I plan of turning my land into a food forest. I learned much from you. I'll definitely consider your style. Thank you so much for sharing. It's going to be a big help for starters like me. New subscriber here from the Philippines
Glad you’re curious about this, I was just making observations about this exact thing yesterday! The citrus in areas that have been retrofitted have visibly more ‘healthy’ and lush growth compared to their non-retrofitted counterparts.
My orange Grove is no where near this but I do let grass grow about 8ft tall part of the year. I have much less pest pressure than neighboring orange groves. Beside of me one neighbor has a problem with something called negrilla in Spanish, it turns the orange skin black, everyone sprays for it except me and it is very rare that I have it unless I cut the grass year round.
@@johnowens5342 citrus are long lived trees. I’ve also seen pecan grooves with grass (hay) grown under and harvested. Good way to have 2 products in same area. Of course the ecological succession in the video is a very good idea and logical and works with natural cycle. Big mature trees with grass is still a good option.
I will be applying this to 30 hectares soon, the hardest part is researching and planning based on all the hundreds, if not thousands, of varieties of various tropical fruits and spices I want to grow and what order/spacing to plant based on their future sizes.
Wow, I finally got my dream to buy 5 acres on a very tight budget, scraping nickels together almost literally. I started with growing trees and my first garden this year with an intention to grow as much food as I can. I just learned about permaculture. This video convinces me, you need to be a millionaire to buy a LOT of seeds and plants you will never use. You need to become a botanist to spend endless time to learn about plants you will never use and you need to spend all of your waking hours planning and planting. No thanks. The beauty of forests is they grow on their own and don't require a life commitment to become enslaved to the land. You have made me feel like battling weeds is a blessing.
I wonder how it would work with sine wave formed rows - instead of straight lines. This would maximize the transition zones supporting more life and you could still bring a lawn mower (or chickens, goats, ducks, geese, etc.) easily between the rows to manage the grass and errant seedlings. IDK, just a thought. Excellent work and very inspiring. I got "certified" with Geoff Lawton about a decade ago already.
I have a 4 hector orange grove in northern Mexico. Looking forward to learning. This is your first video that came up on my feed. I just subscribed. Unfortunately Im not in goldilocks zone. My area is border line desert with cold fronts that come down out of Colorado, we get as close to killing orange trees with cold as possible and then the temp goes up to 48 through the summer. We also skip the wet season every couple of years. Pretty hostile. During the wet season I let the grass grow about 2.5 meters and then cut it, i have lots of organic matter on the ground.
Nice! Sounds like slightly more challenging conditions, but a worthy goal to be transitioning into a more diverse agroforestry system! Organic matter is key
plus starting small and learning from mistakes and adjusting along the way. Thanks, you've explained syntropic food forest principals very well as well as sage advice generally
I really appreciate this immensely valuable, free content and your heart behind it. The ripple effects are far reaching. 🌊 Do you know of any resources for modeling this in cold climates? I’m in Montana, zone 5ish. About to convert a massive lawn to something useful at my parents place. Love the advice about making lots of small mistakes and learning from them instead of investing too heavily right out the gate.
Amazing! So happy to hear you’re getting value from this 🙏 Mark Shepard has really great cold-climate species he works with in Wisconsin - Lots of good long presentations of his here on YT that I watched and learned heaps from when first starting out. I also just recorded a podcast episode with Harry Greene in New York where we discuss cold-climate agroforestry, so keep an eye out for that one!
I have been watching your video over and over. 7:17 I love the concept of planting various kinds of Papaya, bananas etc. I will apply your idea for my LMK Tiny Forest too. Thank you for sharing. Big heart from Thailand
great video. back in November I took a course in France upon syntropic agroforestry. That is exactly what you nicely described into this video. Maybe you could have talked about biodiversity, the critical situation of insects population and aiming at planting enough diversity in order to produce food for insects (pollen, nectar) too
This is the most valuable video on food forest/permaculture/syntropic agroforestry. So many videos on the theory, but this one has the steps to do. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Lines are the best, have you seen how fast trees on the side of the road or tree lines of pastures grow? And the diversity. Then you walk into the woods and the diversity drops.
Good talk. Gave me some ideas for my food forest system. Like that you promote growing from seeds and self production. I help install food forests for a nursery near where I live. People put out huge money on the grafted trees and irrigation systems etc. If only they would do things themselves but hey I get paid for their lack of effort on their own land.
SUPER valuable information, thank you so much. Your clarity about how and why to plant this way has given me good insights into how to fill in my own food forest. I'm in a temperate desert climate, though, which makes it more difficult... and hopefully all that more rewarding as time passes.
Awesome challenge you've got for yourself! Hopefully something valuable in this video you can take away and apply to your site. Thanks for the great feedback!
Dear this is excellent to watch and hear. I have started 2 years ago a mango orchard. Now I am loving this way. Please advice how may I transform my two year old orchard into a Syntropic model?
This is a very valuable video, even for the various other climates. Thank you very much. It helps us a lot to improve our knowledge about syntropic agri-forestry. Our beds of lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, peppers, flowers, even echinacea are constantly eaten bare by slug and rabbits. We have the order not to use chemical pesticides, weed killers and chemicals such as slug pellets. The pressure from weeds and slugs, rabbits is high. So if you could share more information with us on the use of plant extracts, such as capsaicin from chili, mint extracts or tobacco extracts to prevent pests, we would be grateful. We have trees for birds, hiding places for hedgehogs and foxes already set up, unfortunately ponds are not allowed. Many greetings and good luck from the sunny autumn in Germany. We are in a coopertive in Duesseldorf Germany where a metal sculptor leased a piece of wasteland and wants to leave a garden landscape park as his legacy to the surrounding residents. The wasteland is located between a residential area and an allotment. The specification of the municipality is, a maximum of fruit trees and no forest trees are to be planned. Many greetings and good luck from the sunny autumn in Germany.
![how & why to RESET your Food Forest / Syntropic Agroforestry [2023]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GMlyvauGLOU/mqdefault.jpg)
i'm brazilian, i'm proud that you are teaching to everyone the Ernest Gotsch's system.
Amazing. Would love to come learn from people directly in Brazil
This video was the video I needed 5 years ago when I first started learning about permaculture. It combines a lot if not all of the best principles and practices from all my favorite permaculture pioneers without all the guru jargon. I love it. Once I have a property and can start my own system I will definitely be pulling this video up again!
Love to hear that Theodore! Doing my best to provide free food forest / agroforestry content that's better than any paid courses out there. Glad you got some value from this!
Grande maestro! I would love to hear your insights on Mediterranean lands like Portugal.. Heavy rains for 2 to 3 months and then almost nothing for the rest of the year with heavy winds.. So watering and wind shelter is always an issue here.
@@byrongrowsthank you for this
Exactly
@@byrongrows what are some of your favorite support trees? Will morninga do? It’s a very small 12000 sq ft baby food forest
Brother, thank you for sharing your experience. Im currently maneging a land in Sinaloa, Mexico, and i have found the info you share very helpfull. Let"s restore this beautifull world. Blessings!
I’m in a local food forest permaculture group here in Texas - this video just explained concisely and clearly the concepts it takes folks months to learn on their own. I appreciate your breadth of knowledge and that you’re willing to take the time to share it with others.
Happy it helped 🤝
We have some challenges depending where you are in Texas like 106f temps and less water,but it can still be done,it just needs to be tailored to our states climate.
do you need fertiliser in your garden? or just biomass? thank you
No. No. This is not the gardening plot you are looking for (waves hand left to right between their eyes.
Please disregard. Running out of oxygen up here.
Night, y’all.
Months or years. I suspect a local food forest permaculture group raises or pools funds, and that appears the only way to accomplish a permaculture forest, with a large group of people and a pretty huge pool of funds to buy a LOT of seeds and plants you will never use. SMH This sounds like a modern day yuppie movement to me.
Your clarification of terms, and you listing the plants that you have used is incredibly valuable to me. Thank you very much.
You are very welcome
"you WANT to make small mistakes as quickly as possible".. what a great life lesson.. ;8)
Learn before you have to DEPEND on success…
I'm in Southern California and have great interest in developing a few acres of family owned property into a Noah's Arch of fruit trees. I'm so glad your video popped up on my timeline, I gained lots of good information from you presentation and the least I can do is drop a like and leave you the appreciative comment you deserve!
Mmm... Date palms. Jujubees, oaks for acorns, etc
I should have found the video like this six years ago. I will start doing what I have learned from you from this rainy season. The most beautiful part is that your food forest is full of the kind of food trees we grow in our land. Thank you for sharing. Big heart from Thailand
Hello from Cambodia. I would love to learn about what you are doing and hopefully passing it onto an agriculture cooperative that I am helping.
@@Benjaminoism Let's exchange our experiences. Let's keep in touch. I will go back to my LMK Tiny Forest after finishing the project in the factory. I have been supporting a machine installation as a Japanese interpreter. This project will complete by the end of June. Thank you very much for your kind words.
Dude, your awesome. I'll keep watching. Syntropic Agroforestry, Edible Forest Gardens, and natural catchment of water are the foundations of sustainable civilization. The movement is finally rising to noticeable popularity and more and more people want to get involved. Thanks for sharing your research and expertise.
More than happy to be sharing. Thanks for watching!
I'm an aspiring court reporter/stenographer/closed captionist. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for all of the challenging vocabulary. This is a weird thank you, but thank you! Interesting video!
That’s awesome! I’m so curious how this helps your haha
Yes it's absolutely wonderful to be not talked down to, as an intelligent adult.
I have been a book editor and more. So I get it.
It's good for our brain, it increases the growth of neurons, it's enjoyable beyond description. It's comfortable to let your mind be how it is, and not be talked down to, as everything nowadays is dumbed down so badly it's like people are talking to a retarded two-year-old anymore.
@@byrongrows oh I have to be able to 'type' 225 words per minute in a year or two. Sometimes having a lot of new/phonetically long words helps me because it makes casual speech seem slower/easier!
I found this a neat way to practice. I'm impressed.
@@arichards33 Do you also practice steno?
Fairly basic yet high impact concepts that most, myself in particular, would have otherwise overlooked, start small and build on it. Great advice!
Thank you.
Love to hear it! Thanks for the feedback 🙏
Awww. These Videos are food for the Soul. Lifts the Spirits and reminds us , It’s all connected.
Good job Byron! I had a permaculture farm in the middle of the Shawnee National forest in S. IL. My garden and food forest was only around 2.5 ac. The other half of my property consisted of a chinampas aquaculture and duck ponds and horse pasture. Even on such a small farm we had more production than we could ever use. We have since moved back to a small- to mid-sized town the S. Appalachians. I plan to build up my permaculture farm at my residence in the town and at a small property that we will buy outside of town. We feel that urban and suburban permaculture farms in small- to medium-sized towns are the way to go. You are close to markets, labor, potential students and potential clients and there is more opportunity to influence people as more people will actually see what you are doing and get to experience for themselves the successful alternative ecologically-based lifestyle that you can provide for them. That’s our focus now. Food forests on small farms, community gardens and small suburban and urban properties. Having a smaller property means less maintenance and more time to design, teach, write and consult. You don’t need a huge tract of land to do this. You just need good design, fertile soil, available water and sunlight - all of which is easier to achieve on a small holding.
I think the small acreage style homestead is definitely better if you can manage the abundance. Sometimes it’s nice to have extra land for diversifying microclimates and even for storage of scavenged building materials etc. on the other hand small acreages in suburbia have greater access to markets, closer to towns and small cities to educate like you mentioned. The more people know how food is grown the better. Running for the hills might not be the best for anyone if you are too far from anything to benefit from the strength a community provides.
Look up David the Good. And grocery row garden. Sounds right up your alley.
thank you byron for simplifying syntropic farming. you are an inspiration
So thankful I found your channel! I’ve been casually researching permaculture the last 2-3 years but this past year I’ve realized I need to take it more seriously and truly learn all I can to successfully steward a food forest system for not just me but my community.
Awesome to hear! Thanks for the feedback - good luck with your project!
One of the more elegantly presented descriptions of syntropic that I've seen. Lots of great practical tips.
Much appreciated.
Appreciate your comment - Thank you!
I like how every permaculture video is like "Permaculture is easy! Step 1: inherit property in the tropics from your family." XD
Really? This guy is really doing a good job of explaining what he has done and sharing the info. There are lots of people who sell the idea of permaculture being a walk in the park, but I don’t think that’s happening here at all.
As someone who did not inherit land and my land is in zone 4, Im here to tell you its doable! You will just have a different situation that requires different solutions. Buying land that is more remote or smaller are some ways to work around the costs, it surprising how self sufficient you can be on a small plot of land and choosing land further out from population centres might make selling fresh produce not an option but there are other products to sell that don’t require selling the day you harvest, I highly recommend selling seeds for rare and heritage varieties or growing specialty wood species such as apple and cherry and coppices or pollarding them to sell as specialty wood for smoking, or growing basket willow to sell for craft and decoration or even selling hand made baskets, selling bare roots nursery plants for rare species, or/and even breeding of rare/endangered breeds of heritage animals(especially rare fowl, rabbits, or dwarf ruminants) as they command a premium. Basically anything that earns a far amount even in small spaces and is lower input so can be done without expensive equipment it would take having inherited land to afford. Personally i advise avoiding fresh produce like the plague unless u mange to find land close to the city because investing in any product that spoils quickly if u don’t sell it immediately is not a good investment. People tout selling high value products like berries and salad greens but personally i find them finicky and require to many imputs, so i only grow enough for my own needs and instead if annuals i adapted my diet to focus on lower input perennials instead. Due to low food bill, lower property tax due to being remote, being off grid, and not having overbought equipment i can support my self off of very little land. It’s doable don’t give up yet, just look for things more applicable to your situation
The bigger point is that the vast majority of people who get to do it inherit land
That makes sense because agro forestry and permaculture is a decades long process. Inherited land is a fast way to get into it. A neglected orchard already has established trees and infrastructure to build onto and rework. If you started off with purchased land there’s likely going to be land clearing, brush and dead or invasive forest to remove, landscaping, irrigation, etc. unless you can shell out a lot of money for already developed land the only way most people will get into it is through generational development or getting into it while you’re young and have a great work ethic. I mean as you can see this guy started out with something already set up as a orchard and had just been neglected for a few years and he’s already spent over 5 years on it and it’s still in a relatively early stage
@@RoflMcCoptrson probably true, but also true that the vast majority of people who inherit land do nothing with it, or develop it, or sell it off and do something more lucrative. People who stay on the land and treat it with respect are privileged, no doubt, but it also takes a lot of work and dedication. I could work much less hard and make much more money if I just sold my farm and went and got a decent job.
Extremely useful info while you have no degree. You sir have done your homework and schooled yourself. So much free info out there. Well done
Appreciate that feedback Michelle! Doing my best to provide as much free value as possible
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KEEP TEACHING AND SHARING WITH THE WORLD PLEASE... WE NEED DEDICATED AND ENTHUSIASTIC FOOD GROWERS LIKE YOURSELF TO SECURE OUR EDIBLES FOR THE FUTURE!!
Amen
Retired/Veteran
Appreciate that my friend 🤝
Epic Video !!
Very Sharp and Solid , Pura Vida to that Food Forest inspiring other food forest around the world
Imagine how many food forests our ripple effects will create ✨🌳
Pura Vida!
I am in Nebraska started off with some fruit trees, chestnut and thornless honey locust last year. This year adding hazelnut, more chestnut and after watching this video I am going to try to get some divisions of the goose berries that grow rampantly in my area, maybe some elderberry and mulberry as well since those are all local ecotype that I can multiply off my land. Thanks for the video! Gotta figure out what I am going to do for herbaceous material to support the tree lines now.
Awesome!! Glad you got something from this video 🙏
Byron, what I like is your combination of acute observation of which plants work well together and an organized system that can be iterated and optimized over time, so you are both horticulturalist and systems engineer. This is the future of agriculture
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Thank you Byron for your support and all the positive input. Your teachings changed my perspective on Permaculture to another level. SAF
I am in tamilnadu India brother universal blessings always
This is EXACTLY the solution I need. We bought land with a 7 acre mature citrus grove last year and have been throwing around ideas of how to manage it well…turning down all the traditional management techniques “experts” in the area have thrown at us. They told me to pour Round Up on all the weeds around the trees and I accidentally laughed out loud. We’ve been chopping and dropping the weeds in the meantime, but I can definitely start strategically planting more desirable species in there. I have lots of the ones you mentioned in my garden closer to our home so it will be easy for me to get it all going.
Nice. Biomass producers will be your best choice to get started
Good explanation Byron of a complex topic. Especially your sequence graph. Nice to be in the subtropics.
Thanks Stefan! I remember originally watching your video a few years ago when I was doing lots of online learning - Super valuable! Hope you're enjoying a warm spring
Great stuff! This approach is perfect to pair with electro and magneto culture. I bought my home almost a year ago and finally have opportunity to transform a bit of the world into a functional edible yardening hobby. Truly appreciate the knowledge and perspective to get started.
Loved this, had to watch it again to make sure I understand what to do in the garden. Awesome mate, cheers from Brisbane Australia zone 11a
Glad you enjoyed it
Absolute beginner here, little to no formal bio background, looking to pivot from engineering eventually. The ways you’ve presented these concepts are clear and exciting. Feeling hopeful, thanks!
Very happy to hear it was helpful and digestible!
I like how you worked with me th what is already there. The result is a linear layout, that is a reminder of the old orchard.
I have wanted to move to NZ since 2015. I went to school for a master's in ecology and evolutionary biology. Thank you for this video and hope my dream stays alive after putting my children through college.
Wonderful video ! Subscribed to your channel. Keep up the good work.
The most practical explanation, thank you
Great video. Lots of useful information.
I love the design, the plant choices, and the mass plantings to find the best trees for the long term. Very informative. Thank you!!
Tree Fountain (aka Tree of Life)
1- Bore a hole into and up a tree being careful not to bisect the core of the tree.
Alternative: Use bamboo or grow sugar cane as a natural and permeable plumbing and cultivate it so that the tree grows around it.
2- Coat the inside of the hole with beeswax. I would highly recommend making a place to put a beehive in the tree near some water. The natural hum of the bees can promote health throughout the structure and through the water.
3- Put a water basin at the top and a fire pit or fireplace at the bottom.
The water basin can actually be used for a secondary water source that would promote growth and potentially allow for the tree to grow taller.
4- Put copper pipe around the inside of the fire pit or up the chimney for a fireplace. This will act as a pump. (You can also use a hotplate if you prefer) The copper pipe should only be used close to the intense heat of the fire. Any amount of heat promotes upward movement in this case.
5- Add water wheels (fidget spinners can be used for some decent mini water wheels) for electricity. This electricity can also be used to promote growth in the structure and in gardens. Check out how electricity is used to directly and drastically improve plant growth.
6- Add hanging gardens for fresh produce. A vertical style garden will do several things to improve overall health and productivity.
7- Splice other saplings and/or fresh tree cuttings using the tongue and groove method for shelter. This can be done with roots as well as branches. Encouraging roots to intermingle and cultivating a healthy mycelium bed are both ways that allow all the plants to share nutrients and different forms of protection. This would create a natural network that can be used similar to a computer for both the plants and people if a computer interface is plugged into the chemical language of the plants.
This design provides food, filtered and conditioned water and air, electricity, shelter and SO much more! Everything a person needs for life and survival. Hence the "Tree of Life" nickname!
In addition to the benefits listed and the techniques described, this structure will grow and get stronger over time.
Crystals can be used as a natural source of low level energy creation and as forms of transistors.
Cymatics can be used as a form of communication directly with the plants.
There is SOOOOO much more that can be done using this method for creating structures and homes BECAUSE it is living.
-This idea will eliminate 90% of the demand for large corporations and industries.
- This idea will reverse air pollution and filter the world's air naturally and beneficially.
- This idea will reveal the counterproductivity of governments and starve the governments of their power. Your fear and desperation.
There will be no need to clear cut entire forests to build ever again and this will encourage the natural ecology in our world instead of fighting with it.
Be a part of the change.
Not a part of the problem through government.
We have made excuses for ignoring the fact that we are supporting all the problems we state we are against. Let's be the change!!!
Thanks for sharing.
Would love a playlist of more in-depth video on each chapter from this one for those of us who are absolute beginners. Thanks!
Good idea
Excellent.
Lots of valuable information in a relatively short time.
Brilliant video Byron. Really informative and helpful. Can't wait to buy your book.
Thank you! 🙏
This is great for the tropics. Im in zone 5b. Definitely NOT the only video people need to watch.
Thanx for this legend, clearly a smart fella, lots of people want to do this sort of thing . Im doing my own experimentation with preanuals her in northern NSW AUS
Good stuff giving inspiration to people is a good offering to life. I wish everyone would do this
My goal is to make that information accessible to everyone for free
Thanks for the video. I liked all of it. Particularly I liked when you stressed the importance of networking.
A few months back we went to a little agro fair here in Jalisco, and my friend said we should bag up some cherry tomato seeds that I'd dried. Cherry tomatoes are common in Mexico, really quite a basic plant, one of the first things we managed to grow. Even so, almost everyone that had seeds at the fair was willing to trade with us, even giving us much more than we'd given them.
Partly it's Mexican hospitality, partly it's something about brotherhood and goodwill. They see that you're serious about growing plants and they want to see their plants propagate, and acknowledge the camaraderie of really being a gardener.
A little note about the audio. Your voice is coming through quite clear, but the wind noise can be distracting. If you buy a basic lav mic for about $30-40 and put it under your shirt, it will improve your sound quality a lot.
Great video! It's unbelievable what you've achieved in such a short space of time. Well done!
Finally. Already watch your Reels and this is great.
I've never even seen this, i've never even heard about it, but as soon as I saw the picture, I realized what a good idea this is.
The fact that I can see the value of something simply from a picture speaks loudly about how we should be planning our land from now on.
I'm definitely going to consider doing this on my new land when I plant. It's already made me rethink my planting locations for certain things. I wonder how it'll work in Canada. There's lots of different plants I can put it, but they are so different from what you've chosen.
That’s awesome! Glad you found it helpful. Lots of the plants you’ll include are probably already being grown by others in your local region! Connect with other people to see what they’re growing successfully
thanks a lot!!! awesome video and information. I am giving courses on syntropic ag and abundance farming in mediterranean Portugal. And loved to hear your angle on all of it.
I was surprised to hear your take on not adding the comfrey in the treelines (but rather on the side) I was just so happy they were outshading those funky creeping grass species that are taking up any open spot. Any way i wish you a lot of succes with the second plot! Its inspirational!
That's amazing, would love to come visit your site when I'm in Portugal next. Thanks for the great feedback!
Love the energy and the diversity! So stoked to see more of these systems manifest in Aotearoa.
Thanks mate! More and more agroforestry systems being installed here every month - Very exciting indeed
The best video providing indepth knowledge to grow a food forest
Amazing Byron love your work 👏
Definitely learnt a few things. Very useful for where I'm at with larger scale property conversion. Eradication of grass here we grow...
Happy to hear that! So far it seems like Mexican sunflower and bana grass will be my two most effective species for the ‘large scale’ conversion away from grass
I really appreciated this 'lesson' - very clear, pragmatic and interesting. Thank you.
Thanks so much for this video Byron. This information is perfect for one of the permaculture properties I manage her in Perth, Australia. I'll be following along from now on. I've created a great microclimate by adding 10 ponds, and now we're able to grow tropical, subtropical, and temperate fruit trees.
Cheers
Excellent breakdown. I've watched much of the permaculture info freely available you broke it down very succinctly and I learned a few things. Many thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
I was watching a video on Pbs Terra about deforestation and replanting tree program large failure rates that are not equalling any success. I think this is what they need to understand whether is for food or for climate change efforts to reduce carbon. Thanks for sharing what you've learned.
First and foremost your presentation was EPIC! High energy fast paced and truly factual. I had to stop and take deep breaths just listening! :o) But most of all a whole lot of knowledge in a short time. Don't worry the brain gets it even if most people don't think they did. On that note Syntropic Agroforestry was a trem I wasn't really familiar with, but 2 years ago the term Food Forest was foreign to me. But following the Permaculture, Earth Science side of self sustaining agriculture. It all makes sense. Having said that I believe we are on the cusp of High productive small scale farming operations which the world has gone away from in the past 50 years which has led us to the poor state of health and land management we're in now... Sorry that's a whole nother subject. Keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing more of what you may accomplish and give back to the growing community!
The knowledge.... Grateful to land on the channel 😊
Glad to hear that
I have roughly an acre in New York- the advice to plant support species in an outer row instead of among the trees was super helpful!
I wish all these people would come North like Michigan and do these ideas with our climate. Most of the US does not live in warm climates
Different species and dynamics, but concept is the same. It’s applied in desert areas as well. Water and heat management is key.
I’m a visual learner. Thank you for explaining with drawings.
Happy to help!
I plan of turning my land into a food forest. I learned much from you. I'll definitely consider your style. Thank you so much for sharing. It's going to be a big help for starters like me. New subscriber here from the Philippines
Good Morning yeay nice ideas.
Short time , Medium Time and Long Time .. Plant and plan ..
Thanks You for sharing
Excellent video. Great lessons. Permaculture does not have to be expensive.
Fantastic information! Thank you for sharing your personal experience - inspires me to look deeper into agroforestry!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Really useful video. I’m curious to know how the existing citrus have responded to being ‘syntropised’.
Glad you’re curious about this, I was just making observations about this exact thing yesterday! The citrus in areas that have been retrofitted have visibly more ‘healthy’ and lush growth compared to their non-retrofitted counterparts.
My orange Grove is no where near this but I do let grass grow about 8ft tall part of the year. I have much less pest pressure than neighboring orange groves. Beside of me one neighbor has a problem with something called negrilla in Spanish, it turns the orange skin black, everyone sprays for it except me and it is very rare that I have it unless I cut the grass year round.
@@johnowens5342 citrus are long lived trees. I’ve also seen pecan grooves with grass (hay) grown under and harvested. Good way to have 2 products in same area. Of course the ecological succession in the video is a very good idea and logical and works with natural cycle. Big mature trees with grass is still a good option.
I will be applying this to 30 hectares soon, the hardest part is researching and planning based on all the hundreds, if not thousands, of varieties of various tropical fruits and spices I want to grow and what order/spacing to plant based on their future sizes.
very good video, thank you very much for all the information, how nice to see how food forests grow year after year
Awesome video bro. Thanks for providing open source info and all the mistakes you have made. Some many great learning points. All the best.
Wow, I finally got my dream to buy 5 acres on a very tight budget, scraping nickels together almost literally. I started with growing trees and my first garden this year with an intention to grow as much food as I can. I just learned about permaculture. This video convinces me, you need to be a millionaire to buy a LOT of seeds and plants you will never use. You need to become a botanist to spend endless time to learn about plants you will never use and you need to spend all of your waking hours planning and planting. No thanks. The beauty of forests is they grow on their own and don't require a life commitment to become enslaved to the land. You have made me feel like battling weeds is a blessing.
theodore, it works beautifully ln small scale, so you can start practicing or using your knowledge even in the burbs
I wonder how it would work with sine wave formed rows - instead of straight lines. This would maximize the transition zones supporting more life and you could still bring a lawn mower (or chickens, goats, ducks, geese, etc.) easily between the rows to manage the grass and errant seedlings. IDK, just a thought. Excellent work and very inspiring. I got "certified" with Geoff Lawton about a decade ago already.
That’s a fascinating idea
Very good , well thought video. Thankyou for sharing
i am SO excited for this (and all the coming) seasons! man thank you so much for the research & information, this was a great watch!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Good advice, Byron. Valuable tips on row & biomass row proximity.
I have a 4 hector orange grove in northern Mexico. Looking forward to learning. This is your first video that came up on my feed. I just subscribed. Unfortunately Im not in goldilocks zone. My area is border line desert with cold fronts that come down out of Colorado, we get as close to killing orange trees with cold as possible and then the temp goes up to 48 through the summer. We also skip the wet season every couple of years. Pretty hostile. During the wet season I let the grass grow about 2.5 meters and then cut it, i have lots of organic matter on the ground.
Nice! Sounds like slightly more challenging conditions, but a worthy goal to be transitioning into a more diverse agroforestry system! Organic matter is key
Love getting videos like this recommended
Straight treelines makes sense re knowing where the valuable seeds are planted.
plus starting small and learning from mistakes and adjusting along the way. Thanks, you've explained syntropic food forest principals very well as well as sage advice generally
Glad you found it helpful 🙏
I really appreciate this immensely valuable, free content and your heart behind it. The ripple effects are far reaching. 🌊
Do you know of any resources for modeling this in cold climates? I’m in Montana, zone 5ish. About to convert a massive lawn to something useful at my parents place.
Love the advice about making lots of small mistakes and learning from them instead of investing too heavily right out the gate.
Amazing! So happy to hear you’re getting value from this 🙏
Mark Shepard has really great cold-climate species he works with in Wisconsin - Lots of good long presentations of his here on YT that I watched and learned heaps from when first starting out.
I also just recorded a podcast episode with Harry Greene in New York where we discuss cold-climate agroforestry, so keep an eye out for that one!
@@byrongrows perfect I’ll check them out and keep an eye out for your podcast! Much appreciated!
Amazing intro! Reflects the lessons I’ve learned developing food forests and takes it to the next level which is being organized to scale. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Great Tips! i've been propogating raspberries and blackberries all over the place.
That's the way!
I have been watching your video over and over. 7:17 I love the concept of planting various kinds of Papaya, bananas etc. I will apply your idea for my LMK Tiny Forest too. Thank you for sharing. Big heart from Thailand
Wonderful!
This is awesome! Thank you so much and looking forward to the video on "support species"
I had your thinking b4 I even saw your video, but to hear you saying the actual ideas is amazing!!!
great video. back in November I took a course in France upon syntropic agroforestry. That is exactly what you nicely described into this video.
Maybe you could have talked about biodiversity, the critical situation of insects population and aiming at planting enough diversity in order to produce food for insects (pollen, nectar) too
This is a really good video. Good advices !
Thank you, it helps for my food forest development. Wish you success for the next !
Love your enthusiasm, wishing the best for you brother.
Thank you 🤝
Thanks for sharing, lots of helpful knowledge
Great information, easy to digest and explained in such a natural way. Your forest is talking through you, thank you!
Appreciate your comment & support!
Cant wait for a climate/species recommended video!
This is the most valuable video on food forest/permaculture/syntropic agroforestry. So many videos on the theory, but this one has the steps to do. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Amazing feedback - Thank you!
i think he s arrogant, and it is theoretic
Loving your videos! You express these ideas with so much clarity. Thanks!
Brilliant video. As many have said, I wish I had learnt this at the start!
Awesome video Bro. Very well put together and informational.
Appreciate it!
You explain everything beautifully.
Lines are the best, have you seen how fast trees on the side of the road or tree lines of pastures grow? And the diversity. Then you walk into the woods and the diversity drops.
Hello from Cambodia! Super helpful and practical. Now I need to go find as many support species as I can.
Happy to hear that my friend
Good talk. Gave me some ideas for my food forest system. Like that you promote growing from seeds and self production. I help install food forests for a nursery near where I live. People put out huge money on the grafted trees and irrigation systems etc. If only they would do things themselves but hey I get paid for their lack of effort on their own land.
SUPER valuable information, thank you so much. Your clarity about how and why to plant this way has given me good insights into how to fill in my own food forest. I'm in a temperate desert climate, though, which makes it more difficult... and hopefully all that more rewarding as time passes.
Awesome challenge you've got for yourself! Hopefully something valuable in this video you can take away and apply to your site. Thanks for the great feedback!
Dear this is excellent to watch and hear. I have started 2 years ago a mango orchard. Now I am loving this way.
Please advice how may I transform my two year old orchard into a Syntropic model?
Great work Sir
This is a very valuable video, even for the various other climates. Thank you very much. It helps us a lot to improve our knowledge about syntropic agri-forestry.
Our beds of lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, peppers, flowers, even echinacea are constantly eaten bare by slug and rabbits. We have the order not to use chemical pesticides, weed killers and chemicals such as slug pellets. The pressure from weeds and slugs, rabbits is high. So if you could share more information with us on the use of plant extracts, such as capsaicin from chili, mint extracts or tobacco extracts to prevent pests, we would be grateful. We have trees for birds, hiding places for hedgehogs and foxes already set up, unfortunately ponds are not allowed. Many greetings and good luck from the sunny autumn in Germany.
We are in a coopertive in Duesseldorf Germany where a metal sculptor leased a piece of wasteland and wants to leave a garden landscape park as his legacy to the surrounding residents. The wasteland is located between a residential area and an allotment. The specification of the municipality is, a maximum of fruit trees and no forest trees are to be planned. Many greetings and good luck from the sunny autumn in Germany.
This guy is living my dream life ❤