Why Plant a Food Forest, or What's With All the Woodchips?
I am a baby permaculturist, not even living on the land we are going to cultivate yet. But I have been learning so much from WhatsHisName (I can't find that he has one) on the Canadian Permaculture Legacy channel at YouTube. (I'll keep looking.) And from other resources, which I'll name as I share what I learn from them. Growing food in old, dead city-dirt is a great deal of work. Many of you do well at it, but you could enjoy the fruits of your labor with less of it. Left alone, this kind of soil will grow weeds, but that is nature doing its job. The weeds provide carbon to the soil through the process of photosynthesis, which carbon travels down into the roots and is available in fallen soft green leaves, feeding bacteria and developing a bacteria-dominated soil. (Good compost is needed for growing leafy vegetables such as lettuce and tomatoes, which require bacterial soil.) Over time, in nature, the soil will improve and the area will slowly transition from grassland t...