September 8th Class - FGCU Food Forest

Today we visited the FGCU Food Forest. The FGCU Food Forest is a student run permaculture garden that was first established in 2011. Permaculture is essentially the idea of plant agriculture that is organized and put together so that the different crops and plants compliment each other and help each other grow. There are a lot of different aspects to the Food Forest that make this garden beautiful. The founders of the Food Forest studied the land that they were given for a full year before they even planted a single crop or laid out the design for the garden. Things to consider when creating a permaculture garden include, but not limited to, land elevation, plant growth, root strength of crops, amount of crop production, irrigation demand for each crop, etc. For example, crops planted in low areas of elevation are planted there so they will receive more affixation that other crops because the low elevation works as a run-off to allow water to flow more abundantly to them. Another example is that there are crops that have weaker roots that other and are placed on the inside of the forest so they won't suffer from heavy winds. Crops that are planted along the perimeter of the garden are generally stronger in root strength so they can withstand heavy winds to help plants that aren't as resistant to those winds. The crops that weren't harvested correctly or fell too soon won't be wasted, but instead used along with mulch to make compost soil that can be placed around crops to keep the soil rich and consistently provide nutrients for plants that make up the Food Forest. Some of the plants and crops that make up the FGCU Food Forest are Papaya, Cranberry Hibiscus, Bananas, Jack Fruit, multiple species of berries, and multiple plants that act as natural medicine.