Wild & High Density Food Forest - Miyawaki Inspired

Our very first experiment, and the wildest one! In this first fully-edible Miyawaki forest, all 65 plants (of 33 species) were randomly placed on a 21m² area, for a density of 3 trees for every square meter. For sure, some fruit but no way to anticipate which fruit tree will be happy and produce fruits. In this experiment, conducted in July 2021, we followed most elements of the Miyawaki protocol, except that all plants are perennial edible species, and most are not indigenous.

Protocol:

• Soil preparation: decompaction at 80 cm, 15% plain compost, 5% composted horse manure

• Density of 3 plants per m²

• Planted randomly

• Size: 24 m²

Assessment: (1 *: low to 5 *: high)

• Growth rate: ⧫ ⧫ ⧫ ⧫ ⧫
  Ultra-fast during the first two years. From the third year, growth does not seem faster than trees planted in a less dense environment.

• Resilience (biodiversity and quality of soil microbiology): ⧫ ⧫ ⧫ ⧫ ⧫
  Probably very good, providing habitat for several insects, birds, frogs, etc.

• Quantity, quality, and predictability of fruit production: ⧫
  Very disappointing except for a few fragile trees that benefited from the dense environment (Papaya, Tamarillo) or for fruit trees that like shade. Most other fruit trees produce either nothing or much less than a tree planted in a less dense environment.

• Maintenance: ⧫ ⧫ ⧫ ⧫
  Too dense and very difficult to maintain.

• Cost-effectiveness: ⧫ ⧫ ⧫ ⧫
  Very expensive (lots of inputs for very little output).

• Scalability: ⧫

  Difficult to implement on a large area.

• Water efficiency: ⧫ ⧫
  After one year, 36 liters per m²/day during the summer period.

A similar concept has been developed since July 2023 by The Biggest Miniforest, inspired by both the Miyawaki approach and Syntropic farming techniques. Several “Biggest Mini Forests” have been installed in the Botanical Garden in 2023 and 2024.  To learn more about the Biggest Mini Forest click here.

Wild & High Density Food Forest - Miyawaki Inspired

The Specifics:

• Planting date: July 2021

• Area: 21m²

• Number of species: 33

• Total of plants: 65

• Planting density: ~3 trees/m²

• All plants were randomly placed, not following any pattern (hence “Wild”), except in avoiding positioning two trees of the same species next to each other

• For more details on the method of growing Miyawaki forests, make sure to read the main Miyawaki-inspired Food Forests article. We also provide further reading on the subject in our extensive Insights from Miyawaki and Syntropic learn article.

The expected results:

• Very fast and healthy growth

• High productivity

• Some plants, in being planted at random, would not survive

• High protective effect (wind and frost)

• Fewer pests & diseases

Data monitored:

• Plant height

• Trunk diameter at 20% of the total height

• Food production

• Average water usage

• Plant survival rate

• Pests & diseases

Assessment after two years (July 2023)

• 15 trees reached between 6 and 10 times their initial height (eg. Psidium guajava, Tamarindus indica)

  • as an example, a Psidium guajava (guava) gained 872% in height, from 36cm to 3.50 meters

• 9 other plants increased over 10 times their initial height (eg. Moringa oleifera, Inga edulis)

  • notice in the graph below how the fastest growing plant, Inga edulis (ice-cream bean), gained almost 3000% in height, from 14cm to 4.23 meters (that’s over 30x its initial height! ⚠️)

• Death rate is minimal (three plants that died because they needed more sun and were randomly planted)

• Regarding protection/health: plants of Carica papaya, Solanum betaceum, Tamarindus indica, species considered to be frost tender and not wind resistant, are all alive and healthy, and even producing (except for the Tamarindus, for now)

• Three spiky plants had to be removed in September 2023 because of their danger in a dense environment, namely in the species Pereskia aculeata and Solanum oocarpum

• 14 plants already gave generous yields, in species like Psidium guajava, Musa "Lep Chang Kut" and Carica papaya (fruit), Moringa oleifera (pods) and Eugenia uniflora (berries)

Species in this Food Forest

1. Acca sellowiana — feijoa

2. Adansonia grandidieri — giant baobab

3. Aloysia citrodora — lemon verbena

4. Annona cherimola — cherimoya

5. Annona squamosa — custard apple

6. Arbutus unedo — strawberry tree

7. Cajanus cajan — pigeon pea

8. Carica papaya (different varieties) — papaya

9. Carissa macrocarpa — Natal plum

10. Chrysopogon zizanioides — vetiver

11. Citrus reticulata — mandarin orange

12. Cymbopogon citratus — lemongrass

13. Diospyros digyna — black sapote

14. Eriobotrya japonica — loquat

15. Eugenia uniflora (different varieties) — Surinam cherry

16. Inga edulis — ice-cream bean

17. Litchi sinensis — lychee

18. Mangifera indica — mango

19. Melaleuca thymifolia — tea tree

20. Microcitrus australasica — finger lime

21. Moringa oleifera — moringa

22. Morus nigra — black mulberry

23. Murraya koenigii — curry tree

24. Musa "Lep Chang Kut" — banana

25. Pereskia aculeata — ora-pro-nobis

26. Psidium cattleianum (different varieties) — strawberry guava

27. Psidium guajava (different varieties) — guava

28. Salvia officinalis — common sage

29. Solanum betaceum — tree tomato

30. Solanum oocarpum — Brazilian sunberry

31. Tabernaemontana elegans — toad tree

32. Tamarindus indica — tamarind

33. Thymus officinalis — common thyme

Make sure to check out our main article on Miyawaki-inspired Food Forests and our Theoretical Foundations where we explain the whole concept and how we’re putting it in action at the Orchard of Flavours site. Also, don’t forget to compare this Experiment with all the others already growing:

• Organised & Low Density Food Forest

• Organised & High Density Food Forest

• Highly Organised & Medium Density Food Forest

This article was compiled by Miguel COTTON & Miguel PEREIRA. If you have any questions or suggestions, do not hesitate to contact us. Please write us anytime at miguel@orchardofflavours.com