Sidmouth Community Food Forest is being built on East Devon Council land at Sidford. Its aim is to convert a quarter of an acre of partly wooded grassland into a food forest for both people and wildlife and the results of volunteer days are beginning to show results.

Food Forests traditionally comprise seven layers with each layer growing food for humans and improving biodiversity. 

High in the established birch trees there are bat boxes. Below this layer is the lower tree layer. In our case we have planted fruit trees, mulberry, elderberry, plum and fig whilst on the adjacent plot there is a mix of crab and culinary apples. 

Next comes the shrub layer of blackcurrants plus unusual veg such as perennial kale ... that many might not regard as true shrubs ... that thrive for years, providing feed for cabbage whites in summer and humans in winter. 

Our herbaceous layer comprises a range of plants including mint, which is great for pollinators, raspberries that are loved by humans, magnificent cardoons, squash, Alexanders, Hablitzia tamnoides  and a mix of herbs. Under these plants is the rhizosphere layer full of root crops such as Jerusalem artichokes, Apios americana and other wonderful perennial veg. 

On the soil surface are strawberries and a range of wild flowers and other plants that are edible yet rarely eaten. Have you tried the leaves of dandelions in a salad? What about Cardamine hirsuta, aka hairy bittercress, it adds a wonderful pepperiness to salads.  Buckshorn plantain is another culinary delight many people never experience! 

As for climbers, a few hops and grapes are being considered and they will be joined by other climbers and scramblers in due course.  

Food forests take a while to establish and ours is very young. But we have already started to harvest food from it .. and so have the local wildlife. Longer term we will see the forest flourish, but it’ll take many decades before it reaches maturity. 

In the meantime on a sunny hour on February 20th I was able to sit and listen to a wren in the tangle of discarded buddleia branches we pruned last year. Bees are visiting the primroses and the frogs have already spawned. This may not be Eden, but it feels very close to it. 

For more information about the Sidmouth Community Food Forest follow the links in the article.