Growing Fruits and Veggies in Your Backyard Forest
Many homeowners have limited space to cultivate fruits, vegetables, and nuts under full sun exposure. But many have a small woods in their yards, and a backyard forest can be a viable place to have some homegrown fruits, greens, herbs and even medicinal plants to satisfy your gardening desires. The addition of native fruit/nut bearing shrubs and trees to your backyard forest will also support conservation of important bird and insect food webs creating greater ecological function overall in your own backyard.
Forest gardening – sometimes called “forest farming” — is a practice that involves cultivating understory crops within an established forest. As a large-scale forest land management system, this practice is known as agroforestry. Agroforestry involves a number of practices, including cultivating crops in the alleys between and under tree farm plantings. But on a small scale, “forest gardening” or “forest farming” can be employed by average home gardeners within their backyard wooded areas.
Assessing Your Backyard Forested Site Features
The deciding factor for growing plants in your backyard forest is an assessment of the amount of shade. Shade in a backyard forest may be dappled shade or full shade which will dictate what can be grown. Deep shade under evergreens or a dense forest canopy is clearly the least desirable for growing edible plants. However, many plants that are grown for their leaves, stems, and fruits can thrive in dappled shade areas depending on the specific requirements of each plant.
Soil type and condition also need consideration for each plant the homeowner desires. A soil sample analysis at the outset will provide important information on soil pH and mineral content that can directly impact plant growth. Soil sample test kits can be picked up outside the Albemarle/Charlottesville office of Virginia Cooperative Extension at the backside of the 5th Street County Office Building at 460 Stagecoach Road, Charlottesville.(https://albemarle.ext.vt.edu/contact.html)
Moisture content of the soil is often complex in a forested area. The soil may remain wetter for longer periods under the shade of a thick understory of trees or stay drier if little rainfall permeates the tree cover. Water runoff from other backyard areas may also be a contributor to moisture variability in your backyard forest. The extent of ground covers and other understory plants may be a positive stabilizer for moisture levels in addition to providing critical life cycle requirements for essential insects and birds.
All of these factors will also dictate which plants are currently thriving in your backyard forest. Careful initial inspection of your backyard forest area for obstructions like large tree roots and other plants, including invasive vines, forbs, and shrubs, will give an indication of the growing potential in your backyard forest. Also, through your initial inspection, you can prepare for challenges of invasive plant eradication while growing edibles in your forest garden. An excellent resource on invasives is Blue Ridge PRISM, blueridgeprism.org.
Native Fruits and Nuts
If you want to grow fruits or nuts, you’ll want to consider native varieties as your first option. The native varieties offer the advantage of greater pest and disease resistance. Although many cultivars of native plants have been developed to increase yields, it is advisable to compare the positives and negatives of the cultivar versus the native plant prior to purchase. Native Species or Cultivars: Does It Matter/The Garden Shed . Before choosing any plant for your wooded area, be sure to assess its vulnerability to browsing by deer and other wildlife.
Many gardeners are attracted to blueberry bushes as a forest garden addition. The Highbush Blueberry bush (Vaccinium spp.) is native to Virginia and grows in partial shade. Soil, pH and light requirements are important considerations, as is the potential for animal browsing. For more on growing blueberries in our area, see Blueberry Cultivation in the Home Garden/The Garden Shed. Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.) is a highly desirable native for its fruit, which is similar to blueberries. Depending on the species, it can be a small shrub or a medium sized tree; read more about growing it at Serviceberry/The Garden Shed. Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), a multi-stemmed shrub, offers edible flowers and small dark berries for making jellies. The native elderberry provides excellent forage for pollinators and stem nesting habitats for native bees. Read all about it at Elderberry: An Attractive Native Shrub that Heals/The Garden Shed.
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a small native fruit tree that grows in colonies and likes wetter soil with dappled shade. Not only is it well-adapted to forest gardening, the pawpaw is NOT a favorite of deer. In addition to providing a food source for human consumption, pawpaw provides support for pollinators and is host to the zebra swallowtail butterfly. Read all about it here: Pawpaws/The Garden Shed. American hazelnut (Corylus americana) is also a shade-tolerant small tree or shrub worth consideration for your backyard forest, but it probably will need protection from deer. Read more about growing it in Hazelnuts/ The Garden Shed.
Overall, it is best to thoroughly review the growing requirements and features for all natives you might be interested in planting before making the investment. Native Fruit and Nut Trees and Shrubs of Virginia/vt.edu.
If your wooded area adjoins a creek, you might be interested in using fruit and nut trees as a stream buffer garden. If so, you’ll find expert guidance at “How to Plan for and Plant Streamside Conservation Buffers with Native Fruit and Nut Trees and Woody Floral Shrubs,” Va. Coop.Ext. ANR-29 (2018) and PDF version.
Greens
Many greens can be grown in your backyard forest, including leaf lettuce, arugula, endive, Swiss chard, collards, mustard greens, spinach, and kale. Another green known as ramps (Allium tricoccum) which is a wild leek, can thrive in cool, moist forested areas, often near streams. Although ramps may take several years to establish themselves and are rather picky about their environment, they have long been prized as a forest food. Learn more at It’s Ramps Season! Grow Them, Eat Them, Sell Them/ NC State Ext
The benefits of growing greens in your backyard forest include less need for water due to the shade offered and less bolting of the leafy greens. Therefore, growing in a dappled shade environment will extend the overall productivity of your leafy greens. If your soil is not conducive to direct planting of your greens due to tree roots, important ground covers, or invasive plants, you can simply use pots or makeshift raised beds for plantings. Using large pots or simple raised beds takes the worry out of trying to create the perfect growing environment for greens on your forest floor. It also prevents elimination of other ecologically important understory plants that are potentially contributing to critical insect and bird survival.
Herbs and Mushrooms
Your backyard forest can be a wonderful place to grow your kitchen herbs. Mint, basil, chervil, chives, coriander, parsley, sage, sorrel, and tarragon can flourish in dappled shade. Again, using pots or makeshift raised beds may be desirable. Some, such as mint, can become very invasive when planted directly in the ground.
Mushrooms are a popular edible for forest gardening. The best procedure for growing shiitakes is now well-established, and some forest farmers are growing many varieties of mushrooms.
Medicinals
Considerable information is published on the cultivation of two American natives, ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) and goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) in forested areas, and both of these plants are major cash crops. See Cultivating Native Woodland Botanicals/NC State Ext. Both are reported to provide therapeutic benefits, although the scientific literature varies. Other forest botanicals such as blood root, black cohosh, squaw vine (partridgeberry), and star grub may be grown in a predominately shade forest. Some of these woodland botanicals may be invasive, so research prior to planting is recommended. Also, whether or not a botanical has true health benefits requires careful scrutiny, as does its potential toxicity.
Loving Your Backyard Forest
Your backyard forest can be a wonderful place to satisfy your gardening needs while supporting insects and birds in their quest for an ecologically-balanced coexistence. Careful research on suitable native plants will ensure optimal success for growing fruit- and nut-bearing plants in your backyard forest. Popular kitchen greens and herbs can be easily cultivated for daily enjoyment in the dappled shade of your forest canopy. Growing some of your own food is both an important and fulfilling venture for young and old.
Other Sources
Featured Photo: Goldenseal planting in mid-spring, by Jeanine Davis, NC State Univ. Ext.
Essential Native Trees and Shrubs for the Eastern United States (Tony Dove and Ginger Woolrich, 2018).
“Forest Farming,” Va.Coop.Ext.
“How to Plan for and Plant Streamside Conservation Buffers with Native Fruit and Nut Trees and Woody Floral Shrubs,” Va. Coop.Ext. ANR-29 (2018) and PDF version.
“The Basics of Hardwood-Log Shiitake Mushroom Production and Marketing,” Va. Coop.Ext. ANR-102P (2020)
The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to Create and Enhance Natural Areas Around Your Home. Jonathan Kay, 2016. (VCE Pub./ANR-199) (a video about this book is available at Va.Coop.Ext.Publications & Educational Resources, and the book itself is available from the Cornell online bookstore, Cornell Store.com)
Producing and Marketing Wild Simulated Ginseng in Forest and Agroforestry Systems, Va.Coop.Ext. Pub. 354-312 (2009)
