An edible micro-forest of 30 m²: is it really possible?
This autumn, a new area is taking shape at the Founding Garden. On the east side of the land, along the boundary with the neighborhood, we will plant a dense, diverse, and largely edible micro-forest.
Thirty square meters. Several layers of vegetation. A list of plants that mixes oaks, hazelnuts, fig trees, currants, comfrey, and ivy. And a question that many people will ask when reading this:
Seriously?
Yes. And here's why.
First: what is a micro-forest?
In a natural forest, plants do not grow alone and well-spaced like in an orchard. Large trees, smaller trees, shrubs, vines, low vegetation — all of this shares space, light, and soil at the same time, across multiple vertical levels simultaneously.
This is called forest stratification. And this is precisely what makes a forest so biologically productive: on equal surface area, it captures infinitely more light, hosts infinitely more species, and produces infinitely more biomass than a lawn or a traditional orchard.
The Miyawaki method, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki starting in the 1970s, is based on this principle. By planting very densely, very diversely, with species adapted to the local soil, we radically accelerate the establishment of a forest cover. Miyawaki forests achieve in ten years what a regular forest takes thirty to fifty years to build.
Our version adds an additional constraint: the forest must also be edible.
The site: 30 m², east facade, sandy soil
The chosen area runs along the eastern boundary of the land. It measures about 6 meters long by 5 meters deep, which is a surface of just over 30 m². Not much at first glance.
What makes the situation interesting is precisely the constraint. This area must simultaneously create a plant screen against the neighborhood, host biodiversity, produce fruits and berries, create shade and coolness, protect and enrich a naturally poor sandy soil, and integrate with the habitats already present on the rest of the land.
An isolated tree would do none of that. Several layers working together would.
An important detail: a patch of broom is already installed nearby. It will not be removed to start from a blank slate. It is part of the starting point because before planting, it is always better to look at what is already growing well without us.
The layers: how is it organized?
This is where it becomes concrete. On the planting plan, four vertical levels are planned for this strip of 30 m².
The canopy. Two to three large trees will gradually form the main structure: a trembling aspen (Populus tremula), a pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) and a birch (Betula pendula). These trees are all native, adapted to sandy soil, and chosen for their ecological role as much as for their structure. The aspen hosts over 200 species of insects. The oak, up to 400.
The understory. Intermediate-sized trees occupy the middle levels: a wild apple tree (Malus sylvestris), a pear tree (Pyrus communis), a service tree (Sorbus aria) and a fig tree (Ficus carica) on the south side to take advantage of the heat accumulated by the fence. These species produce, but also play a structural role in the densification of the cover.
The shrubs. Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana), black elder (Sambucus nigra), guelder rose (Viburnum opulus), hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and currants densify the borders. Fruits, berries, habitats for birds, flowers for pollinators. Each shrub fulfills multiple functions simultaneously.
The soil. Comfrey (Symphytum officinale), ivy (Hedera helix), strawberries (Fragaria vesca), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and dead-nettle (Lamium album) form a permanent low cover. No bare soil. Ever. Comfrey in particular is a remarkable plant: its deep roots bring up minerals from the lower layers and its abundant biomass decomposes quickly to nourish the soil.
Why plant so densely?
This is the question that surprises the most. On a classic Miyawaki plan, the planting density is around three to five plants per square meter, much more than an ordinary garden.
The idea is counterintuitive but documented: by creating immediate competition among the plants, we force the vegetation upwards. The trees seek light, grow faster, and form a closed canopy in a few seasons rather than in a few decades. Once the canopy is established, the system begins to manage itself: the best-adapted species dominate, others find their niche or disappear, and the lower layer stabilizes.
On 30 m², this means about fifty plants in the fall. Tight, mixed, without conventional spacing. This is not an orchard. It is a forest in fast forward.
Soil management: before and after
No mechanical work. No digging, no tiller. The soil will not be turned, a decision consistent with what has been decided for the entire Founding Garden in 2023, and justified by the same reasons: to preserve mycorrhizal networks, the biological structure of the soil, and the microbial communities that have established themselves.
Planting is scheduled for the fall, while dormant. This is the optimal time for woody plants: the roots settle in during the winter before leaf demand increases in the spring.
What we really seek to understand
Planting will be relatively quick. Understanding what happens next will take years.
Which species will dominate this sandy soil? How will competition for light evolve between the layers? Which spontaneous species will appear without being planted? Which insects, which birds will gradually use this new structure? And above all: how far can we let the system evolve before we have to intervene?
These questions do not have a satisfactory theoretical answer. We need to plant, observe, measure, and document over time. That is precisely what the Field Notebooks are here to do.
What this project is not
A 30 m² edible micro-forest is not a universal solution. It will not feed a family. It is not reproducible without adaptation to the context of each site. And it will probably not look like what the planting plan shows today in ten years.
It is an experiment. Documented, justified, rooted in a rigorous approach — but an experiment. The Founding Garden is not a showcase of perfect solutions. It is a place where we can test them against reality.
Next episode this fall: final choice of species, preparation of the area, planting, and first observations.
Field Notebooks — Founding Garden, Small Lands, Hainaut.