This one acre Edible Forest Garden was installed during a workshop in 2013 at Fiddlehead Farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. The Forest Garden features heirloom and disease-resitsant apples and pears that Christine grafted, figs, persimmons, pawpaws, medlar, and pomegranate trees; shrubs including elberberries, jostaberries, currants, juneberries, new jersey tea, baptisia, chokeberry, blueberries; groundcover plants including Russian comfrey, green and gold, wild ginger, yarrow, echinacea, anise hyssop, and strawberries (and other plants); and perennial vegetables including sea kale, turkish rocket, ground peanut, sorrel, and skirret. Pigs helped clear the land initially, the land was subsoiled on contour, and a swale was installed at the top of the forest garden. Two layers of extra-thick cardboard (from a local cidery) were placed around all the plants, with six inches of mulch spread over all of the cardboard. Compost was added and spread around the plants during the installation. The resident bees and chickens, as well as humans, are working together to keep the Forest Garden still growing strong at Fiddlehead Farm.
