Book reading
Edible Forest Gardens, Volume 1
Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier
Chapter 4 — niches, relationships, and guild logic
Pages 239 to 243: succession (Chapter 6)
Pages 285 to 287: succession (Chapter 6)
Book access & editionsModule 11 / 25
Trees, Forests, Plants, and Cultivated Ecologies
Plant selection begins with understanding how plants live, grow, and relate to their surroundings. This module develops that understanding through forest succession, niches, guilds, and examples of cultivated systems, connecting the ecology readings with choices about what to grow together.
The later resources turn to propagation, plant care, and season extension. They support two parts of your project: following the propagation of four plant types and choosing plants whose needs and roles fit your site. The reference tables and spreadsheet will help you work through those choices after considering the relationships behind them.
Topics
- Architecture, growth, and function of trees; placement and role of forests
- Guilds and polyculture
- Agroforestry, tree crops, multifunctional hedgerows, and orchard design
- Plant selection and identification; life strategies, succession, and niches
- Plant physiology and propagation
- Design and establishment of vegetable gardens and edible landscapes
- Season extension: Cloches, hoop houses, greenhouses, and other techniques
- Integrated Pest Management
- Seed saving and exchange
What you’ll learn
Learning goals
- Understand forest succession, plant layers, and diversity within the forest
- Basic botany; identify types of plants and understand their roles
- Propagate four different types of plants
- Understand polycultures and the niches of plants
- Design a small food garden
- Knowledge of decision-making tools to work with pest challenges
Read, watch & explore
Getting the books · access & editions
Use your own copy, buy the book, or borrow it through a library when possible. If you are local to me, contact me about borrowing a copy. You can also contact me for information about digital or other access to assigned readings.
If your edition uses different page numbers, contact me and we can match the correct section.
For articles, excerpts, videos, and other resources, use the links in the lesson. If a video player does not load, try its source link. If you cannot access a reading or media resource, or it has no link, contact me with the module number and resource title.
Ask about books, readings or media access ↗Forest relationships and succession
Open full-size image
Low flowering plants grow beneath taller woody plants in this garden. Use the contrast in height and spread to consider the room your selected plants will need as they mature.
Source: Living Landscapes Design portfolio.
Watch
Permaculture Design for Food Video
YouTube
Consider how food production relates to the wider plant relationships introduced in the forest-garden reading.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
Agroforestry Video
YouTube
Look at how trees and other productive elements are arranged, keeping their relationships and management in mind.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
Alley Cropping Video
YouTube
Compare the arrangement in alley cropping with the preceding agroforestry material, paying attention to access and the space between plantings.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
New Forest Farm Video
YouTube
Use this farm example to consider perennial plant relationships at a larger scale. Module 19 uses the same example to examine farm-scale production, access, and ongoing work.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Read
Defining the spatial patterns of historical land use associated with the indigenous societies of eastern North America
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Module 1's Indigenous-roots readings introduced histories of land use. Use this eastern North American study to examine the location and persistence of woodland management and cultivation, noting differences between places. Keep that historical evidence distinct from the choices for your own site.
Open resourceWatch
Permaculture guilds part 1 - companion planting on steroids
YouTube
Connect the guild discussion with the niches and relationships in the book reading as you consider how plants might complement one another.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
Polycultures and Guilds - Episode 1 - Apples -n- more!
YouTube
Use the apple example to work through the guild ideas from the preceding resource, with your own site conditions and plant choices in mind.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Propagation, plant care, and season extension
The forest and guild readings examine plants in combination. The propagation resources focus on how to establish them. Use the explanations and demonstrations to prepare for the existing four-plant activity, then consider the care those plants need over time.
Book reading
Practical Permaculture
Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein
Pages 247 to 249: propagation methods
Book access & editionsRead
Propagation by Cuttings, Layering and Division - Virginia Tech Extension
Virginia Cooperative Extension
Open resourceWatch
Plant physiology and propagation Video
YouTube
Connect plant growth with the propagation methods you are considering for your four plant types.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
Hardy Kiwi - Easy Propagation Technique
YouTube
Use this plant-specific example to think about matching a propagation method to the plant being grown.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Read
Integrated Pest Management - Virginia Cooperative Extension
Virginia Cooperative Extension
Open resourceWatch
Integrated Pest Management Video
YouTube
Use this video alongside the extension reading to consider how observations of a pest problem inform a response.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
How To Identify Wild Plants - A Guide To Botanical Terms
YouTube
Use the botanical terms to make sense of plant descriptions as you work with the selection references.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
Season Extension Techniques - OSU Extension webinar
extension.oregonstate.edu
Consider season extension in relation to your site’s growing conditions and the work involved in caring for the plants.
Open resourceWatch
Season Extension Video
YouTube
Compare the approaches discussed here with the extension webinar, looking for the conditions each approach addresses.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Propagation and seed saving
The propagation resources above introduce several ways of establishing new plants. The following seed-saving resources add another way to continue plant material from one growing season to the next. Use these resources to prepare for the propagation activity later in this module.
Read
Seed Savers Exchange’s seed-saving guide
seedsavers.org
For seed harvesting and storage, use this guide alongside the short PBS Wisconsin seed-saving demonstration with Kent Whealy.
Open resourceWatch
PBS Wisconsin seed-saving demonstration with Kent Whealy
PBS Wisconsin
Open resourcePlant selection and site fit
Use the plant-selection references below to compare plants with the conditions you observed in Modules 5 and 10. Consider each plant’s role, site needs, mature size, spread, toxicity, pollination needs, and when it would be established in the design. These resources prepare you for the plant-selection activity later in this module.
Book reading
Edible Forest Gardens, Volume 2
Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier
Appendices — references for niche fit and plant selection
Book access & editionsExplore
Plants spreadsheet
Google Sheets
Use the spreadsheet with the plant-selection references to develop your list of plants and explain the roles they would have in the design.
Open resourceExercise & discussion
Propagation activity
Propagate four different plants using methods appropriate to each plant. Keep one record for each plant, including the propagation method, date, conditions, and what you observe as it develops. If growth continues beyond the study period, record the progress you have observed so far.
For one of the four plants, include seed saving where appropriate. Record how you determine that the seed is mature, how you collect and prepare it for storage, and how you label and store it.
Plant-selection activity
Review this Plants spreadsheet and make a preliminary selection of 10-20 plants that would work at your design site. Discuss your site conditions and proposed plant selection with me, then revise and finalize your selection. Choose plants that complement each other (i.e. make sure there are nitrogen fixers, food plants, ground covers, different sizes, shapes, and rooting patterns, etc.).
Consider moisture, sun, and other needs, as well as what stage in the implementation process they would be planted (i.e. should some be planted only once soil fertility and organic matter is better?).
Discuss placing wild forests at high elevations starting with pioneers and doing speedy/instant succession.
What to prepare
- Your four-entry propagation record: plant, method, date, conditions, and results so far, including seed-saving details where appropriate.
- Your 10–20-plant selection list or spreadsheet, with each plant’s role, site needs, and proposed planting stage.
- Notes for the forest-placement and succession discussion.
Save written notes as a document or PDF. For paper maps or handwritten notes, use a clear photo or scan. You can combine related work in one file.
Share & discuss
Attach your propagation record, plant-selection list or spreadsheet, and succession notes.
Email the address listed under “Get In Touch” on my contact page. Do not use the contact form. Include the Permaculture Design Course, Module 11, and “Propagation and plant selection” in your subject or message.
Find my email address ↗Optional quick check
Select your answers, then submit to see your score and explanations. You can retry. Results are not sent or stored.
Readings & resources
- Edible Forest Gardens, Volume 1Chapter 4 — niches, relationships, and guild logicPages 239 to 243: succession (Chapter 6)Pages 285 to 287: succession (Chapter 6)In lesson ↑
- Permaculture Design for Food VideoWatchIn lesson ↑
- Agroforestry VideoWatchIn lesson ↑
- Alley Cropping VideoWatchIn lesson ↑
- New Forest Farm VideoWatchIn lesson ↑
- Defining the spatial patterns of historical land use associated with the indigenous societies of eastern North AmericaReadIn lesson ↑
- Permaculture guilds part 1 - companion planting on steroidsWatchIn lesson ↑
- Polycultures and Guilds - Episode 1 - Apples -n- more!WatchIn lesson ↑
- Practical PermaculturePages 247 to 249: propagation methodsIn lesson ↑
- Propagation by Cuttings, Layering and Division - Virginia Tech ExtensionReadIn lesson ↑
- Plant physiology and propagation VideoWatchIn lesson ↑
- Hardy Kiwi - Easy Propagation TechniqueWatchIn lesson ↑
- Integrated Pest Management - Virginia Cooperative ExtensionReadIn lesson ↑
- Integrated Pest Management VideoWatchIn lesson ↑
- How To Identify Wild Plants - A Guide To Botanical TermsWatchIn lesson ↑
- Season Extension Techniques - OSU Extension webinarWatchIn lesson ↑
- Season Extension VideoWatchIn lesson ↑
- Seed Savers Exchange’s seed-saving guideReadIn lesson ↑
- PBS Wisconsin seed-saving demonstration with Kent WhealyWatchIn lesson ↑
- Edible Forest Gardens, Volume 2Appendices — references for niche fit and plant selectionIn lesson ↑
- Plants spreadsheetExploreIn lesson ↑