An urban food forest in an empty lot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I recently took another trip down to south Florida to take a look at The Great South Florida Food Forest Project, among other things.

In my recent article for Mother Earth News about mulberry trees, I told the story about how long before we were married, Rachel and I picked mulberries together from a tree down the street from her mom’s place. That tree, sadly, was later knocked down… but a neighbor took cuttings before it died and placed them in an empty urban lot he owned across the street from where the original tree used to stand.

When we visited this time, I brought my camera and snapped a few pictures of the trees and the lot where he planted them, food forest style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only are there mulberries there… he’s now planted acerola cherry trees, mangoes, papaya, bananas, jaboticaba and other tropical fruits around the lot. It’s gone from a sandy parking area to a jungle of food.

I’m glad the tree we once visited lives on in this man’s possession… he seems like a worthy protector of her progeny. I wish I could have spoke with him in person this time – I’ve only met him once, and just in passing. He’s made an urban food forest where I never expected to see one. Good work!

Learn more on mulberries in this post – and start your own Florida food forest with this book!

NOTE TO SELF: Avoid tropical plant fever – do NOT spend too much time in south Florida.