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The Overstory #246: Introduction to temperate homegardens
                        by Michael Hill
                        May 14, 2012

*Introduction*
                        Humans have cultivated plants in a number of 
different arrangements for
thousands of years, including mimicking forest growth to create
agricultural systems that can be categorized as multistrata homegardens.
Homegardens are intimate, multistory combinations of various trees and
crops, sometimes in association with domestic animals, around the homestead
(Nair & Kumar, 2006). Homegardens are most prevalent in the tropicse.g.,
South and Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, East and West Africa,
Mesoamerica but also exist to a much smaller degree in temperate zones of
China, North America, and Europe (Nair & Kumar, 2006). Homegardens have
been cultivated in tropical regions across the globe for centuries, or even
millennia in some cases, and continue today to be a major source of
valuable and nutritious food, fodder, medicine, fuel, and building
materials. In addition, homegardens can deliver intangible benefits to
owners and caretakers, such as beauty, quietude, and a sense of pride,
hope, and self-confidence, especially as the homegardener experiments,
adjusts, and learns through the process of establishing and maintaining a
multi-functioning homegarden (Katanga et al., 2007). Finally, homegardens
serve as both planned and associated biodiversity repositories (Montagnini,
2006), and they also sequester carbon.

*Ecological Cultivation*
                        As implied in the definition given above, homegardens 
are close to the
homestead and consist of a number of intimate relationships. Homegardens
are generally relatively small, up to 1.0 ha, though larger homegardens can
occasionally be found (Peyre et al., 2006), and therefore relationships
among the elements are usually managed intensively. Homegarden
sustainability relies on the cultivation of these relationships for the
efficient use of space, water, soil nutrients, and sunlight. Wiersum (2004)
summarizes the benefits found by researchers working in the area of
multispecies forest gardens, which are similar in structure (though not
necessary similar in terms of caretaker goals and cultivation practices) to
the homegardens of interest for this paper: (1) Efficient use of
aboveground and belowground space, (2) efficient circulation of nutrients
and reduced risks for depleting nutrients because of filters to protect
against losses, (3) plant protection as a result of buffers against
damaging insects and diseases, and (4) protection against potentially
degrading forces such as torrential rainfall, surface runoff, or damaging
winds, as a result of the presence of vegetative barriers.

*Vertical Stratification*
                        Natural forests rely on the use of vertical space for 
the efficient use of
light, soil nutrients, and symbiotic plant interactions; multistrata
homegardens, too, rely on such use of vertical space. A forest is typically
arranged in strata, or layers. The tallest trees combine to form a canopy,
smaller tree species form an understory, a shrub layer fills the next
stratum, and an herb layer fills the lowest layer of vertical space
(Kricher, 1998). Fungi and organic litter (from leaves and twigs) form the
lowest layer, and vines use the vertical architecture of the trees and
shrubs to climb. Not all homegardens contain all these layers, though at
least three layers are typically present (Jacke & Toensmeier, 2005; Kumar &
Nair, 2004).

*Horizontal Distribution*
                        Jacke and Toensmeier (2005) write that the most 
productive stage in
succession, in terms of net primary productivity, is intermediate
succession, before the tree canopy closes in, when trees, shrubs, herbs, and
vines all live together. The authors continue, Luckily, most of our developed
woody crops, including apples, pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, persimmons,
raspberries, hazelnuts, walnuts, and so on, are adapted to such habitats (p.
33). A homegardener can guide horizontal arrangement by creating patches of
multistrata polyculturesallowing patches to slowly grow together as the tree
canopy develops, which provides for years or even decades of harvests from
smaller trees, shrubs, and herbs in the lower strata (more on this later in
the paper). The horizontal spacing must be such that the trees and shrubs have
plenty of room to grow outward without interfering significantly with other
trees.

*Homegarden Value*
                        Kumar and Nair (2004) summarized the benefits of 
homegardens from an
economic and/or social viewpoint, as compared with other farming systems
under similar situations: low capital requirements and labor costs; better
utilization of resources, greater efficiency of labor; diversified range of
products from a given area; increased value of the components, leading to
higher income and improved standards of living; increased self-sufficiency
and reduced risk from climatic, biological or market impacts; better use of
underutilized land; enhanced food and nutritional security; and increased
fulfillment of social and cultural needs through product sharing and
exchange. The authors were writing specifically about tropical homegarden
systems, but smallholders in temperate zones certainly could enjoy many or
all of these same benefits. While far fewer people make their living
through subsistence farming in the developed world, creating /complementary
homegardens/ (Abebe et al., 2006) could result in yields of products (such
as fruits, nuts, and herbs) with high nutritional value and high medicinal
value (e.g., ginseng, elderberry), while also creating habitats for
animals, improving environmental conditions, enhancing biodiversity, and
sequestering carbon.

*Carbon Sequestration*
                        Homegardens reduce atmospheric CO2 levels via three 
main mechanisms: they
sequester carbon in biomass and soil, reduce fossil-fuel burning by
promoting woodfuel production, and help in the conservations of carbon
stocks in existing forests by alleviating the pressure on natural forests
(Kumar, 2006). In the context of increasing concerns about global climate
change, finding cost-effective methods for sequestering carbon has become a
major international policy goal (Montagnini & Nair, 2004). Homegardens
sequester carbon in plant biomass and soil, and can be particularly
effective if the soil is left relatively undisturbed, as soils contain the
major stock of carbon in tree-based ecosystems. Sequestration of carbon in
the soil occurs because more than half of the carbon assimilated via
photosynthesis in the leaves is eventually transported below ground via
root growth and turnover, root exudates of organic substances, and litter
deposition (Montagnini & Nair, 2004). As compared to annual monocultures,
long-rotation systems such as agroforests and homegardens sequester sizable
quantities of carbon (Montagnini, 2006), as the amount of biomassand,
therefore, carbonthat is harvested and exported from the system is low
compared to the total productivity of the tree (Montagnini & Nair, 2004).

*Other Ecological Benefits*
                        As discussed above, homegardens provide the 
opportunity for efficient
nutrient cycling through species and structural diversity, constant ground
cover, nitrogen fixation, symbiotic plant interactions, and long rotational
timeframes. In the tropics, homegardens serve as repositories for
biodiversity, both planned and associated. Planned biodiversity includes
the collection of plants and animals that the homegarden manager has
decided are part of the managed system, while associated biodiversity
includes all other organisms not intentionally included in the managed
systems, such as insects, frogs, birds, fungi, etc. (Perfecto & Vandermeer,
2008). Not only cultivated plants but also weeds can bring the number of
useful plant species in a single homegarden into the dozens (Montagnini,
2006).

*Temperate Examples*
                        Though more properly considered a forest garden 
(Wiersum, 2004), Feldhake
and Schumann (2005) experimented with a multistrata system, based on trees
and shrubs only, in central Appalachia, U.S.A. The researchers planted a
1.2 ha forest clear-cut with red oak (/Quercus rubra/) as the mature forest
species for future veneer logs, with alternating rows of Chinese chestnut
(/Castanea mollissima)/, pawpaw (/Asimina triloba/), hazelnut (/Corylus
Americana/), and white pine (/Pinus strobus/), and interplantings of
blackberry (/Rubus /spp.) and blueberry (/Vaccinium /spp.), for generating
income as the forest matured. Though the study looked at tree growth, under
a variety of growing conditions, for only four years, a couple of
interesting author comments and research findings are germane to this
paper. First, the authors state in the introduction, In this high rainfall
region, most of the nutrients are tied up in biomass on shallow-soil sites,
thus site productivity may be compromised by frequent complete removal of
the above-ground biomass (Feldhake & Schumann, 2005, p. 187), indicating
one of the major problems with traditional agriculture in that region. This
type of system overcomes these limitations by improving on-site nutrient
retention compared to traditional forestry or agriculture. Second, at the
end of four years, the chestnut trees averaged more than twice as tall as
oak, hazelnut, and pawpaw, and pawpaw had surpassed the oak in height.
Given the slower growth rate of the oaks, the desired future canopy tree,
the opportunity was created to provide short-term income from nuts and
fruits for several decades while the oak canopy is developing (Feldhake &
Schumann, 2005). One observation by this author is that Feldhake and
Schumann give no indication that plants such as clovers or vetches were
used in the herb layer, which could have led to improved nutrient cycling
to aid the growth of the fruit and nut trees, through providing
groundcover, mulch, nitrogen fixation, and dynamic accumulation.
                        As mentioned in the introduction, Nair and Kumar 
(2006) write of some
examples of temperate homegardens in parts of China and Europe. Traditional
homegardens in the temperate region of Isparta, Turkey, are used to grow
fruits and vegetables for both home consumption (on average, about 1/3 of
the production) and for market (about 2/3 of production), and are also used
for raising animals for meat, eggs, and milk (Bassullu & Tolunay, 2010).
Jacke and Toensmeier (2005) provide case studies of three homegardens in
North America. As compared to the literature on tropical homegardens, of
course, these examples seem paltry, though the applications are
encouraging, nonetheless.

*Conclusion*
                        In uncertain times of increasing fossil fuel prices 
and climate change,
diverse homegardens may provide ecological and socioeconomic sustainability
for people living in temperate zones, as they do for people of the tropics.
Given that approximately 80% of Americans live in cities, it has been
argued that adoption of agroforestry practices should begin with urban
populations and landscapes (USDA, 2011). Urban agriculture represents a
continually growing activity, in both tropical and temperate climates, and
in both developing and developed countries (Drescher et al., 2006), though
the evidence is that urban agriculture in developed countries consists
mainly of plantings of annual food crops (e.g., Patel (1996)). The adoption
of multistrata homegardens, with a focus on perennials and woody plants,
could work as well in these situations as it has in tropical regions.

REFERENCES
                        Abebe, T., K.F. Wiersum, F. Bongers, and F. Sterck. 
(2006). Diversity and
dynamics in homegardens of Southern Ethiopia. In Kumar, B.M. and P.K. Nair
(eds.), /Tropical Homegardens: A time-tested example of Sustainable
Agroforestry,/ (pp. 123-142). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
                        Bassullu, C., and A. Tolunay. (2010). Analysis on 
traditional homegarden
involving animals practices and its importance classification of usage
purposes in rural areas of Isparta region of Turkey . /Asian Journal of
Animal and Veterinary Advances, 5/(7): 450-464.
                        Douglas, J.S., and R.A. de J. Hart. (1984). Forest 
farming: Towards a
solution to problems of world hunger and conservation. Exeter, Great
Britain: A. Wheaton & Co. Ltd.
                        Drescher, A.W., R.J. Holmer, and D.L. Iaquinta. 
(2006). Urban homegardens
and allotment gardens for sustainable livelihoods: Management strategies
and institutional environments. In Kumar, B.M. and P.K. Nair (eds.),
/Tropical Homegardens: A time-tested example of Sustainable Agroforestry/,
(pp. 337-338). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
                        Feldhake, C.M., and C.M. Schumann. (2005). Tree 
establishment for a
temperate agro-forest in central Appalachia, USA. /Agroforestry Systems,
65/: 187-195.
                        Jacke, D., and E. Toensmeier. (2005). Edible forest 
gardens (Volumes 1 and
2). White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Company.
                        Katanga, R., G. Kabwe, E. Kuntashula, P.L. Mafongoya, 
and S. Shiri. (2007).
Assessing farmer innovations in agroforestry in Eastern Zambia. /The
Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 13/(2): 117-129.
                        Kricher, J. (1998). Eastern Forests: A field guide to 
birds, mammals,
trees, flowers, and more. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
                        Kumar, B.M. (2006). Carbon sequestration potential of 
homegardens. In
Kumar, B.M. and P.K. Nair (eds.). /Tropical Homegardens: A time-tested
example of Sustainable Agroforestry/, (pp. 185-204). Dordrecht, The
Netherlands: Springer.
                        Kumar, B.M., and P.K.R. Nair. (2004). The enigma of 
tropical homegardens.
/Agroforestry Systems, 61/: 135-152.
                        Montagnini, F., and P.K.R. Nair. (2004). Carbon 
sequestration: An
underexploited environmental benefit of agroforestry systems. /Agroforestry
Systems, 61/: 281-295.
                        Montagnini, F. (2006). Homegardens of Mesoamerica: 
Biodiversity, food
security, and nutrient managements. In Kumar, B.M. and P.K. Nair (eds.).
/Tropical Homegardens: A time-tested example of Sustainable Agroforestry/,
(pp. 61-84). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
                        Nair, P.K.R., and B.M. Kumar. (2006). Introduction. 
In Kumar, B.M. and P.K.
Nair (eds.). /Tropical Homegardens: A time-tested example of Sustainable
Agroforestry/, (pp. 1-10). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
                        Patel, I.C. (1996). Rutgers urban gardening: a case 
study in urban
agriculture. /Journal of Agricultural & Food Information, 3/(3): 35-46.
                        Perfecto, I., and J. Vandermeer. (2008). Biodiversity 
conservation in
tropical agroecosystems: A new conservation paradigm. /Annals of the New
York Academy of Sciences/. doi: 10.1196/annals.1439.011
                        Peyre, A., A. Guidal, K.F. Wiersum, and F. Bongers 
(2006). Homegarden
dynamics in Kerala, India. In Kumar, B.M. and P.K. Nair (eds.). /Tropical
Homegardens: A time-tested example of Sustainable Agroforestry/, (pp.
87-103). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
                        United States Department of Agriculture (2011). 
U.S.D.A. Agroforestry
strategic framework, fiscal year 2011-2016. Retrieved December 7, 2011,
from http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=FOREST_FORESTRY
                        Wiersum, K.F. (2004). Forest gardens as an 
intermediate land-use system in
the nature-culture continuum: Characteristics and future potential.
/Agroforestry Systems, 61/: 123-134.

ORIGINAL SOURCE
                        This article was excerpted from the original with the 
kind permission of
the author: Hill, M. 2012. Temperate Homegardens. Agroforestry Net,
Holualoa, Hawaii, USA.
http://agroforestry.net/pubs/Temperate_Homegardens_Michael_Hill.pdf

AUTHOR BIO
                        Michael Hill is a student of permaculture and 
agroforestry. He is currently
taking graduate courses in agroforestry from the University of Missouri,
and he holds a doctorate in research methodology from the University of
Virginia. He lives with his wife and two children on the Asheville School
campus in Asheville, North Carolina. He chairs the mathematics department
at Asheville School.

RELATED EDITIONS OF THE OVERSTORY
The Overstory #239: The Benefits of Tropical Homegardens
The Overstory #229: Urban Tree benefits
The Overstory #222: Forests and human health in the tropics
The Overstory #216--Introduction to temperate edible forest gardens Yhe
Overstory #213--Urban Forestry for Multifunctional Urban Land Use
The Overstory #186--Introduction to tropical homegardens
The Overstory #147--Major Themes of Tropical Homegardens
The Overstory #142--Urban Trees and Forests
The Overstory #109--Cultural Landscapes
The Overstory #99--Grey Water for Trees and Landscape
The Overstory #87--Urban Forestry

PUBLISHER NOTES
Publisher: Permanent Agriculture Resources
Editor: Craig R. Elevitch
Distributor: The Overstory E-Journal is distributed by Agroforestry Net, Inc.,
a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Hawaii.
Address: P.O. Box 428, Holualoa, Hawaii 96725 USA
Email: overstory AT agroforestry.net ; Web site: http://www.overstory.org

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