November 5, 2024

VIDEO: We Planted 387 Trees On 5 New Swales


Ever since we got introduced to Permaculture some 10 years ago we had a dream to start and grow a beautifully productive food forest. We’ve made the first steps on our new off grid homestead in Portugal to realize this dream and planted close to 400 productive and support species. We built 5 new swales with the help of a small excavator and have planted a wide variety of trees on them.

The trees we planted include:
Figs, Apricots, Cherries, Plums, Apples, Hazelnut, Chestnut, Walnuts, Peaches, Nectarines, Mandarins, Lemons, Lime, Pomegranate, Feijoas, Persimmons, Mulberries, Oranges, Avocadoes, Loquats, Olives and a bunch of other species.

With the help of drip irrigation, deep mulching and seed mixes our goal is to convert an abandoned hillside into a thriving food forest and off grid homestead.

Follow our journey and learn with us as we experiment different strategies to make this place into a beautiful and productive small family farm.

23 thoughts on “VIDEO: We Planted 387 Trees On 5 New Swales

  1. Thanks for passing by and hope you've enjoyed watching this project unfold! It's such a pleasure to share this here with you. We've been dreaming of starting a food forest for so long and I can't believe we've finally planted the beginning of hopefully something incredibly abundant. Will definitely do update videos on how the food forest will grow overtime!! Thank you for all the support and kind comments! We really appreciate it!

  2. Do you have a well in your property or just what you dug?
    Looking good with the new plants. You are making so easy.. we are so encouraged. Any cherry trees?

  3. Your project is truly inspiring. I recently left South Africa to be with my now wife and we bough a small holding together in France. Although our land is a lot smaller than yours we also have a dream to create an abundant food source from it. We have zero experience but we see and learn a lot by watching your videos. It would be so great to get some advice from you.

  4. Fascinating to watch. Trees are key components and often the small ones are easiest to get established. I love your swales because you natural resources, unlike agribusiness in the US where everything is designed for the use of large equipment. You are developing biodiversity which reduces the need for pesticides. I love observing your progess.

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