The Faber Forest Project
From field to forest.Purpose
Live out my dreams of being a farmer and of producing food from my own land. Learning how to care for plants in a way that also cares for the soil and the animals, promoting diversity and robust abundance.
Vision
- Convert this field in Kent (England) into an edible food forest landscape.
- Intrigue people to visit and learn more about sustainable permaculture and alternative small scale farming.
- Promote these ideas and values throughout the UK.
Goals
- Year 1 - Plant the top 1/3 of the field with the broad spectrum of species at the density of a forest.
- Year 2 - Cover the next 1/3 of the field with seeds started from Year 1. Continue bushing out the first 1/3.
- Year 3 - Cover the final 1/3 of the field with seeds started from the first two thirds. Continue bushing the previous thirds.
- Year 5 - The first 1/3 should now have matured into a thriving forest.
Plan
This project started in September 2024, when I acquired the field. My plan is to document this process best I can, in a way that doesn't take away from any time working on the field. Going in, I don't have much, if any, prior experience in farming or tree planting. I'm going for an experimental approach and learning as I go, using mostly hand tools and my own (wo)manpower.
This first winter I'm planting as many trees and hedges as I can while in the dormant period, with the hopes that they'll take off in spring. My main risks are the large rabbit and deer population that roam the area. They will eat and destory any tree or plant that is within their reach.
Wish me luck. :)
Timeline
19 January 2025
I had a big shipment of tree guards and extra bamboo stakes arrive. I went out to the field twice this week to put them all in place.
12 January 2025
I tested my new hole makers, one manual spiral auger, which makes a nice uniform hole about 10cm wide and 20-30cm deep. It takes about 20 seconds to make. I also tested the heavy pole bar, which weighs almost 10kg and you just shove it into the ground wit
24 December 2024
This morning was a big day for the forest. The first installment of fruit trees arrived and I got them all in the ground in one go. I had 28 trees, 2 of each species of apples, pears, plums
21 December 2024
It's been two months since my last update and the main thing that's happened is the hedge plants have been delivered and gone in the ground. I was away for a few weeks, so some things were on hold and I had to delay the hedge delivery to give myself time
25 October 2024
Since my last update I've been able to do quite a few visits and making a lot of progress. I built the trolley, which I can move stuff around in, hoping that it'll come in useful. Pretty easy to build, and I take off one wheel and put it into the locked s
16 October 2024
Busy day, I successfully got my new large storage bin into the car and to the field. I set it up there, and it works perfectly. Super cool. I mapped the wastewater pipeline, which runs under the field, so I know not to plant trees there. I’ll go back on F
12 October 2024
I’m off to my field this morning, I should hurry up and get there. Will do some more bean planting, not hugely excited about the effort required, but keen to try my new twister tool, which has now arrived. Let’s see how it goes…
10 October 2024
Mid-week this week I went to visit my land, I probably need to be going twice a week right now. I bought a pickaxe (actually mattock) and 10kg of broad beans to plant as a cover crop. I went to try out the process; I had no idea if my mattock planting ide
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