Tundra Grove Food Forest Tour

Tundra Grove invited community members for a tour of their food forest in July and Rooted In was lucky to have the opportunity to see a food forest right in the heart of our city. Tyler Delsart and his wife Charlie Harmon have successfully implemented one in their yard. 

A food forest is a diverse planting of edible plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature. Food forests are three dimensional designs, with life extending in all directions – up, down, and out. Generally, seven layers are recognized in a food forest – the overstory, the understory, the shrub layer, the herbaceous layer, the root layer, the ground cover layer, and the vine layer.

As Tyler walked us around his yard, he pointed out different plants and why they were or weren’t planted near each other. A variety of greens, fruit trees, herbs, prairie grasses, vegetables that are growing as supportive layers of the food forest. 

Tyler also showed us how he inoculates mushrooms. According to Tyler, “At the food forest, we cut clones and grow out spores of choice mushrooms on petri dishes. Our healthiest specimens grow out it’s mycelium on a blend of coffee grounds, rye berries, bran and hardwood; creating a nutrient supercharged fungi brick. 

These bricks are the ground layer and foundation of the Grove’s garden and forestscape, which are mulched with hardwood to continuously feed the fungal system. You can think of our brick substrate like loaves of bread; they are mixed and shaped before being sterilized in a pressure cooker.”

You can find Tundra Grove at the Wednesday Farmers Market on Broadway selling microgreens, mushrooms and more. To learn more, visit tundragrove.com or call Tyler at 920-713-4647.