shared spaces . Certainly , adding tree crops to our food supply is not an all-or-nothing proposition . Annual crops are going to remain a key part of our diet , but there is still ample opportunity to diversify our food system and start to replace the tree crops we currently import ( including chestnuts ). Adventurous souls can explore new fruits and nuts . Picky eaters can still enjoy substitutions to their favorite recipes ( how about cookies made with chestnut flour ?) or even beef , chicken and pork from nutand fodder-fed livestock .
Photos : Matt Grason
Opposite page : green hazelnuts ; top and above : hazelnut seedlings and black walnut seedlings at Hostile Takeover Tree Nursery .
There are so many advantages to growing food from trees . In fact , tree-crop based agriculture plays a role in 10 of the top 50 climate change solutions , as ranked by Project Drawdown , a climate change think tank . 4 Perennial plants only need to be planted once , reducing the need to till , which damages soil microbe ecosystems and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere . Tree crops require less fertilizer and less labor for the same number of calories . Tree crops harvested , processed , and stored locally will travel fewer miles , lowering their fossil fuel use . Trees shade and cool the ground and help to regulate precipitation , contributing to more comfortable , stable weather patterns . Native food-bearing trees provide habitat and food for beneficial insects . 5 Tree crops that are left unharvested are hardly wasted . Left on the orchard floor or on the stem , they will feed birds , squirrels , deer , and other wildlife .
Growing tree crops in agricultural production systems is called agroforestry . The U . S . Department of Agriculture identifies five broad ways farms might engage in agroforestry 6 :
n Silvopasture – integrating trees into pasture systems for livestock ; n Alley cropping – having rows of trees between rows of annual crops ; n Forest farming – cultivating multi-story , usually mixed plant / crop systems ; n Windbreaks – planting rows of trees planted on the edges of farm fields to reduce wind , erosion , and evaporation ; and n Riparian forest buffer – plant-
What people are already doing in the area
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SilvoCulture : A non-profit in Frederick , MD , showing farmers and the public what ’ s possible and sharing know-how ; Reed Center : A non-profit , also in Frederick , conducting research , education , experience , and design to demonstrate ecologically beneficial agricultural systems ; Forested : A biodiverse community food forest in Bowie , MD , that offers tours , dinners made with tree crops , and the venue for food forest learning and research opportunities ; Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative ( KTCC ): An agricultural cooperative in Pennsylvania focused on expanding specialty crops from forest species , organizing harvest activities , and developing processing and marketing capacity for tree crops . KTCC ’ s first product will be hickory nut oil .
Local farms growing tree crops
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Honey ’ s Harvest Farms : Growing elderberries and other berries and producing elderberry syrup and other herbal medicinal preparations . Hogtree Farms : Eliza Greenman is another local tree crops specialist , who is also raising tree crop-fed heritage pigs . Butler ’ s Orchard : Pick-your-own apples and berries . Rock Hill Orchard : Pick-your-own apples , peaches , and berries . Hostile Takeover Tree Nursery : Author Matt Grason is raising bareroot , mostly native nut and fruit seedlings from seed in Brookeville , MD .