Food forests: Fruit guilds that feed you for decades · Alt Ordo Systems Guide
A food forest is an orchard planted like the edge of a woodland: a fruit or nut tree in the middle, berry bushes and herbs around it, a ground cover under it and a thick layer of wood-chip mulch over the soil. Each tree with its companions is a guild. You plant it once, water it hard for three summers, and then it gives you fruit for decades with a few days of work a year. The planting is a weekend. The waiting is the real cost.
This guide helps you choose a site, pick trees that fit your winters, plant your first fruit guilds the right way and keep them alive through the first three summers, so they feed you for the next thirty years.
What's inside. 18 pages in 9 chapters (At a glance, Where it works, How it works, Size it, Parts and cost, Plant it, Run it, Rules and permits, How it connects), then the sources and a notes page. 6 numbered figures drawn for this guide. You also get a worked example with a fill-in worksheet, 9 numbered steps, a year-round calendar, and a troubleshooting table.
Three builds, costed line by line (typical US prices, October 2026):
- Bare-bones: $141–$187
- Standard: $557–$968
- Comfortable: $1,852–$2,997
Sourced and fact-checked. Facts and figures are cited to the 28 sources listed at the back, and the whole guide was fact-checked before release. General guidance, not engineering advice: your county and a qualified pro have the last word on your site.
Pairs with other Alt Ordo Systems Guides: Composting; Composting toilets; Roof rainwater catchment; Backyard chickens; Beekeeping; Canning and food preservation. For your county's permits and rules, see our county and state guides.
Instant PDF download. After checkout you get a download link by email. Letter-size pages, made to read on screen or print at home.