The Humboldt Edible Forest
The Humboldt Edible Forest is being developed by the Humboldt Edible Forest Stewards, a neighborhood group led by Deirdre Calendaria and supported by Urban Tilth and the City of Richmond, Parks and Landscaping Division. The Humboldt Edible Forest is located directly south of the basketball courts of the Humboldt Playlot at the intersection of Humboldt and Solano Avenue, right up against I-80.
History: The first planning meeting was held in October of 2008. We broke ground in December 2008. We planted cover crops of fava beans, daikon radish, and inoculated the soil with compost tea. We also made a mulch/fava bean spiral.
Vision: During our first planning meeting participants spoke about the desire to create an engaging space for local residents to build community and reconnect with natural cycles by growing food, medicinal, and ornamental plants together. We plan for the design of the site to grow organically from both the donated and recylced materials we scrounge up (logs, mulch, plants, etc.) and from neighbors who attend the workdays. We’ll use log borders and lots of compost to create planting mounds, surrounded by mulched paths. Inspired by edible forest ideas from the permaculture world, we’ll plant fruit trees and a wide variety of understory plants to ensure high biodiversity and self-maintaining fertility in the garden. Once our edible forest and our stewardship group are well established, we plan to share both divided plant materials and lessons learned with other groups who want to increase foodsheds in their own neighborhoods. We expect that someday, all Richmond residents will be within short walking distance of a neighborhood edible forest.
Donations Needed: The Humboldt Edible Forest gladly accepts donations of the following:
—fruit trees (especially low-chill apples, Meyers lemons, persimmons, and pomegranates)
—berry bushes
—6 to 12 inch diameter logs
—$ to cover costs of compost, signs, and irrigation supplies. You can make donations online.
What is Next? Our second work day will be on Sunday, February 8th from 10-12. We plan to create 2-3 planting mounds and plant several fruit trees and understory crops. Please show up if you would like to get involved or send us an email at park(at)urbantilth(dot)org.
