UNHIDE Agroforestry - A Knowledge Exchange Latvia- Sweden 2023-25 - Report - Page 18
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Boat in the Forest: Forest garden & food forest, Sweden
prescribed burning—resulting, for example, in the
appearance of fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium), which favors walnut establishment. They also
emphasize dedicating extensive areas entirely to
wildlife, benefiting generalist species and forest
specialists alike, while strengthening the mosaic
of many local, mycorrhizal networks—overlapping
and interacting.
RESISTANCE & RESILIENCE
Etta and Jona harvest sweet chestnuts from large,
wild-spread trees nearby for food. They propagated many trees years ago and recently grafted varieties sourced through friendships and non-monetary exchanges of plant material.
Sweet chestnuts need to be planted in clusters for
optimal pollination. Flowering around midsummer
makes them frost-safe, and ripening—similar to
Jona showing the water drip system.
southern Europe—occurs in late October. High
in calories and nutrients, sweet chestnuts have
long supported basic diets and autonomy in poor,
mountainous regions with limited cereal production.
According to the updated 2024 Swedish risk list
for potentially invasive species (SLU Species Data
Bank), sweet chestnut has “high invasive potential
but low negative ecological impact.” We argue
that sweet chestnuts are no less “native,” and
no more invasive when harvested for food, than
wheat. A diverse system incorporating chestnuts is
as much a “food field” as cereal cultivation, while
supporting ecological recovery in ways annual
crops cannot.
The group discussed invasive and less-desirable
species and whether the media debate is disproportionate, concluding that monoculture agriculture and forestry are among the largest drivers of
The walnut trees get nitrogen with
urine added in the water drip system.
