Forest Farming - Forest Gardening Growing Alternative Crops Under a Forest Canopy Sarah Workman, University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development Forest settings can provide an ideal location for cultivating many valued plants that prefer shaded conditions. Several non-timber forest prod- ucts, including mushrooms and edible and shade-tolerant plants, can be intentionally cultivated or promoted to reproduce in forests using spe- ciic management practices. When considering alternatives for forested land, various elements need to be considered to identify how feasible forest farming will be given the available resources, site characteristics and plans for the land. Ideal forest crops have a relatively high value and are capable of producing proitable volume over the preferred time frame. Georgia and Southeastern growers can improve their income by being part of the ever-increasing supplements and wild crops markets. What is Forest Farming? Forest farming can be deined as cultivation of plants under a forest canopy (as opposed to wildcrating, the practice of collecting wild plants and products from a forest). Forest farmers can manage diferent layers in the forest structure to increase sustainable harvests of non-timber forest products from natural forests or tree planta- tions. he canopy trees provide timber, nuts and fruits like pecans or persimmons; the middle layer may be full of mayhaw, vines, berries or ornamentals; and the forest loor can be cultivated for medicinal and culinary herbs, roots, mushrooms and landscaping or lorist products like lowers and ferns. he multilayered structure of a farmed forest improves wildlife habitat and may also increase the aesthetic and recreational value of the property. If forested land is managed for a diversity of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), longer tree rotations and selective logging, small acreages can be species-rich systems providing a multitude of commercial and noncom- mercial values. Eastern forests have been a major supplier of marketed NTFPs and wild crops for more than a century. We have hundreds of commercial species growing in great abundance in our rich temperate forests. Wild crop industries are growing with infrastructure to support small NTFP busi- nesses and wild crop cultivation. An investment in these businesses is strategic because it can bring greater stability to the herbal and medici- nal plant industry and increase the availability of living-wage green jobs for the long term. Industries that cur- rently generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually are collectively beginning to generate billions. Markets Shiitake mushroom cultivation on hardwood logs. Cultivated oyster mushrooms.