Wild food forest

I took some photos of the "dumping" area at the park where we stayed in Frostproof.

For years the maintenance staff has piled up yard waste in a corner of the park... and over time, that area has turned into a lush patch of edible and ornamental plants:

Grandpa Ralph planted those bananas at one point, giving a bit of focus to the area... but a lot of the rest of the plants just ended up there. I found cannas, aloe, cassava, thornless nopale cactus and even sweet potatoes (see bottom photo) running about. I

It helps that the neighborhood is owned by Indians who like growing their own food. The brush left over from edging yards, weeding and cleaning up forgotten corners contains a much higher than usual level of edible and useful plants.

If a food forest can spontaneously generate from piles of yard debris, trust me - you can plan and build one. Just start planting useful and edible things and watch the system evolve.