Today I planted 5 Sesbania sesban trees that will grow fast to provide shade and wind protection for other trees. In permaculture these are called nurse trees or support trees.
Other nurse trees we grow are pidgeon pea, gliricidia, and neneleau. Bananas are great nurse trees too although they aren’t really trees. We grow pheasant wood and ice cream bean, but they are kind of unruly.
In our cacao agroforest, the tropical hardwoods and exotic fruit trees we planted will eventually reach over 80 feet in height. But until then we will continuously grow and cut back hundreds of support trees and thousands of bananas in the process. We can also grow useful crops in between while the forest is young too.
All support trees will sequester carbon into the soil, creating a fungal network that houses and activates soil microorganisms that boost fertility. This creates complex exchange of chemicals and elements through constant decay and growth.
With some planning and human intervention we are able to accelerate these natural cycles of a growing forest.
Originally posted on 2021-03-10, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.