n the last post, I looked beneath the soil at some of the less visible benefits our companion trees may be bringing to the food garden. For this final post in the series, I will explore two benefits I gave very little thought to when we planted the trees. One is practical. The other is more personal. Both have become clearer as the garden has matured. Natural Support for Climbing and Heavy Plants As our Eucalyptus grandis have grown, their trunks have become substantial struc

For many years, the idea of planting eucalyptus trees in a food garden would have sounded completely wrong to me. When Michelle and I first learned that syntropic systems often include Eucalyptus grandis alongside productive crops, we were highly sceptical. Like many people, we assumed these fast-growing eucalyptus trees would compete for water and create problems rather than benefits. Even so, we followed the design principles we had been shown and planted them in our own fo