Getting Started with Agroforestry (for beginners)
Where to begin with agroforestry?
How do you take that first step when you feel like you need to know everything before doing anything?
Let’s cut to the chase: if you’re in a rainy climate in USDA Zone 7 or colder, perhaps start with blackcurrants, elderberries, and shrub willow. They’re forgiving, fast-growing, and useful.
But before you put trees in the ground, it helps to ask yourself two simple but powerful questions:
What do you want your day to look like?
What can your land actually grow well?
What Do You Want Your Day to Look Like?
This question might sound big and personal, and that’s okay. In Holistic Management, Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield suggest starting with these three prompts:
X: What do you want out of your day and your life?
Y: What will you do to make that happen?
Z: What does success look like to you?
Agroforestry is just one way to shape a piece of land. And your land should support your larger goals – not the other way around. You might want more time with your family, a steadier income, a deeper connection to nature, or a creative project that brings life back to tired farmland. Whatever your reason, let it guide your tree choices.
People usually get into agroforestry for one of two reasons:
To run a profitable farm that also supports the environment.
To build a healthy ecosystem that also feeds people.
It’s a spectrum, but for now try picking a side. This helps narrow your focus.
If you’re still stuck, ask:
How many hours per week do I want to spend managing trees?
Do I want to work with others, or mostly alone?
What Kind of Agroforester Are You?
A lot of agroforesters have a few things in common: they’re curious, they care about the environment, and they’re okay with nature being a bit messy. Most are fine waiting a few years for results, and many enjoy ideas as much as hands-on work.
That said, we tend to fall into two camps:
High-energy, Type A folks who want to build something big, maybe with a team.
Low-stress, Type B types who’d rather spend quiet days in the woods.
Both approaches work — as long as your system matches your personality. The one catch? If you’re a go-getter with a full plate already, you’ll need to keep things simple at first.
What Can Your Land Grow?
Soils vary, but the big three factors to consider are:
Rainfall
Drainage
Soil pH
These don’t change easily — though irrigation and soil amendments help. For example:
Acidic, well-drained soil + good rain? Try chestnuts.
Higher pH soil? Black locust might be perfect.
Poor drainage? Bitternut hickory can make it work.
Not sure? Our tool, Overyield, can help you assess what your land is suited for. And if in doubt, blackcurrant, elderberry, and willow can grow in a wide range of conditions.
Adam, Eve, and Johnny Appleseed might lure you in a different direction, but unless you live in a region with dry air, apples are not the easiest trees to grow. Plant some shrub fruit and woody florals for your friends – and see how it goes.
Start Simple, Learn Fast
If you’ve never planted a tree, the best thing you can do is to start. Choose easy, resilient species so you can begin learning by doing.
“People think they need perfect conditions to start, when in reality, starting is the perfect condition.” -Alex Hormozi
I always recommend that rookies plant the easy trees that have a low probability of failure, independent of rainfall and soil.
Blackcurrants are not palatable to deer, and yield fruit quickly.
Elderberries grow vigorously and ward off cold and flu symptoms – via both consumption of the fruit and because they encourage you to go outside and breathe fresh air.
Ornamental willow is aesthetically vibrant, grows quickly given enough moisture, and pollinators love it. With enough organic matter in the soil and good grass suppression, all of these species should thrive.
Best of luck, and before you know it, you’ll be spending all of your weekends in April planting a whole lot of trees.