Gardening expert Justin Calverley reveals his favourite fruit, vegetables and herbs to grow at home

Growing your own fruit, veggies and herbs can be time-consuming if you use a traditional approach of planting annuals every year. But there is another way.

By harnessing the power of perennials, trees and shrubs, you can establish a thriving ecosystem that requires minimal upkeep – perfect for busy people.

In his new book The Urban Food Forester, Justin Calverley reveals the secrets of our woodlands and how their low-maintenance model can revolutionise our outdoor spaces. Known as 'food forests', these self-sustaining backyard ecosystems focus on long-living perennial plantings.

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A food forest garden, once established, will continue to give back year after year, reducing maintenance and increasing biodiversity.

In this extract from The Urban Food Forester he shares his top plant picks:

"The following plants are my personal favourites. I have them all in my own garden – primarily because my family loves them and so we have a use for all their harvests.

Over the years I have set up the perfect microclimate for them to flourish, but you will find they are all very hardy and require next to no maintenance once they have been established.

Walnut

If space is not an option, a walnut is my favourite upper-canopy selection. The nut is delicious, and there is an air of elegance and wisdom to a mature walnut that stops me in my tracks.

They make me feel like I need to acknowledge them with the same respect I would give an elder.

Loquat

This might be the most underrated of the fruiting trees and a great confidence booster for beginners.

A loquat will perform well in almost any climate, will respond well to even the least experienced pruner and is tough as nails. Its abundance of delicious melon-like fruit just barely surpasses the heavenly vanilla-like scent of its flowers.

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Lemon myrtle

If you are in southern Australia, it might take you a few goes to find the right microclimate for this one but when you do it is amazing.

The sherbet-like scent and flavour of this plant brings me so much nostalgia. This plant hits high on the must haves list due to its versatility of uses, and it can be grown as a tree or a shrub depending on your space requirements.

It is put to use for culinary reasons, as well as for infusions, and as cleaning products and deterrents, among others.

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Apples

Of all the common lower-canopy species, apples are my favourite. There is a plethora of choice depending on your preference for texture and taste.

The trees themselves are fairly hardy and forgiving in terms of care needs, but it's their aesthetics that make me rate them so highly. Every season they provide a feature of visual interest.

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Midyim berry

The coppery new growth, the dainty white flowers and the uniqueness of the fruit provide more than enough reasons to add this rambling shrubby plant to this must-haves list.

I've seen this do just as well in pots as in the ground so I urge all food foresters to give this one a spot on the team.

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Sweet cicely

What's not to like about this beauty? Lush, pretty, hardy to most environments and very tasty. All parts of this plant are edible, from the roots to the seeds.

I know aniseed is not a beloved flavour by all but, personally, I find its scent provides a freshness and vibrancy that can't be beaten. Plus, having the scent drift through your garden will deter many common pests.

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Ginger

An ideal choice for dappled-light environments, there is a native or exotic species that would suit any garden.

The much-desired root harvest lends itself to many culinary uses. Excess harvests can be replanted to fill gaps that may appear during the life of your forest.

Warrigal greens

Whether it's featured on the herbaceous or groundcover list, this plant is a must. A prolific grower, Warrigal greens (native spinach) rewards harvest with more harvest.

Even if you choose not to eat it, this plant is a luscious living mulch that will self-seed throughout the forest floor. Plant it once and enjoy it forever.

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Passionfruit

This vigorous climber will provide harvests in most climates. The speed in which this plant reaches fruiting maturity (two years) is just one reason why this tropical gem is so popular.

The density of its canopy will also provide a fantastic nesting habitat for small birds that will keep pests down in your forest. Just try to reject the urge to pick the passionfruit's highly architectural flowers."

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This is an edited extract from The Urban Food Forester by Justin Calverley, available now.

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