Grow Small Fruit Trees in Circles

(Excerpted from an article on permaculture in India in the International Agricultural Development magazine, April 1992).

“A novel idea has been to grow some fruit trees, like bananas and coconuts, in circles about 3 meters in diameter. Inside the circle a thick layer of humus builds up. Circle planting makes it easier to water the trees. Normally when trees are planted in a line they have to be watered separately, but in a circle they can be watered once from the center. There is also less shading of adjacent crops.”