Trees for the Future (TREES) first introduced its Forest Garden Approach in 2014. The conceptualization of this approach stemmed from nearly three decades of experience working in and learning from agricultural communities worldwide. The first edition of the Forest Garden Technical Manual (2017, TREES) was developed by the TREES team with a grant from the United States Agency for International Development’s TOPS Small Grants Program Improvement Award. Since then, TREES and our partners have taught more than 50,000 farmers to convert minimally productive fields on increasingly degraded land into biointensive forest gardens that diversify and increase their yields, food security, and income potential. At the same time, forest gardens contribute to ecosystem restoration, carbon sequestration and storage, gender equity, community cohesion, and biodiversity. 

TREES has been using these resources to implement the Forest Garden Approach in sub‑Saharan Africa for more than eight years. In that time, we have learned a great deal about what works best in different contexts, what may not be working as well and why, and where gaps in practices should be addressed. Extensive learning from partners and stakeholders in the field has contributed to our collective capacity. This second edition of the Forest Garden Technical Manual, made possible through a grant from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, incorporates learning from the substantial experience of TREES staff and participant farmers working to establish and manage forest gardens. It fills gaps in earlier resources, incorporates feedback from both staff and farmers, adjusts and expands recommendations, and provides more detailed explanations and enhanced images that help to clarify some of the more complex concepts and practices.