The power of community and growth
As the seasons shift and autumn settles in, April brings cooler mornings and evenings, but lovely warm days still up here in the north. In our food forest, this time of year is all about transition—preparing for winter, nurturing the soil, and ensuring that the systems we've put in place continue to thrive through the cooler months.
This April, more than ever, we’ve been reminded of the incredible power of community. While our focus has been drawn to the final stages of our home build, our food forest has been left to fend for itself. We were incredibly blessed to have new friend’s step in, roll up their sleeves, and lend a hand in keeping our food forest thriving. From weeding and mulching, seed bombing, pruning, planting, and planning their generosity has been a heartwarming reminder that regenerative agriculture isn’t just about the land—it’s about the people who come together to care for it.
The Importance of Community in Regeneration
A thriving food forest is built on the principles of diversity, resilience, and mutual support—and the same is true for a strong community. In a world that often values individualism over collective effort, having friends and like-minded souls who show up, share knowledge, and support each other is invaluable. It’s the essence of what syntropic agroforestry teaches us.
This month, with their help, we’ll continue to tackle these essential tasks:
- Mulching for Moisture Retention: With the rains coming and cooler temperatures setting in, adding thick layers of mulch around trees and perennial plants helps retain soil moisture, suppress weeds, and protect the delicate root systems from the impending chill.
- Harvesting & Preserving: Finish off your harvesting and preserving so you can enjoy your bounty through the colder months.
- Planting for the Next Cycle: All the plants from my ‘shame pile’ (aka the plants I have been collecting and propagating that I haven’t had time to plant or water properly) have been put in the ground. We are still warm enough in Northland to get away with this. This is also a good time to start planning what fruit trees you want to plant this winter.
- Pruning & Tree Care: Preparing deciduous fruit trees for dormancy by pruning and feeding them with nutrient-rich compost helps set them up for a strong spring resurgence. Going through and doing a full chop’n’drop depending on your context and climate. Some of the plants we haven’t pruned back too hard incase the weather does do a sudden cold shift.
Looking Ahead: Winter Preparations
As April winds down, we’re shifting our focus to windbreak reinforcement (in our case we’ve filled lots of gaps in our support row), composting, and maintaining soil health over winter. The groundwork we lay now ensures that when spring returns, the food forest will burst back into life, stronger and more abundant than before.
This past month has reinforced a truth we hold dear—land regeneration is not a solo endeavor. It flourishes through shared effort, shared meals, and shared moments of connection. To the Power family who showed up and contributed their time, knowledge, and energy, we are deeply grateful. Your support is woven into the very fabric of our food forest, and we look forward to sharing our bounty and propagation material with you over the coming years.
If you’ve been thinking about starting your own food forest or want to get involved in regenerative agriculture, reach out. We have an amazing community around us and can help you find the best people for your vision.