A Month of Growth and Alchemy
December is an exciting month in the syntropic agroforestry calendar, especially in New Zealand, where the Southern Hemisphere's summer brings long, sun-filled days. In the world of syntropic farming, December is a time to watch the magic of the system unfold as plants flourish, animals become more active, and the soil breathes life into the system. It's a time to fine-tune, nurture, and set the stage for the next cycle of growth.
In this post, we’ll explore the key tasks to focus on in your syntropic agroforest during December. I have kept it simple this month as I’m guessing most of us find the lead up to festive season a very busy time of year.
Harvesting the Fruits of Your Labor
By December, many of the early summer crops will be ready for harvest.
First Fruits: Early season fruits like berries, strawberries, and stone fruits (plums, apricots) may be coming into season. Harvest them carefully, ensuring that you leave enough for wildlife and for the health of the plant.
Leafy Greens and Herbs: If you have a young system with annuals, you may be able to start harvesting your early summer vege. Remember to keep replanting fast growing crops every couple of weeks to ensure a constant supply and full ground cover over the summer months.
Perennial Crops: Herbs and perennial vegetables such as yams, Jerusalem artichokes, and rhubarb should be checked for their readiness. Harvest these with care to maintain plant health and ensure that the root systems continue to thrive. If your system is heading into its next phase and your crops may be getting too shaded, consider completely chopping and dropping all these crops when harvesting rather than letting them go into senescence. Remember to think about the system as a whole, not just individual plants or species.
Pruning and Shaping Your Forest
Depending on when you did your spring reset, this month may be a time to begin light pruning of fast-growing plants that could become too dominant or overshadow more delicate crops. Pruning helps ensure that the layers of the forest remain balanced and plants are kept in their strata. When pruning, you first want to remove: damaged, dead, and diseased branches, then depending on what and why you are pruning, check for where fruit are likely to form (for easy picking and to ensure the tree can handle the weight), which way you want branches to grow, and for good air flow. It is also good practice to clean your pruning gear regularly and keep it sharp and well maintained.
Tree Canopy Pruning: Prune fast-growing pioneer species like the nitrogen-fixing legumes (e.g., Acacia or Tagasaste) that are often part of the syntropic agroforestry mix. Pruning these trees helps keep the light flowing to understory crops while also allowing the trees to thrive and continue providing organic matter. For the more invasive support/emergent trees that you don’t won’t spreading, make sure you are watching for flowering and seed-set so you can prune before this happens.
Shrubs and Vines: Manage the growth of climbing plants (such as kiwi or passionfruit) by pruning them back slightly to ensure proper airflow and minimize the risk of fungal diseases.||
Mulching Around Trees and Shrubs: Adding a fresh layer of organic mulch around trees and plants or chopping and dropping your support species will help retain moisture, suppress weeds, and provide essential nutrients.
Weeding and Mulching
While syntropic agroforestry relies on dense planting and a rich groundcover layer to naturally suppress weeds, you will still need to keep an eye on any invasive or unwanted species. Weeding in December is not only about removing undesired plants but about creating space for your chosen crops to thrive. Weeds can be viewed as a form of spiritual transformation, drawing energy from the earth to cleanse the system of imbalances. Remove them with care and purpose.
Encourage the growth of living mulches like clover, vetch, or low-growing herbs to create a living carpet that suppresses weeds, conserves moisture, and enriches the soil with nitrogen if you have any gaps on the forest floor. With most weeds (the exception being super invasive or those that easily re-root by layering/cuttings) cut them at soil level and use as mulch.
Filling Any Gaps
If you are like me, you had great intentions of spring planting, but life got hectic and you still have 100 ish plants waiting to get in the ground. The main issue around planting in summer is transplant shock due to the heat and dryness of the ground so if you can plant early morning/evening or on an overcast day, preferably with rain forecasted, then you may just get away with it. I like to presoak my plants in a seaweed tea or EM (effective microorganisms) first to help give my plants an extra boost and reduce transplant shock. Water well after planting if you can. I’m going to get all of my plants in the ground by the end of the month ….just waiting for a free day or two!
I’m going to leave it at this for this month and will dive a bit deeper into summer in the food forest in our January newsletter. Wishing you a wonderful festive season blessings for your agroforest to flourish this summer, and may you continue to find joy in the alchemy of growing food, building soil, and fostering life.