A Note about Earth Day

A Special Gathering for You...

Editor’s Note:

Life on the farm is today’s theme for PermaLife. Find out how Koreen spends her Earth Day. Also, there is a special gathering at the farm this weekend.

Koreen: On Earth Day

I spent Earth Day on my farm, with the earth. What better place to appreciate a day that is dedicated to our home and sustainer of life?

I walked the food forest, checking out each plant closely and observing its health, what insects were around as well as evidence of other wildlife. All these things give clues about the overall health of our farm.

Our food forest and orchard sit on 2 acres of our 10-acre farm. Our gardens take up another ½ acre or so. The food forest is tucked in between already existing decades-old longleaf pine trees and live oaks. These trees, rather than causing problems or being in the way, enhance the health of our fruit trees through beneficial fungal networks, soil building leaf drop, and shade at key times of the day in our hot Florida climate. We bought this farm in part because it had a good number of mature trees, and we understand their value in everything we want to do.

Our farm is located on a longleaf pine sandhill. The sand is seventy feet deep. Everything that grows here naturally is specially adapted to handle often very dry, low nutrition soil. The pines have a deep tap root and are fire adapted. The ecosystem naturally burns every few years, but the pines remain, dominant survivors.

Working with nature instead of against her, we have planted mainly drought tolerant fruit trees in this challenging environment. Our mulberries thrive here and are exploding with berries, and as a result, a small flock of cedar waxwings, who are often further north by now, continue to hang out and partake of the bounty. They are greedy and eat lots of berries in a cacophony of crazy acrobatic dive bombing, but our response is to plant more trees. Or to beat them to it if we want more berries for ourselves. Despite the birds’ greed, we still have picked a number of overflowing bowls of it. Part of the law of nature is to share the surplus so we do too.

The mulberries also bring woodpeckers and other birds that eat fruit occasionally, but insects that might otherwise severely damage our peaches and figs voraciously. Everything is balanced.

As I wandered through the farm, I noted the bird species. I counted twenty-four species in or near the food forest, and only a few on the native plant side. Most of the birds were hanging out on the food forest side. Not only because of mulberries but because they have more hiding places among the trees, and there are more insects too. Because we plant flowers and herbs with our trees, the butterfly and native bee population has exploded on the farm. Butterflies flit by almost constantly as I sit in the shade of a live oak and watch the show. Our little forest within a forest supports a wide diversity of abundant wildlife.

We’ve planted many native plants too and will continue to spread native wildflower seed and plant more longleaf pine trees. We do not own this land, we’re in a relationship with it. We listen to it, we care for it, and it cares for us. On earth day weekend, we had delicious fresh mulberry pie, fresh mulberries, nutrient dense green soup from our garden greens, eggs from our chickens and more from our garden. Celebrating abundance, with the earth.

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Graduates and Friends Get Together

We’re having an informal get together this coming weekend for graduates and friends. Please invite anybody you’d like. We’ll celebrate, network check in with each other, skill share, and just have an enjoyable time. It starts at 4pm on Saturday May 20, and will go on until about noon on Sunday (depending on interest it could go longer).

Come camp out or just come for one day, bring your own food or potluck dish!

We have six people on the farm right now that are long term, including our resident chef and resident poet. This is extremely exciting for us; we’re finally creating a community!

Last week we upgraded our classroom; we're excited - we will be making it available as a community room too.

So come on up, meet everybody, hang out and enjoy!

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Grow Permaculture Curriculum and Courses:

Are you ready to take your next step in Permaculture? If so, we’ve got you covered from novice to all-star. All our courses are under the direct supervision of Koreen Brennan, educator, diplomate, and PINA board member.

FREE Online Course:

Our free Intro to Permaculture Design Course will get you started, give you the basics to prepare for your future. Discover why the adoption of permaculture is rapidly growing and how it opens doors such as: food security, non-toxic pest control, how designs are changing the way people solve problems, and find happiness while doing so! Sign up today!

Full Online Permaculture Design Course:

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In-Person Permaculture Design Master Class

This is Grow Permaculture’s internationally recognized In-Person Permaculture Design Course, based on Bill Mollison’s work. This course will be held in St Petersburg, FL, and at our farm in Brooksville, giving people an opportunity to see permaculture in action on both the farm while also studying in an urban environment. Space is limited sign up today!

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