Annual vegetable rows require constant tillage, heavy irrigation, and yearly replanting. In contrast, our perennial food forests mimic natural woodland edges, stacking tall canopy nut trees over compact stone fruit and berry bushes to capture sunlight at every height.
Beneath the canopy, deep taproots pull subsoil minerals to the surface while nitrogen-fixing shrubs replenish fertility naturally. Once established, these multi-species guild systems thrive with minimal intervention, yielding steady harvests of cold-hardy fruit and medicine for generations.
From compacted ground to canopy
Soil remediation
Bare-root planting
Understory companioning
Perennial stewardship
We lay dense sheets of unbleached cardboard under twelve inches of local arborist woodchips to suppress weed competition and invite beneficial fungal networks into urban ground.
During early spring dormancy, volunteers set cold-hardy saplings directly into mineral soil, establishing serviceberry, mulberry, pawpaw, and plum guilds in concentric rings.
We seed white clover, comfrey, and yarrow across open pathways to build natural nitrogen reserves, accumulate trace minerals, and retain moisture through humid midwestern summers.
Neighbourhood block stewards prune thickets, manage leaf mold lines, and monitor fruiting cycles, keeping every canopy gate open for daily neighborhood foraging.
Cared for by the block
Long-term survival relies on resident stewardship rather than distant management. Our parcels remain unfenced and directly anchored in agreements with block clubs, neighbourhood councils, and local volunteers who live alongside the canopy.
Caretakers receive seasonal training in fruit tree pruning, biological pest balance, and root propagation. By keeping land stewardship in the hands of neighbours, the harvest remains an open edible commons.
Support upcoming parcel acquisitions, volunteer at seasonal workdays, or bring a perennial planting guild to your neighbourhood block.