The days are getting longer and temperatures warming up, and we’re starting to see more signs of Spring. This time of year is an interesting transition, some days feel warm but others still feel quite wintery. It’s a tough time of year for wildlife, with food becoming scarce. Some migratory birds are starting to return, just ahead of warmer weather.
In the forest garden we’ve been moving downed branches, building dead hedges, and preparing for the growing season. We’re planting many more fruit trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennial ground covers this spring. It’ll be exciting to see everything come back to life again as we enter the 9th growing season since we began working on the forest garden.
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This is the highest elevation farm and sugarbush in New York, at Camp Treetops & North Country School. It’s a 220-acre educational farm/school/camp in the chilly High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, USDA Zone 4a.
The Goat Rock Forest Garden project began in 2016. We experience very long and cold winters, which is our main challenge / constraint at this site.
We have many different edible perennial plants. The canopy layer consists of many varieties of apples, pears, plums, apricots, cherries, buartnuts, walnuts, chestnuts, black locust, oaks, serviceberries, and native support trees like aspens, various conifers, etc. The shrub layer consists of many varieties of blueberries, currants, raspberries, haskaps, seaberry, elderberry, hazelnuts, various native plants, and more. Groundcover consists of things like strawberries, comfrey, lowbush blueberries and cranberries, various herbs like mint, oregano, thyme, and lots more.
The purpose of this work is to demonstrate a variety of food production systems and engage the community in sustainable & ethical land management. It is intended to provide food as well as interdisciplinary educational opportunities for people of all ages & backgrounds.
People of all ages and backgrounds reside on campus and participate in farming and gardening activities as part of their education. We hope to create more productive outdoor learning spaces and opportunities to demonstrate ideas such as agroecology, permaculture, and sustainable food production.
Some of the work we want to demonstrate are so-called “alternative” or “non-conventional” agricultural practices. These include disciplines such as agroecology (agriculture that mimics natural ecological systems), permaculture (sustainable & self-sufficient design), regenerative agriculture (conservation approach that focuses on topsoil regeneration, biodiversity, improving water cycle, biosequestration, & mitigating climate change), agroforestry & silvopasture (integration of trees & shrubs with animals), organic agriculture (growing & processing food without the use of synthetic fertilizers & pesticides), and food sovereignty (the right to healthy & culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound & sustainable methods), among others.
This RU-vid channel and these videos are for educational purposes and for my own personal documentation of various projects.
29 сен 2024
