Come grow sugar maple seeds with us. Maples are an easy tree to plant from seed; they are commonly grown and nurtured with a growing family or even in honour of a loved one to make memories with. They live up to 400 years for future generations to have beauty and abundance of nourishing, healing sap.

A shift towards more biodiverse and resilient food systems begins right here with awareness, sharing and community. Seed and food biodiversity is imperative for our soil and human health. The more biodiverse plants we grow, eat and live with, the better for all life. So where do we begin?

It all starts with good design with land & vegetation.

“Plant The Rain” is a phrase and teaching passed down from a wise farmer in Africa to permaculture teacher Brad Landcaster, a potent reminder to focus our land-based designs on securing water for our systems first and foremost. Water capture in any area, small or large, for home growers, family farmers, communities or eco-villages must be the primary focus of any supportive growing system.

Plants grown for their edible leaves or roots are some of our best options for food grown in partial shaded or filtered light areas.

Here are some of the best foods to grow in partial shaded areas: any area under 6 hours of sun a day would be considered partial or shaded area.

HOME GROWERS Can Make a Difference!

Water infiltration is the process by which water on the ground surface reenters the Earth soil layer. For all of us home growers, regenerative agriculture farmers, and permaculturists we can make a difference to further support water infiltration & storage within our lands where we need it most— with living soil. Here are some methods to integrate in your local lands.

Know before you grow. When we are planning what to grow/raise, we defiantly want to consider our end harvest and how we will use, process and store our foods.

Here are some of the best fruits & vegetables to grow for preserving and storage for (drying, canning, freezing, freeze drying, fermenting etc.)

For many of us home growers raised beds are an ideal option for a plethora of benefits, from limited space, to fully customizable, to applicable in urban and rural settings, and in almost any growing/garden environment, they have become a staple growing vessel across the world for good reason.

A great way to extend and support our winter crops is with row covers on in ground or raised bed and pot covers on large pots, these can stay in place all winter long and you can pull them back to harvest from underneath. Read the advantages…

Growing Potatoes can be quite easy even for patios, and small yards. It is not just for large gardens or farms any longer!

From patios, balconies, small yards, community plots. It is truly quite amazing what one can grow for food in small spaces with A little effort and willingness to learn & experiment.

As natural growers our focus is to ‘feed the soil – not the plants’. On a whole, as growers we are truly more managers of soil than anything else. This is our greatest use of inputs/energy.

Saving seeds is a simple easy action for us all, to protect our food security, plant biodiversity and keep the quality/health of our seeds alive for generations to come. Here is why cultivating a practice of saving seeds matters greatly, now more than ever.

Interplanting with herbals is a great way to help support a healthy grow bed. This supportive system also has a wonderful synergistic effect not just for plants but on insects & pests and beneficial nutrients for the health of our soils.

There are many reasons why to start a garden, especially in these time of transition. From the need for safer quality food options, to creating new community food sharing systems, to wanting to be in touch with nature, and to nourish ourselves and family with the healthiest nutrient dense foods as possible.

Roots are a plant’s stability and connection to life. Their roots carry water and essential minerals to the rest of the plant. Strong root systems are absolutely vital to a plant’s health, if the roots are unwell so is the plant, but if the roots are healthy as seen here, the plant is starting off for great success.