Jean’s Farm FOOD FOREST
BUILDING COMMUNITY & FOOD SECURITY
These demonstration sites are volunteer-planted and stewarded, connecting landless community members who are passionate about regenerative agriculture and permaculture with homeowners who don’t value monoculture lawn spaces. We secure these donated spaces for 5 year-minimum periods, allowing the maturation and development of thriving food-bearing ecosystems with the goal of donating large amounts of produce to nearby food banks.
In 2024, we will be planting 7 more food forests in Cully, Brentwood-Darlington, and Montavilla.
Jean’s Farm FOOD FOREST
This site sits between a small apple orchard and a market garden. It had been farmed in the past, but had since been taken over by weeds. Matt and Kelly were kind enough to donate this site to us to convert into a food forest. We started by covering the ground with paper and woodchips in the winter of 2022 followed by a spring planting of fruit trees and shrubs. Flowers, herbs, veggies, and vines were planted as the weather warmed up in the late spring. Bindweed and thistle have been tenacious so using jute coffee bags has been helpful in suppressing the weeds. A June hail storm damaged a lot of the plants, but most have rebounded dramatically and the food forest is bursting in July of 2023!
Nov 2022, Brown paper and woodchips to suppress weeds and build soil.
March 2023, Bare root trees temporarily potted
Planting April 2023
Planting of trees complete!
Coffee bags laid down to suppress bindweed and thistle.
July 2023
July 2023
August 2023
Squash and veggies growing among the apple trees.