In front of you is our food forest that we have been growing since 2019. We unintentionally started growing food here when a papaya seed was tossed into this area and took root. Within a couple of months, that papaya sprouted and started growing at an exponential rate. The papaya was able to thrive, because of the nutrients it was consuming underneath it. The system that we have for growing a food forest is based on the Hewitt method. This method starts off with piling a bunch of sticks and dead leaves on the ground or using a ditch as a base, then adding those components to it. Your compost and then soil go on top of it so that everything will properly break down. We were dumping out dead plants from our pots into this area, which included the soil that was in it as well. We kept adding compost and soil to this area for years before the growth of that papaya tree sprouted. After seeing the potential from this one sprout, we decided that we wanted to implement a food forest on the farm. Once these fruits and other various plants are seeded, their roots will trickle down to the dead branches underneath the soil. These branches and other bits of compost give these plants vital nutrients, creating strong and fruitful growth. This type of growing method provides these plants enough energy and substance, to where they don’t need to be watered daily. The overall goal is to become self-sustainable, and be able to provide enough food for our team and for our animals that reside here.