Yesterday I finished the first two rows of the food forest. I’m officially in maintenance mode until late fall, which is a great feeling. It’s not perfect, and not everything rooted, but the system is established and, most importantly, there are roots in the ground. There are still a few small projects left—building borders, weed eating, and continuing to move mulch to create a thick layer that suppresses weeds and feeds the soil. If I end up with a surplus of wood chips, I’ll start laying out future beds now to give them a head start for fall and spring planting. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is to start with a manageable plan. It’s far easier to successfully establish a few beds than to spread yourself across ten. Another lesson: grass pressure is no joke. The sooner you address it, the less maintenance you’ll have down the road. Progress in a food forest isn’t measured by perfection. It’s measured by roots in the ground, soil being built, and systems becoming more established each year. 🌱

As America celebrates 250 years, it’s worth remembering that the Revolutionary War wasn’t just fought on battlefields—it even changed what people drank. After the Boston Tea Party, many colonists boycotted imported British tea and turned to local plants to create what became known as “Liberty Tea.” These herbal blends were gathered from forests, fields, and homesteads across the colonies. Some of the most well-known Liberty Tea herbs included: 🌿 New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) – Perhaps the most famous Liberty Tea plant, its leaves were dried and brewed as a direct replacement for imported tea. 🌿 Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina) – A fragrant native shrub with a warm, earthy flavor that was commonly used in herbal beverages. 🌿 Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) – Also called Oswego Tea, this mint-family plant offered a bright, aromatic flavor and became a popular substitute for black tea. 🌿 Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) – Known for its refreshing taste and aroma, wintergreen leaves were often blended into colonial tea mixtures. 🌿 Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) – The roots and bark were widely used for teas and tonics long before and after the Revolution. What fascinates me most is that these plants weren’t chosen simply because imported tea was unavailable. They represented a return to local knowledge, regional plants, and self-reliance. In many ways, Liberty Tea was an early expression of the homesteading spirit that many of us are rediscovering today. I plan to incorporate all these plant into my system!

I recently received a load of arbor wood chips for $20. What many people consider waste is actually one of nature’s favorite building materials. Every chip is stored carbon, minerals pulled from deep in the soil, and future food for fungi, microbes, insects, and earthworms. Spread over gardens, pathways, orchards, or food forests, wood chips can help:• retain moisture• suppress weeds• moderate soil temperatures• build organic matter• feed soil biology• slowly return nutrients to the earth Forests have been using this system for thousands of years. Trees grow, leaves and branches fall, and everything eventually becomes soil again. Sometimes building fertility doesn’t start with buying inputs. Sometimes it starts with accepting a truckload of what someone else thought was waste. 🍂

Hello! I’m new to the community and don’t have access to much of the content in the classroom until level 3 but I have many questions. I’m new to homesteading/oasis building/sustainable living and don’t have the space to grow a garden because of where we live at the moment. I’m needing to start with container gardening until I can plant something more permanent (hopefully next year!). My grow zone is USDA 7b. Has anyone had success with container gardening for a family of 4? Would love any of your tips!

Garlic scapes are one of those seasonal foods that deserve way more attention. 🌱 They’re the curly green shoots that garlic plants send up before the bulb fully develops, and harvesting them actually helps the garlic bulb grow bigger underground. But they’re also packed with benefits:• rich in antioxidants• contain sulfur compounds like garlic cloves• support heart and immune health• full of fresh garlic flavor without being overpowering We love using them in: - pesto - eggs - stir fry - soups - compound butter - fermented blends Fresh foods like this remind us that some of the best nutrition is seasonal, local, and only around for a short window each year.