Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast A food forest on an eighth of an acre
Aug 7, 2023
Roxanne Swentzell, Native artist and founder of the Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, turned an eighth‑acre into a productive food forest while teaching permaculture, seed saving, and cultural revitalization. She discusses microclimates, choosing hardy and nitrogen‑fixing plants, water reuse, animal‑powered soil building, hands‑on education, and connecting permaculture with Indigenous reciprocity.
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From A Rock To A Food Forest
- Roxanne Swentzell and a permaculture student transformed sun-baked, hard-packed driveway into a food forest starting with a single rock and a tree.
- Over years the rock created microclimates, attracted birds, built soil, and became the nucleus for a thriving agroforest feeding a family of four.
Observe Patterns Before Planting
- Watch patterns on the land: sun, wind, bird movement and microclimates before planting.
- Use those observations to place shelter, water catchment, and plants where they will thrive.
Invasiveness Is About Behavior
- Non-native species can be helpful if they don't colonize and displace others; invasiveness depends on behavior, not origin.
- Roxanne contrasts useful outsiders like apricot with colonizers like cheatgrass and Chinese elm that harm community balance.
