Agroforestry at Adamah
Anyone who has driven up Beebe Hill (if you haven’t done so at sunset, I highly recommend) has likely wondered what those skinny white tubes are sticking out of the ground near the apex of the road.
In the spring of 2020, we planted two hundred Chestnut saplings. Young trees are vulnerable to nibbles from deer and rodents, so we are protecting them in tubes that also act as mini-greenhouses, speeding up growth until the leaves begin to pop out of the tops.
Why Trees?
When Adamah was generously gifted the forty acres uphill of our main farm, we took a full year to observe the land. It was steep, so not great for growing vegetables, had no irrigation or electricity, and was full of brush and invasives. We imagined the hill as it might have been five hundred years ago, likely a forest stewarded by indigenous peoples to better produce forage crops like nuts and berries. We thought about the needs of our planet at this current moment when we have too much CO2 build up in the atmosphere and not enough of it in the soil where it can be stored and support food production. Trees became the obvious direction we wanted to go- edible reforestation to sequester carbon and learn/teach about the potential of agroforestry for our global food supply.
Why Chestnuts?
While American Chestnuts used to populate these mountains with huge, towering trunks of resilient wood and millions of nutritious nuts falling to the ground, they are no longer viable due to the presence of a disease called Chestnut Blight. We have planted European and Asian chestnut varieties that are resistant to the blight as an homage to the chestnut-rich history of the region and because they are a crop well suited to our slopes. Chestnuts can handle the moisture on Beebe Hill, appreciate our climate, and don’t need much picky tending during the spring and summer when we are busy with other crops. Chestnuts are a tree-grown source of carbohydrates- a huge boon to a food system in which we rely so heavily on grain crops that require a lot of tillage (which releases carbon) for carbs. Chestnuts can live many years, an erosion and climate solution for the generations.
Did I see a goat?
Yes! Our flerd (herd + flock) of goats and sheep graze in the agroforestry area in paddocks we rotate with electric fencing. As the trees mature, the area will be a proper silviculture with the animals grazing directly underneath the trees, allowing the grasses and brush between trees to be useful forage instead of a nuisance that needs to be mowed. We think the animals will also enjoy the shade of the leaves:)
When Do We Eat?
We hope to have our first nut harvest in 2027! Good things come to those who wait. Agroforestry is an exercise in patience and in appreciating a timeline outside of our usual calendrical hustle and bustle. Cash flow budgets don’t easily coincide with tree-time, so we are very grateful to those who have supported our agroforestry venture including Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, American Farmland Trust, and USDA's National Resource Conservation Service.
When it’s time to harvest, we hope to host community nut harvest days, to store our own nuts for roasting, and, depending on yield, potentially to sell into the emerging Chestnut flour processing industry in the region.
In the spring of 2020, we planted two hundred Chestnut saplings. Young trees are vulnerable to nibbles from deer and rodents, so we are protecting them in tubes that also act as mini-greenhouses, speeding up growth until the leaves begin to pop out of the tops.
Why Trees?
When Adamah was generously gifted the forty acres uphill of our main farm, we took a full year to observe the land. It was steep, so not great for growing vegetables, had no irrigation or electricity, and was full of brush and invasives. We imagined the hill as it might have been five hundred years ago, likely a forest stewarded by indigenous peoples to better produce forage crops like nuts and berries. We thought about the needs of our planet at this current moment when we have too much CO2 build up in the atmosphere and not enough of it in the soil where it can be stored and support food production. Trees became the obvious direction we wanted to go- edible reforestation to sequester carbon and learn/teach about the potential of agroforestry for our global food supply.
Why Chestnuts?
While American Chestnuts used to populate these mountains with huge, towering trunks of resilient wood and millions of nutritious nuts falling to the ground, they are no longer viable due to the presence of a disease called Chestnut Blight. We have planted European and Asian chestnut varieties that are resistant to the blight as an homage to the chestnut-rich history of the region and because they are a crop well suited to our slopes. Chestnuts can handle the moisture on Beebe Hill, appreciate our climate, and don’t need much picky tending during the spring and summer when we are busy with other crops. Chestnuts are a tree-grown source of carbohydrates- a huge boon to a food system in which we rely so heavily on grain crops that require a lot of tillage (which releases carbon) for carbs. Chestnuts can live many years, an erosion and climate solution for the generations.
Did I see a goat?
Yes! Our flerd (herd + flock) of goats and sheep graze in the agroforestry area in paddocks we rotate with electric fencing. As the trees mature, the area will be a proper silviculture with the animals grazing directly underneath the trees, allowing the grasses and brush between trees to be useful forage instead of a nuisance that needs to be mowed. We think the animals will also enjoy the shade of the leaves:)
When Do We Eat?
We hope to have our first nut harvest in 2027! Good things come to those who wait. Agroforestry is an exercise in patience and in appreciating a timeline outside of our usual calendrical hustle and bustle. Cash flow budgets don’t easily coincide with tree-time, so we are very grateful to those who have supported our agroforestry venture including Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, American Farmland Trust, and USDA's National Resource Conservation Service.
When it’s time to harvest, we hope to host community nut harvest days, to store our own nuts for roasting, and, depending on yield, potentially to sell into the emerging Chestnut flour processing industry in the region.
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