To be completely honest, this summer has been discouraging. I was out in the garden planting and every hole I dug was the same.

Dry, depleted soil.

I won’t lie, it’s disheartening.

I reviewed footage from the last two years at Goldifarms, and was astounded at how lush everything looked back then.

The cilantro, the arugula, the calendula we use for our skin cream… all of it was thriving into late May even early June. But this year? They bolted early, dried up, and died off much faster than usual.

We had less than 9 inches of rain this winter, which is about half our usual rainfall. It’s not the absolute driest, but definitely within drought territory and well below what's needed to recharge soil and aquifers.

The rains were spread out across the season (which usually is good), but they came in tiny amounts. Hardly anything soaked in. The soil never got fully saturated. Just surface moisture that disappeared as soon as the sun came out the next day. Which was a bummer.

My default is to focus on what’s not working, all the problems. But I’ve realized that type of focus hasn’t gotten me where I want to go in my life. And as I’ve shared, I’m ready for the shift.
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So instead, I sat in the food forest and focused on what is working.
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The shoestring acacias, sages, olive trees, strawberry trees, goji berries, and even our almond trees are thriving.

These were some of the first trees we planted, so they are between 3 and 5 years old. They’ve had time to establish deep roots, and they’ve tapped into the water stored in our sunken woodchip paths (what I call our "water battery.”)

But also they are thriving because they’re well-suited to this kind of climate. They like dry, sandy soil and hot summers.

And they are paving the way for everyone else in the system.

I’ve noticed the calendula, arugula and other annuals lasted longer around these trees. The dappled shade protects them from the sun. Their leaf mulch holds in moisture. And through evapotranspiration and root partnerships, these trees are literally helping make more water available to nearby plants.

But, our food forest is clearly still in the building phase.

This year we decided to wait on growing water-hungry, annual veggies and continue to focus on resilient support species: bottlebrush, society garlic, bulbine.

These plants give us what our sandy soil desperately needs: organic matter so that it can hold more water when the rains do come.
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These plants are hardy enough to get established with less water and stay alive, which means more roots in the ground. And living roots are the key to soil health. They feed microbes by turning sunlight into exudates, and those microbes are what build true fertility. Much more about that can be learned here.

A food forest in sandy conditions with these hot, dry summers means playing a long game. If this land had topsoil to start with, the story might be different. But it didn’t. Most developments scrape it off and discard it, not realizing that topsoil takes hundreds, sometimes millions, of years to form. It’s an irreplaceable treasure—and we’ve been taught to treat it like trash… literally calling it dirt.

So we’re choosing to rebuild it. Faster. By partnering with plants. Pruning thoughtfully, and giving back more than we take.

This land is showing us the way forward. And I want you to know that if your project feels impossible, or you’re feeling discouraged right now… you’re not alone. It’s not the end. It’s just an invitation to shift.

Still holding the vision,

Erin

P.S Let me know if you need some guidance or support. Here to help. Happy planting.