At Food Forest Farm we help people create low-maintenance, regenerative food systems. We grow, supply, and teach about perennial vegetables and other multipurpose plants. We work with our clients to design landscapes, and lives, that are sustaining and nourishing for people and planet. We are at the heart of the movement to relocalize, regenerate, and re-skill our communities. (We’d love to hear about your project, contact us below.)

Food Forest Farm is owned and operated in Ithaca, NY by Jonathan Bates. Jonathan launched Food Forest Farm in 2010 as a creative response to the “weed problem” in the edible forest garden (known as “Paradise Lot”) we co-managed with Eric and Marikler Toensmeier of Perennial Solutions.

For a while, Jonathan had been noticing that many of our beloved plants were reproducing like rabbits and getting '“weedy”. Putting his “problem becomes a solution” goggles on, he began to think about selling plant propagules as a way to make our garden system even more productive - and we began to consider the possibility of our garden not just growing food, but also making us a living. Helping to get more edible forest gardens planted seemed like a beautiful solution to our excessive baby plant problem. As a result of a two-year hobby nursery experiment, spending many months rethinking the forty-hour workweek, a little human intuition, and lots of support from family and friends, Food Forest Farm was born in spring 2010.

Food Forest Farm helped make part of our family vision statement a reality: “We have a simple, creative life, full of family and friends, laughter and love, connected to the land and supported by meaningful work, with the time to appreciate it and experience it fully.”

In June 2017 our family and business moved to Brooktondale New York. In the spring of 2022 we started developing a new regenerative landscape and food forest nursery and business at Longspoon Farm. We have inspiring new plans and we are excited to share the progress with you on this web site. Come back often for updates, or check out our Channel and learn about what we are up to. 

Come join us in learning and growing!

Read about our past and current work through these social media options:

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Visit the PermacultureGreenhouse.com blog

Participate at the Paradise Lot garden

Contact Us

Questions about our services or want to visit the farm, let us know:

Food Forest Farm is located in Brooktondale, New York. This is a private residence. If you would like to visit, let us know and we can send the address to you in an email response.