{"id":2903,"date":"2026-04-07T17:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/?p=2903"},"modified":"2026-04-08T21:56:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:56:23","slug":"six-years-of-sustainable-growth-a-witchs-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/07\/six-years-of-sustainable-growth-a-witchs-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Years of Sustainable Growth: A Witch’s Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The sunrising on Villa Westwyk in the summer of 2025. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s high food-planting season. Over on Bluesky<\/a> I\u2019ve posted about the things we\u2019re doing each day #OnTheCovenstead to live in concert with the Land. Part of that is growing our own food \u2013 obtaining a yield<\/a>, as us permaculturists like to say. At the end of the farm-work day I\u2019ll record what was done. I\u2019ve been sharing the highlights <\/a>\u2013 like I said on Bluesky (are we following each other?) \u2013 as the work to grow as much food as we can \u2013 for us, for our kindred, and for the community* \u2013 reaches a fevered pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then someone asked for photos<\/a> of what I was talking about (thanks Pamelia!). This took me down such a long road to be able to snap some photos and share. It also had me thinking about sustainability, because, well, as a practicing permaculturalist Witch, I\u2019m constantly thinking about that. Looking to snap some current photos, then had me looking at where we\u2019ve been on this property. It\u2019s been six years since we had a half-crocked idea to take two acres of abused land and create a covenstead that was ecologically sustainable for a magical life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve blogged before about my love of small, slow solutions, a tenet of permaculture,<\/a> because it allows you to make mistakes, adjust along the way, learn from those lessons, and create something stronger moving forward. The systems needed to mimic nature in order to live as a human being can be intense. Everything from composting, planting food forests, and rainwater harvesting takes time. A forest doesn\u2019t shoot up overnight. Neither does a covenstead. Gradual lets you incrementally act in a manageable form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me lay it out in picture form \u2013 here\u2019s where we started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This shows the view from the north of our back patio along the eastern edge of our cottage. The former owners had shoved 18 boxwood bushes into this space and slugged a huge amount of glyphosate-based herbicides everywhere. If these were Oregon Boxwood, I would have repurposed them somewhere special on the property. But most began to die off even as I moved them to provide shelter for our poultry. In the background you can see the weather beaten cold frame that was here when we moved in.<\/em> We used it until it was absolutely unsafe; but the beds remain and are now our root garden. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Looking north (the opposite view from above). This is the back of our small cottage in summer 2021 – a year in. This is where we would install a cover over the patio (the measurement plumb line you see in the photo above), the tomato tunnel, and the greenhouse. Future plans include a small geo dome in between the polytunnel and the greenhouse to host our hot tub and tropical plants year round. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We installed the polytunnel in the fall of 2023. The photo below is Spring of 2024. Small, slow solutions in action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Above you see us mid-cardboard applying. Done so to block vegetation, and at this point it looks very unorganized and messy. We inherited the four troughs in the corners as they were put down during installation to help anchor the tunnel to the ground. Winters here bring hurricane-speed wind gusts blowing off the Pacific Ocean (we’re six miles as the crows flies to the beach). <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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High growing season 2025. Tomatoes anyone?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The small greenhouse was built in the fall of 2024 (buy things on clearance, friends). <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Investing in the infrastructure of a new poly tunnel<\/strong> to replace the dilapidated one that was here when we moved into Villa Westwyk, took a bit of small-scale steps. Same with the greenhouse. Bit by bit we took planned and intentionally thought-out actions in order to reduce adding too much at once, and minimizing risk. Like Jessi Bloom wrote in \u201cPractical Permaculture\u201d it\u2019s easier to fail spending $100 versus $1000.\u00a0 If I\u2019d planted all the trees I planted to today\u2019s count (17), there\u2019s a good chance I would have put them in the wrong place. It\u2019s taken me some time to observe & interact with the environment<\/em> here. As a witch, I also needed to get to know the Land and its needs, strengths, and where it needed extra special attention towards energetic things. Notably, this often leads to understanding the physical needs of the Land as well. Like, there is no way in heck there will ever be anything that grows in the southeast corner here. Why? Well, I had to learn that. (It\u2019s keeping something else out \u2013 story for another blog post.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heck, do you know where the prevailing wind is where you live? Does it change seasonally? Which direction does your front door face? All of these things factor into how you implement affordable, scalable projects to live with the Land as much as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same is true for our spiritual lives. As a Witch you cultivate power over time. Small repeated acts, lighting a candle daily, keeping a lunar magic calendar, or an intention journal, build a deeper connection than dramatic, infrequent rituals. Burning your magical candle at both ends does nothing but lead to burnout (why readers like myself take energetic cleansing seriously). A Witch cannot expect instant manifestations until you can feel the subtle shifts of energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the key strengths of small slow solutions is their adaptability \u2013 whether it’s practicing the Craft or designing the landscape of the environment around you with generations to come in mind. As a Witch I aim to be a good ancestor. As a permaculturist I aim to provide for my great-great-great grandchildren. This led my thoughts to noting where this simple question of \u201cPictures?\u201d how both as a Witch and a permaculturist, there is a harm-reduction mindset. Small, slow solutions make sure you have the space and time and energy to do things as kindly and considerately as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incremental changes allow for continuous observation and adjustment. If a system fails or a spell underperforms, the consequences are limited, and lessons can be applied immediately. This iterative process builds a resilient system capable of responding to environmental, economic, social, or energetic changes. You don\u2019t buy a ready-made altar, you curate it over time. A slowly built one becomes a living system, not just a collection of items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The greenhouse. April 2026. Full of overwinter plants and seed starts. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Small, slow solutions align closely with natural rhythms: the seasons, moon phases, plant growth. A Practice grounded in these cycles becomes more sustainable and intuitive, I\u2019ve found and each year as I practice this becomes more and more concrete that magic and permaculture go together. A slower approach to your Craft creates space for reflection, which mirrors the interacting part of the permaculture tenet of observe & interact. I\u2019m constantly asking myself why I want to do a spell? What are the potential outcomes (and dare I say consequences)? Is there a simpler or more aligned way to move forward? Like sometimes just having a conversation with someone is a whole lot faster than a cord-cutting spell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Villa Westwyk’s polytunnel (aka the Tomato Tunnel) as seen in April 2026. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Patience, observations, and intentional design are held up by small, slow solutions<\/a>. Creating a garden or a magical practice that grows and adapts over time, creates a practical and resilient path forward. Magic is alive; just like the Land here at Villa Westwyk. Witchcraft is an ecosystem; not a transaction. The subtle shift in perspective can be very profound. It also opens the door for a Practice that fits into daily life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not the same Witch I was six years ago<\/a>. As the Land evolved<\/a>, so did my Practice. Today my magic is deeper, I\u2019m more skilled, and my intuition has never been stronger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s to an abundant growing season \u2013 for both the Land & our Practice(s)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking north along the east end of our cottage. The polytunnel and the greenhouse with its various plant starts all around, which include pine trees, strawberries, herbs, currant and berry bushes, and a few fruit trees. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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* (I\u2019m dropping off another 9 dozen eggs to the food bank this week). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s high food-planting season. Over on Bluesky I\u2019ve posted about the things we\u2019re doing each day #OnTheCovenstead to live in concert with the Land. Part of that is growing our own food \u2013 obtaining a yield, as us permaculturists like to say. At the end of the farm-work day I\u2019ll record what was done. I\u2019ve…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,597,334],"tags":[596,53,346,403,239],"class_list":["post-2903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-post","category-crone-dispatch","category-permiewitch","tag-a-place-for-craft","tag-green-witch","tag-grow-food","tag-on-the-covenstead-with-runa","tag-permie-witch"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2903"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2932,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2903\/revisions\/2932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}