Learn & connect
Join the Facebook community for advice, events, and grower introductions.
Your journey
Four steps, four partners
Most growers move through these stages — learn in community, source plants, see working examples, then stay connected long-term.
Source plants
Browse subtropical and temperate edibles at Troppo.nz — suited to NZ climates.
See it working
Visit Grow Te Puke for hands-on demonstration in the Bay of Plenty.
Stay connected
Document your journey on RootyToot — the growers' social network.
Partner sites
Who does what
Each partner serves a clear purpose. Pick the one that matches your next step — or explore all four as your food forest matures.
Troppo.nz
Your source for tropical and subtropical edible plants in New Zealand — passionfruit, feijoas, banana varieties, and subtropical fruit trees that add diversity to warmer-climate food forests.
Kai Resilience
Building regional food security through community-led education and local food system development — connecting regenerative growers into resilient kai networks across Aotearoa.
Grow Te Puke
Te Puke's premier food forest demonstration site — experience working layered ecosystems, learn regenerative techniques on the ground, and connect with Bay of Plenty's edible landscape movement.
RootyToot
The social network built for growers — share your food forest progress, discover local events, and maintain relationships beyond Facebook, including connections to plants sourced from Troppo.
Free VGCT tools
Plan perennials & annuals
Community conversation gets you started — these free planners help you design canopy layers and keep understory crops producing year-round. Sister hub also at foodforests.co.nz.
Orchard Planner
285+ species, 40-city climate zones, harvest timelines, rongōā, permaculture, syntropic reference, and agroecology framework — built for Aotearoa food forests.
Continuous Harvests
Succession planting calendar with 105+ vegetables and herbs, 11 NZ regions, Gantt timeline, and calendar export — ideal for kitchen gardens and food forest understory.
Companion Planting Matrix
118+ plants in an interactive grid — green for friends, red for foes, plus Three Sisters and guild filters for NZ kitchen gardens.
Troppo Quiz & Games
286 quiz questions on syntropic agroforestry plus seed-tray grower games — study hub linked to Orchard Planner and the wider Troppo network.
Join the movement
Start where it makes sense
Your food forest journey starts here
You don't need to visit every partner on day one. Join the community, ask where others in your region started, and follow the path that fits. Questions? Check the FAQ.
Plants from Troppo
Demos at Te Puke
Connect on RootyToot