Thelonius Cook operates Mighty Thundercloud Edible Forest from 2 locations. One location is half an acre at his home in Hampton and the other, 7 acres on the Eastern Shore in Birdnest, Virginia, where his father grew up. Using many permaculture techniques, he used the permaculture term Edible Forest, and combined it with his father’s nickname for himself, the Mighty Thundercloud, to come up with his unique farm name! Thelonius studied IT and became exposed to sustainable farming while living in Tanzania and Ethiopia with his first job after college. He then returned home and received his Master’s in Sustainable Development from JMU. Bringing that African culture to the states, Thelonius now plants cultural niche products like callaloo, hibiscus, turmeric, and ginger. He is also busily planting guilds of trees that will produce nuts and fruit and support pollinators, producing in 2 high tunnels, and on 10 75’x75’ plots. This edible forest focuses on regenerative practices that strengthens soil fertility, enhances biodiversity, and reduces the environmental footprint. He works with NRCS with long term cover crops, and rotates his crops incorporating mushroom compost and fallow cover crop years to build the soil. He currently has a thriving CSA, sells at farmers markets, and makes value added products like, ginger Switchel, that he sells to 4P Foods. We are thrilled to be working with this fascinating farm!
