A year in my garden: Experiments in regeneration.

Got any tips on how to make a garden thrive? Please drop me any useful tips and tricks in my comments below!

We finally found a farm we can call home. Right outside of my front door was a bare patch of ground screaming for plants. So we took everything we learnt about regeneration and practised it on a tiny scale. The garden really exceed my expectations! I really didn't think I'd see a car park produce some much abundance in one year. It wasn't all victories, my tomatoes were a disaster. In a hurry to get extra nitrogen into the soil, I overfed them with a shop-bought organic fertilizer and the plants were all leaves. A freak hurricane took out the few tomatoes I had. I got to witness it. first hand the devasting effect of excess water, as many of them burst. This year I’m investing in irrigation as I observed that the garden thrives with consistent amounts of water. I'm hoping this frees up some time for some more details documenting and then I can share more of this journey with you.

*For this garden, I was given a bag of biocomplete compost made by compost maestros Catalyst Bioamendments. Which I used to make the extract that my beloved husband is spraying in the garden. Catalyst put a huge amount of love, care and science into their compost and they ship throughout the United States.

I take great comfort from my garden. I see firsthand, how quickly nature regenerates, bringing with it so much abundance. From a car park to a thriving food garden full of life. I hope this little video diary sparks the same feeling of hope within you as my garden does within me.

The good news is you don’t need to adopt a dairy cow to grow a garden. Grazing animals is just one of the tools for regeneration. A regenerative gardener knows to avoid tilling or turning the soil, so as not to destroy the web of life within the soil. There are more microbes in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on this planet. These microbes secret enzymes that break down minerals in the soil, making the minerals bioavailable to the plants. It’s important to feed and protect these microbes and fungal networks within the soil with compost and regular mulching. Happy healthy microbes lead to happy healthy plants lead to happy healthy humans.

Here are the steps we took:

We raked the top 4 inches of the soil to break up compaction. Then, we planted a cover crop of peas and vetch. Raking in the seeds, covering them with compost and inoculating them with a compost extract.* Adding biology directly to the seeds supports the growth of the seedlings. The peas and vetch are nitrogen fixers. Nitrogen fixers grow nodules of nitrogen on their roots that are released into the soil when the plant is cut back.

We grazed the sheep, goats, calves, chickens, and finally Lightening the bunny. This soil was very low in nitrogen and the animal’s manure adds some extra nitrogen to the soil. Plus the animals get the benefit of a delicious feed of sweet greens. Their hoves also help break up the compacted soil

We chopped and dropped the remains of the cover crops. Leaving all the roots in the ground. Then we covered the ground with alfalfa hay and wood chips. This helps the soil retain water and protects the soil microbes from the scorching sun. It also creates an environment for fungi and beneficial insects to thrive.

We planted lots of basil, marigolds, nasturtium borage, alyssum and yarrow as companion plants for the vegetables. These companion plants attract beneficial insects to your garden and also act as decoys for the less beneficial insects. A regenerative gardener hopes for a balanced ecosystem with enough food for all life to thrive

After a bountiful harvest of vegetables and herbs, we let many of the plants go to seed. It’s a mistake to clear the garden too soon. The dead plants provide a habitat and food source for bird life in the winter months.

After gathering the remaining seeds for next year’s garden We made sure to leave the roots of the plants in the ground. These roots provide a food source for the soil life over winter and help water retention during the winter rains. Finally, we cleared the dead plant remains to the compost pile. Adding food waste, manure and excess leaves. Creating a diverse compost for the season to come.

Got any tips on how to make a garden thrive? Please drop me any useful tips and tricks in my comments below?