It Is Only Going to Get Hotter…
Welcome to April! Spring planting for our summer is just days away. It brings me so much joy to see all the produce that is coming from my garden that will feed my family and neighbors.
The constant state of the country makes me turn even more toward my garden for the life and joy. I need to stay tapped in, because I can’t look away and do nothing. Read the books to educate yourself on how we got here. Do post carding to encourage people to get out to vote. Just do something, it doesn’t have to be big, each small action has a big impact.
Now back to the garden joys… the bee’s are waking up and getting to work!! There have been so many mama birds gathering supplies for nests for their babies! I am so happy they feel safe and there are tons of sticks and helpful things for them to use from my garden. Be sure to pay attention, there is so much beauty right in front of us!
After a very very HOT unseasonable March, I keep hearing people say, “Well it is only going to get hotter…!!” This makes me want to SCREAM. It doesn’t have to keep getting hotter. Yes, it will if we do NOTHING - meaning don’t make any changes to the way we grow our food or manage our soil.
It won’t keep getting hotter if we manage our soils properly, the way nature intended. For example, the grass lands around Petaluma and Sonoma County in general could be regeneratively farmed if cows are using adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing techniques. (Note, there are some local farmers that are using these practices). This means giving cows smaller areas to graze so they can trample pee and poop into the soil and allow the grasses to regrow before the cows come back to eat it down again. Here is how it works:
Cow hooves break up the soil
Cows eat grass then poop and pee in the broken up soil.
Cows then stomp and walk through pee and poop causing microbes to appear and fertilize to build healthy soil.
New plants grow in the healthy soil
Photosynthesis happens and finally transpiration which creates moisture and rain.
This creates plants that grow year round, holding water capacity and self fertilizing with poop and pee as opposed to grass that goes dead and brown in summertime. When the grass is dead and brown the soil dies and the temperature increases. Soil that is covered in plants and plant life has a fraction of the temperature that bare soil gives off. Bare soil temperature will be in the 80-90’s. Soil covered in plants will be in the 60’s. When soil is covered in plant life it brings our outside temperature down.
We have a choice…continue accepting the extreme weather changes around the globe, or make changes to promote a healthy climate. I challenge you to look around your own garden or your neighbor’s garden to see where more plants can be utilized to cover bare soil. In addition, please share this newsletter with 5 people you know that would be open to learning why regenerative agriculture can change the course of climate change and put us on a path to climate rescue.
What to do in your garden this month:
Now on to the seasonal goodness! You may be noticing baby fruits showing up on your fruit trees! Yay! Even though so many nurseries have tomato and summer veggie starts for sale it is still a few weeks off before we can plant them in the ground. Typically mid April is best for putting in starts for your summer veggies. Stayed tuned for how to prune tomatoes and all the summer goodness!
You can also direct seed your summer annual flowers to your garden. I have a ton of sweet peas and calendula that reseed in my garden. I can’t wait till they all bloom! Even though your irrigation has likely been on for most of March, be sure to check for any leaks. Best time for watering is really early in the morning 4 or 5am to set timers too. Of course never water in the heat of the day, it will burn plants and the water evaporates quickly in the heat. Enjoy the warmer days and cool evenings!
We were mentioned in the Petaluma Argus Courier last week! Yay!
Check the out the link above for the full article!
I am truly in awe of the love Luma Front Yard Farming is receiving! The projects that get scheduled, the consultations, the book club conversations where our praises are sung, the Petaluma Argus Courier mentions! This business can’t keep growing without all of you, I am grateful for each one of you!! We are better in community together. Thank you for reading the newsletters and all the love! I so appreciate you!
I challenge you to share this newsletter with 5 friends because the more that we share why regenerative gardening / farming is the way to make the planet healthy it makes all of us healthy too!
Happy April!! Be sure to take a moment to notice the life and beauty in your garden!
