Regenerative Garden Benefits
Happy Almost September! The month when fall temps start to barely creep in, but then summer hits us with few more insanely hot days!! With the world feeling literally on fire - with the planet heating up and getting much less rain. Weather patterns are more extreme and dangerous.
Growing up in my hometown of Novato, I never remember worrying about fire season. The Oakland fire was very scary, but a one off not a seasonal fire event. Now when winds kick up we all know what that means and if you have lived in Sonoma County for 10 + years you remember it all. While this all feels bleak and terrifying, this is where we are today. I am grateful to see some rain in the weather patterns this week!
Let’s settle in for story time, grab beverage of choice.
Nature knows what to do to heal itself. The indigenous peoples knew how to take care of the earth, to love it and celebrate, and respect it. I am not going to get into how we got here, but where we go from here.
Regenerative Agriculture LITERALLY solves all the problems planet crisis, food insecurity, soil health, and of course the extreme weather.
Here is why — soil that is disturbed or tilled looses its soil structure and it therefore can’t hold carbon, plants that are planted in it or mono - culture (one crop is planted in mass only perform photosynthesis)
Here is a quick recap on regenerative agriculture:
No till methods (limits soil disturbance)
Builds biodiversity plant life and microbes
Creates ecosystem instead of taking taking from soil
Healthy living soil has amazing water holding capacity. Healthy soil can hold onto 25,000 gallons of more water per acre than dry degraded soil. If you have ever come around to my table at an event, you will remember I had baking flour and sandwich bread. When we pour water over the flour the water runs off and pools. When you pour over the sliced sandwich bread that mimics the healthy living soil. The bread sponge absorbs the water just like healthy soil does.
#1 reason why it is so beneficial - healthy living soil stores excess carbon from the atmosphere, using the excess carbon it makes sugars from soil microbes to perform photosynthesis. We all learned in science class what comes from photosynthesis… transpiration = RAIN!!
So to recap an active regenerative garden space will create much more opportunity for excess carbon to be stored and turned into sugars to allow photosynthesis to happen therefore filling our ground water stores and making more transpiration and more rain. More rain, we stop the planet from burning.
Think about if we all used these methods in our own gardens, but also demanded that all our foods and industrialized food system be switched to regenerative agriculture lands. It is a win win for the planet, for humans for farmers and for us all!
What To Do In Your Garden This Month
The month of September where the summer produce is still coming in strong, but the flavors aren’t as bright. If you eat seasonally, you can literally taste the season winding down.
If your veggies have already called it quits and you are removing stuff to make room for winter veggies. Be sure to cut all plants at the soil level, tomato debris and leaves should be removed from the soil as it can harber pests and create a bigger problem in your soil. All other produce you can cut at the soil level and chop up the leaves and leave a green mulch.
If you do not have plants on irrigation, then it is best to do deep watering at night after the heat of the sun is gone. About 7:30pm to help the plants absorb all the water and keep it from burning in the heat.
Leave the seed heads from the spent flower blooms to feed the birds. You can cut them, but toss them back into the soil. Or better yet leave them be so that birds have food and sticks to build their nests. Just a reminder, the native bees use those hollow sticks to hibernate or build homes in. Of course, add in more natives for low water plants and to support the native bees as well.
Be sure to cut herbs often so they don’t bolt in the warm fall temperatures.
It is that time to start thinking about cover crop - stay tuned for a deep dive into cover crop and it benefits for the winter months in the October Healthy Soil for Life.
As fall comes in and changes the seasons drastically be sure to go and enjoy the life in the garden. I was feeling stressed this week really needed to ground myself in nature. Touching the soil, picking tomatoes, seeing the monarch caterpillars, bees and of course so many hummingbirds it set my nervous system right. I was stressed going into the garden and after I was so happy and joyful!!
If your garden is devoid of life or you are feeling overwhelmed with where to start, reach out for help! I love coming and chatting gardens and soil health with you all! We are coming up on the best time to plant a garden - in the fall! Happy September!
