Regenerative Soil

Wood chips in garden beds covering soil can be a game-changer. The goal is to help mimic the natural cycle of leaves and small branches littering the floor and re-feeding the soil. The advantages are: - Holds water by reducing evaporation, limiting sun exposure. - Keeps soils cooler. - Blocks sunlight from weeds, blocking their ability to thrive. - Prevents soil compaction. - Provides food for fungi and microbiology - Reduces erosion from heavy rain or hail.

Lactobacillus (LABs) are tiny rod-shaped bacteria found in ferments. I captured LABs and yeast using a rice-wash water method in early spring, and just expanded it out to 40 gallons today. Lactobacillus and yeast have a symbiotic relationship, allowing them both to survive in anaerobic fermentations. Here are some microscope views of the LABs. It's diluted quite a bit, but still fairly abundant. These little guys will go forth and multiply to fill their new capacity. What LA

Field bindweed is one of the most frustrating plants to deal with. It has long roots, propagates in good soil as well as bad soil. Is resilient to changes in PH, drought, flood, freezing, and hot temperatures. From a regenerative or chemical standpoint, this guy takes years to remove. Here’s some information I dug up on a rainy day about Field Bindweed. Description: Perennial vine with arrow shaped leaves varying between .4 to 4 inches long and up to 2.4 inches wide. The

Making Egg Amino Acid (EAA) fertilizer is a two-stage fermentation process that takes about 20 to 30 days to complete. This natural growth promoter, similar to fish amino acid, is rich in calcium and amino acids that accelerate plant flowering and overall health. Ingredients & Supplies Eggs: 4–5 fresh chicken eggs (unrefrigerated is best). Lemon Juice: Juice of 10–15 lemons (enough to fully submerge the eggs). Jaggery: 250g of powdered jaggery (brown sugar or molasses can be

My job isn't to create a pristine and sterile environment for plants to grow. My job is to work with nature to nudge healthy soil and plants into a healthy state. Weeds are a big part of nature working to fix itself. Each plant we may consider weeds has a specific job of repairing damaged and degraded soil. Many of us have noticed that as soon as we uncover soil weeds appear within days, even without water. They are the scabs trying to cover the wound of the earth. T

While good micro-biology and regenerative practices can often mine the minerals needed, sometime nature needs a boost. Especially when your growing area has decades of farming that removed nutrients. Getting a quality soil test and applying the right minerals, especially micro-nutrients, will boost biology and plant health giving you a healthy nutrient-dense crop. Since my land was used for bean and pea production and then as dairyland, many of the minerals went out with th

This is the beginning of my bulk medicinal herbal forest. Room for 40 or so herbs in 3x15 foot sections. This is an 1800 square foot area cut out of lawn and mixed with 6 inches of local aged forest mulch. All set for planting in the 2025 season.