Regenerative Agriculture

The following piece is my take on ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ and how this enlightened approach to protecting and enhancing soil quality is influencing my journey on the Essex Allotment Farm.

In simple terms, Regenerative Agriculture is the process of turning dirt into soil. (It’s like the big sister to no-dig)

Globally, farming practices for decades have introduced an ever increasing amount of chemicals and pesticides into the ground with the belief or objective of creating optimum growing conditions for livestock and crops. Whilst this practice may have influenced mass volume production of food stocks, the longer term damage to our planet’s soil is far reaching.

Chemicals have destroyed the soil’s natural ecosystem, removing nutrition in the form of roots, insects and micro organisms. Millions of acres of farmland throughout the world have turned from lush farmlands with healthy soil structure into deserts.

Regenerative Agriculture is the process of reversing decades of harm to the earth’s natural soil structure - preventing further decay and recreating a natural growth habitat for livestock and crops.

We have heard the phrase ‘follow the science’ quite frequently in respect of the world’s response to Covid 19 but what is the science behind Regenerative Agriculture?

One of the key objectives of RA is to return the soil to its natural state. This means enhancing organic soil matter consisting of carbon, water, nitrogen and other elements. This process will also create a stronger defence mechanism against soil disease - back to nature. Carbon cycle is one of the fundamental requirements of life on earth and is vital for soil. Organic carbon mainly enters the soil by decomposition of animal and plant residuals, dead and living microorganisms. The organic matter in the soil has approximately 58% carbon. Some human activities have, over time, reduced the carbon content in soil. Activities such as fire, drainage, tilling and chemical additives reduce significantly the soil organic matter. Soil organic carbon is the key factor of the soil fertility by releasing the nutrients for plant growth. Carbon also helps manufacture the organic matter in the plants by use of the carbon dioxide from the air and water. Plants die, decompose and are recycled in the soil. Minerals get released to the soil and carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. If a notable quantity of carbon is stored in the soil as organic carbon it reduces the amount present in the atmosphere and this helps to reduce global warming.

Sadly, farming practices around the world have moved in the opposite direction for decades, no more so than in the US. American farmers are encouraged to disturb the ground both physically and chemically and are subsidised by the US government to do so. Millions of acres of dirt and desert is the scary outcome of this continuing practice.

What does this all mean for the Essex Allotment Farm and how is it influencing my journey?

Regenerative Agriculture is supported by some key principles aimed at supporting a sustainable soil structure:

- Minimise or eliminate the physical and chemical disturbance of the soil.

- Keep living roots in the soil for as much of the year as possible.

- Maintain a wide variety of plants to stimulate biodiversity within the soil.

- Keep the ground covered where possible.

- Retain living livestock within the farmland.

My key focus in the past months and the future months ahead of next year’s season is to learn about the soil structure that I have inherited and introduce the principles above in order to improve the overall soil quality thereby improving growing conditions.

Those of you following my story will have seen the development of a block structure to maximise productivity through maximising planting and harvesting processes. This approach has the added benefit of creating minimal physical disturbance of the land (often referred to as no-dig or no till). You will also have seen the introduction of plants and vegetables into the land that are not necessarily going to produce crops for next season. These were introduced to install living roots into the soil and maintain a wide variety of plants aligned with the key principles of Regenerative Agriculture. An example of this is the field beans that cover the entirety of block B. Other crops have been introduced that could be harvested but their primary objective is to help me understand the soil reaction and capabilities to a variety of crops ahead of a commercial growing season. The results so far have been extremely encouraging. I have been introduced to cut worm for the first time and am working my way through minimising this threat. Overall the crops are thriving and I’ve already harvested beetroot, radish and lettuce.

I have introduced compost into the ground and added supplementary organic soil conditioner with the objective of feeding the soil and restoring its health and natural growing conditions. No chemicals have or will be used in this regenerative process.

Why am I taking this specific approach to growing vegetables?

There are a number of key reasons for this:

- I want this business to be around for many years to come, therefore it is essential to protect and enhance the soil rather than turn it into dirt.

- I want my vegetables to thrive in an organic environment, whilst doing my bit for the local community and protecting the soil.

- Vegetables produced using the above RA principles, put simply, taste better.

- Producing vegetables locally in this way allows be to share the growing journey directly with my end customers. They are able to witness and become directly involved in the creation of locally produced organic vegetables.

- on a small scale, I am making a positive contribution to the environment and hope to encourage others to follow suit.

Thank you for reading

Alex