As Spring settles in, Soil biology starts to wake up after the colder winter weather.
/ Cover crop or Mulch
The first principle of regenerative practice is never to leave soil bare. Carbon and moisture escape into the atmosphere and the health of soil degrades. If you have areas without ground or leaf cover, consider applying a cover crop or a mulch instead.
/ Soil Testing
Better understand what is going on in your soil ahead of the growing season. You can perform a simple worm count yourself, 10 active worms in a good spadeful is optimal, or you can book in a site visit and testing suite, looking at nutrient availability and active soil biology. With data, we can make more effective decisions.
/ Natural Additives
Until we find balance in our soil systems, selective additives can offer significant benefits. Adding seaweed, volcanic rock dust or biochar, or applying a compost extract are all great ways of naturally improving soil structure, function and nutrient availability.
/ Plan your veggie garden and Plant Food!
There is nothing more rewarding than growing nutritious food for you and your family, and it needn’t be difficult, the key is to start small and choose plants which are easy to grow, like courgettes and strawberries. Start with only one or two things and a few herbs and if you have too much, share with your friends and neighbours. With food security issues ever more apparent, we recommend everyone starts growing something. We choose to use no dig beds, made from our compost, supporting soil biology and fungi that help to deliver nutrients into our food.
/ Start Composting – Maximise fresh greens
With the flush of sappy green growth that Spring delivers, plants are full of all the good stuff, so maximise their potential and start composting with them. Seek out diversity too, lots of different plants will help make for a better compost. With every bucket of green, add a bucket of brown material (like shredded paper, cardboard and wood chips) to balance out the Carbon to Nitrogen (C:N) ratio. You can add selective food waste (pre plate chopping board scraps are best) on the same ratio and if you have a pet, such as a rabbit or chickens, you can add their manure and bedding too.
