Journey
Get excited. A lifetime of adventure awaits.
- Start slow: Your garden will evolve over time. If you are just starting, pick 3 things you would like to grow. For food, focus on three foods that are already a part of your diet; ones that you already love.
- Growth: Each year your comfort level will widen and your experience will deepen. Your garden will expand, production will increase and soon enough, you will be living in abundance.
- Soil life & plant growth: Did you know that plants depend on soil life to process nutrients? Plants engage in a symbiotic relationship with microorganisms in the soil to acquire the essential nutrients necessary for growth. Without these interactions, many resources would be unattainable and significantly limit plant expression. Our goal is to establish soil systems conducive to these vital interactions – building rich habitat with a variety of resources and managing to create optimal conditions for soil life to flourish.
Genetics
Starting off on the right foot.
- Seeds: When possible, source organic, localized, non-gmo seeds. They will have clean origins, acclimated genetics and will reliably produce seeds that can be saved for the next generation. Some gmo or hybrid plants will produce seeds that are not viable for future generations.
- Transplants: If possible, grow your own starters from seed. For beginners, when buying transplants, get them from local organic sources to reduce chemical exposure and decreased vitality.
- Why: Why is organic so important? The seed carries not only a genetic signature; it also brings its own unique microbiome consisting of several billion organisms that play a crucial role in future development. Just like in humans, genes can only take you so far. The environment and microbiome, will dramatically affect the trajectory of the plant's expression of those genetics. A seed with good genes that is introduced into a good biome will create the ultimate recipe for success.
Shelter
Food, Water and Shelter. Plants are living organisms just like us and require these three basic needs. A plant's shelter is the media and location in which it's roots are located.
- Location: Most plants thrive in full sun. If possible, locate your garden directly in the path of your daily routine. Be cognizant of animal pressure, access to water for irrigation and water movement through the land. Do not plant in an area that accumulates water. If this is the only option, build up. Roots and the microorganisms in the soil need to breath!
- Beds: Create low garden beds as a priority. Better buffering from the elements, less costs, more productive. A standardized width for beds is 30 inches. This width allows ease of harvesting to the center, straddling when necessary and jumping from one aisle to the next. Try to organize beds in long lengths for better space utilization and irrigation simplicity. When starting a new bed, a double-dig or till method can be used once for the purpose of adding in organic matter, or aerating the soil and eliminating compaction. This will be especially helpful in poor soils (sandy, clay or compacted). The addition of organic matter, namely compost, can accelerate subsoil penetration of organic matter and nutrients by up to 3-5 years! Get digging. Add up to 20% compost and 10% biochar by volume to a depth of 8-12" for best results. Topdress with organic matter such as compost and nutrients at 2-4" height. Keep garden beds low at 4-8" above ground level for better drainage and increased root access into the soil ecosystem below.
- Containers: Grow in beds when possible. If using containers, use the largest volume container reasonable. Containers must be free draining and will need more attention for sustaining proper moisture and reducing extreme swings in temperature. Since containers are subject to increased leaching due to open drainage, amending will need to occur more frequently to replace nutrients being flushed out of the soil, especially after large rainfall events.
- Why: Plants and the biology that support them operate best under certain circumstances. While every plant has specific needs, most operate best when not too hot, cold, wet, or dry. For instance, biology will slow down over 80F, stop functioning over 110F, and cease to exist over 130F. Buffering these extremes with larger soil volumes or lower beds all help increase soil function.
Water
Water needs are both relative and dynamic. They vary dramatically upon soil type, weather conditions and plant demands.
- Best for beds: Water strategically and deeply. Train roots to dive deep in the spring, creating resilience for hotter and drier conditions to come. Hand water with a hose or watering can from a clean de-chlorinated source if possible. Water the entire soil surface, not only where plants are located. Keep soil covered with mulch, such as straw, for less evaporative loss. The best 'mulch' is plant density that shades the soil surface and feeds the soil life through a diversity of roots! Always keep the soil surface covered!
- Water seedlings (must keep soil from drying out to at least the depth of the seed) and transplants until they are established (normally 1-2 weeks), then start training root development deeper into the soil profile with less frequent waterings and heavier soaks.
- Constantly monitor the soil profile by digging into the top 2-4" to check when the soil needs to be watered. Moisture retention will fluctuate on soil type, plant demand, and weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind and exposure to sunlight.
- When watering, periodically check on progress and continue watering until saturated down to at least 4". We guarantee you will be surprised on the water holding capacity of your soil, for good or bad!
- Strategically pair watering with rainfall events for water conservation.
- Best for containers: Water more frequently and more slowly. If left to dry out completely, hydrophobic conditions may occur. Watch out for expansion and contraction of the container and soil medium, which could create voids where water will freely drain. Pro Tip: Water from the bottom occasionally using a tray to fully saturate the soil from below.
Food
Organic matter, nutrients, minerals, and plant roots.
- Why: Organic matter, such as compost, is a slow release food source that constantly feeds the soil over several years of breaking down. This constant availability of nutrients keeps microorganisms happy. To supplement and encourage plant growth, a diversity of concentrated nutrients and minerals are added to offer a wide spectrum of resources. It is important to always have plant roots in the ground. Plant roots feed soil biology through plant exudates which continue to build soil and support the soil ecosystem below. Cover cropping practices help regenerate soil health by continuing to build soil. Even the smallest growth above ground can contain enormous root structure below, we like to call them, icebergs.
- Annual Topdress: Ideally in the fall, topdress beds and containers 2-4" with organic matter, nutrients and minerals for best results. If not replenished in the fall, topdress at least one month prior to planting in the early spring.
- Re-Amend for Fruit, Flower & Seed: Replenish minerals and nutrients one month before flowering targeted to sustain growth and maximize production, typically in late spring or early summer.
Management
Principles and practices to optimize soil function and plant expression.
- Minimum till: Till once, remove rocks, loosen prior compaction, add organic matter & amendments, then never till again. Remove plants by cutting stems at ground level, always leave roots in the ground and disturb the soil as little as possible.
- Compaction: Aim to reduce future compaction as much as possible. Do not walk on beds unnecessarily, use heavy equipment, till, disturb the soil or remove plant roots. Aim to build soil structure through maturing networks of macro & micropores supported by proper soil aggregation.
- Coverage: Keep your soil covered at all times. Living mulch aka plants is the best option...plant density, intercropping and cover cropping are examples of such. Other options can be straw, pine needles, grass clippings (be aware if chemically treated), woodchips, or a 'chop and drop' of living plant foliage. The goal is to create a protective buffer layer through mulching thick enough so that the subsoil level stays ideally less than 80F. Thickness will vary from warmer to colder climates. For example, a hotter climate will require a thicker mulch layer, say 3-6", to buffer more extreme temperature fluctuation than a cooler climate which may only require 2-4".
- Volume: Create grow spaces with as much connected volume as possible. Through mycorrhizal (fungal) networks, plant roots will have access to vastly greater resources than are reachable through just the plant rhizosphere (root system).
- Chop & drop: Anything not being harvested should be left on the soil surface to return nutrients back to where they came. This allows nutrient cycling and helps maintain balance in the soil ecosystem.
- DIY: Create your own compost, cycle nutrients through chickens, maintain vermicomposting (worm) bins. Source resources as locally as possible to create environmentally friendly and sustainable systems.
- Vertical space: Integrate plants into vertical space as much as possible.
- Density: Use various techniques such as intercropping, intensive growing, multi-sowing and succession planning to achieve high density while direct sowing and/or transplanting.
- IMO: Introduce indigenous microorganisms into grow systems. Locally gather IMO from advanced grassland and forest systems for added diversity and resilience.
- Diversity: Attract insects with pollinator flowers, install bird houses, companion plant, use perennials for year round roots in the ground.