Starting the season in the North

Starting the season in the North (an update from Freya, participant of Soil4Life)

While Corona is turning the whole world upside down, at least things in the garden are still proceeding as normal (despite the weird climatic changes…) – sun is shining, plants are growing, bees are flying and microorganisms in the ground are busy eating the rest of the OM from the autumn.

The basics to prepare the garden for the season are done. The first seeds and plants are in the ground – especially those, which are resistant to cold temperatures and best to be sown at waning moon. Some, like the potatoes, also got some old compost as little extra with them in the ground.

To speed up the harvesting of some veggies, we built a raised bed (= higher ground temperatures, more sun) from old materials, too. It’s been filled with straw, wood chips, fresh manure/ compost, old compost and earth. Thus, a great opportunity to get rid of compost of all ages (in case you have a lot) and create more gardening space which can be taken care of with less back pain.
As ours is closer to the kitchen than the garden, some salad and herbs have been sown and the radishes are growing already!
Hopefully, the voles will not discover this new patch of food opportunities…

Raised bed filled with compost

The garden, ready to start

The bean-tent-to-be

Comments

Regenerating soil AND growing food

The land where I live has been exploited and badly damaged over many decades. The most noticeable impact is caused by the huge Eucalyptus and abundant Wattle that are overcrowding the area, dehydrating the soil, blocking the sunlight and limiting biodiversity. These plants were brought here for the vast monoculture plantations that surround us- as a replacement for the indigenous old-grow woods when they became highly endangered due to over harvesting and deforestation. Eucalyptus, Pine and Wattle are not from this country nor region, and our local flora and fauna cannot thrive here- they create a very limited ecosystem and wreak havoc on the natural ecosystem services that our unique endemic forests provide. But, with the right tools and resources, they can become a blessing! With a chainsaw and a chipper, we are able to turn biomass into compost which we use in our indigenous tree nursery, in our food gardens and in our agroforestry systems to improve the soil. While clea...

The Soil4Life Manifesto

We, as part of the ecosystem, understand ourselves as guardians of the soil... The 5th of December 2019 is International Soil Day, and marked the launch of the Soil4Life Manifesto first draft. The manifesto begins: We, as part of the ecosystem, understand ourselves as guardians of the soil. Healthy, living soil is essential for life to thrive. In recent human history quality and care of soil has been largely ignored and misunderstood. The vital role that healthy soils play in our ecosystems needs to be recognised, protected and restored... We would like to hear and include the voices and concerns of all people affected by this serious and sensitive subject. The Soil4Life manifesto was first drafted on October 17th, 2019 during an international soil management training, as part of the bigger Soil4Life project and CCIVS for Climate Justice. CCIVS and Legambiente partnered with other organisations to make this possib...

Read and Sign The Soil4Life Manifesto

The time to act is Now! Please read and sign the Soil4Life manifesto to show your support! https://ccivs.org/soil-manifesto/ Sign the petition here: https://form.jotform.com/212072578209052 Our planet and the beings who reside here and make up the complex, whole, living system on which all life depends are under serious threat. Life functions are being threatened by exploitation, short term thinking, and a worldview that values economic and financial growth over the continuity of life and living systems. The complex, interconnected systems through which life on our planet has been able to flourish and grow over millennia have been misunderstood, misrepresented and ill treated for too long. We, as humans, have attempted to detach ourselves from the web of life. We have created a hierarchical worldview and placed our species at the top, instead of playing an integrated part in its life processes. This attitude and behaviour is destro...

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