(Regen Agriculture at Boyle Park, 6th post in the series.)
CORRECTION: I am guilty of a gross over-simplification. In the last regen post, I posted a photo of a mushroom pushing up dirt. While this photo was real, the implication that fungi can do anything useful by themselves, was inaccurate.
Here is a summary of the five recognized principles of regenerative agriculture: keep the soil covered, minimize soil disturbance, maximize crop diversity, maintain living root in the ground year-round, and integrate livestock.
The goal is to improve the well-being of our environment by increasing soil fertility, biodiversity, water retention and cleanliness, and soil carbon sequestration. Promote biodiversity.
Our soil is alive with many living organisms such as worms, fungi, insects, bacteria, and organic matter. It supports life with its naturally occurring nutrients and minerals, making it a perfect planting medium. It is a complete and self-sustaining ecosystem. https://www.naturespath.com/en-ca/blog/difference-soil-dirt/
September
The rains in August provided a solid new growth and permitted a second harvest of the forage. Colin Kintop, Cattleman, had intended to make silage, but the hot September weather dried the crop quickly and he was able to put up hay.
The continued hot weather has allowed the crop to again re-establish the surface growth and to provide more living root structures. Now, according to Dave Otto, the active plants will die down over winter and the cover will contribute to a healthy soil structure into which a cash crop will be directly sown in the spring.
The Entire Series, on Regenerative Agriculture at Boyle Park, is Here