persephone
market garden
Healing and abundance starts when killing stops. We prevent problems by design, rather than fighting symptoms with poisons.
We stopped tilling the soil in 2019. Thank you Singing Frogs Farm for inspiration and a model to guide us. We keep living roots in the soil as much as possible and keep the soil surface covered with mulch. The soil ecosystem is dependent on the energy provided by plants (photosynthesis!) through living roots, the moderate climate (moisture and temperature) maintained by a mulched surface, and the absence of the massive disturbance that is tillage. Can you imagine a house without a roof or a tornado tearing through your house multiple times per year?! A healthy soil, teeming with life, is the foundation of healthy crops and healthy food.
Life thrives on diversity. To be healthy and resilient, our systems must also be rooted in diversity. We practice intercropping (combining different crops in the same space), crop rotation (moving crops around from year to year) and cover cropping (growing species we won’t harvest for the sake of the ecosystem’s health). We also integrate several species of livestock into the farm ecosystem. Yes, this requires more management effort upfront. We reap the rewards through healthier soil, crops and animals.
Killing to create abundance of life? Band-aids don’t prevent problems, do they?
The plants, animals and fungi are our teachers. If we listen carefully, studying the water and mineral cycles, energy flow, and populations of species teaches us how to move with the land. The learning never stops and never ceases to amaze.
our approach to growing is rooted in our own ancestral peasant-farming roots of central Europe, teachings of the Anishnaabe people (Robin Wall Kimmerer, Basil Johnston and more) on whose land we thankfully live and grow, the global agroecology and food sovereignty movements, and Allen Savory’s holistic management.
It’s hard to sum these up in a few sentences! Two suggestions for further engagement are the works of Robin Wall Kimmerer and the nature journalling practice shared by the Wild Wonder Foundation.
All of our vegetables, herbs and seeds are certified organic by TCO.