You might be here because you’re interested in gardening and also worried about climate change.

Or, you might be interested in gardening and also working towards self-sufficiency.

Either way, in this post I’m going to share a list of quick shifts you can make to your home garden that will:

• boost soil health
• be better for the environment
• increase yields

I know it can be overwhelming to look at all of the different layers of regenerative gardening.

My goal is to give you a small but meaningful action to take in your garden to help you get closer to sustainable self-sufficiency.

1. Plan on Growing Cover Crops This Fall

Cover crops are an easy way to improve soil health, provide nutrients for upcoming crops, and sequester carbon at the same time.

How do cover crops sequester carbon?

Just like your veggies, cover crops form relationships with the microbes in the soil. As the plants use photosynthesis to create food for themselves, they store carbon within their bodies. They also provide some carbon as a food source for the soil microbes, which keeps the carbon more stable in the ground.

What’s so great about that?

Well, most of us aren’t growing much in the garden over winter. When plants aren’t growing, photosynthesis isn’t happening. This means that carbon sequestration isn’t actively happening, either. Cover crops extend your garden’s photosynthesis potential!

Which cover crops are best?

There are a lot of cover crops to choose from, but I have two favorites:

• Daikon Radish: If you have dry clay soil and are in desperate need of some organic matter, daikon radish is what I’d recommend. You can buy seeds in bulk for your garden here.
• Hairy Vetch: If your garden is in need of a nitrogen boost, or if you want to grow healthier tomatoes, peppers, and other nightshades, hairy vetch is a winning pick. A pound is a good place to start for most backyards.

Self-sufficiency tip: Both of these cover crops can reduce input costs for the following year. They also both are really easy to get seed yields from. Right now, in mid-July, I have a few stray daikon and hairy vetch plants that are going to seed. I can let them self-sow or be more organized and harvest the seed to plant intentionally around the garden.

2. Chop & Drop

In mid-July, the garden is growing at full speed. It’s a great time to let your perennial and biennial plants be a source of mulch and organic matter for your garden.

How does chop & drop sequester carbon

Chopping down plants instead of pulling them up entirely keeps the root biomass — and the carbon stored inside of it — in the ground. This keeps carbon in place in the soil. Dropping the leaves strategically as mulch on bare soil helps to keep carbon in the ground, and will become carbon-rich organic matter as it breaks down.

What’s so great about that?

Well, mulch is excellent, but not everyone has the budget to cover their full gardens in spray-free straw. Looking around your garden and growing your own mulch can save on costs and also help reduce the amount you need to water, too.

Plants that are great for chop & drop purposes:

• Gone-to-flower brassicas, like kale or broccoli
• Leafy greens in need of a tune-up, like kale, chard, or collards
• Harvested plants, like the leafy greens off of beets, beans or peas, or herbs like mullein, borage, calendula and chamomile where you’ve already picked the flowering part or removed seed heads. As you harvest any disease-free crops, chop them back to the ground but leave the roots in place.
• Vigorous perennials, like leaves off comfrey, artichoke, elderberry, nettles, rhubarb (again, don’t mulch seed heads though!)
• Coppiced tree/bush cuttings, like prunings from seaberry, autumn olive, elder, vine maple, etc.

Chop & Drop Steps:

• Keep plants in ground (unless you’re harvesting the root)
• Chop off leaves with garden shears or loppers
• Scatter the leaves around bare areas of soil, or thirsty plants in need of some water retention

3. DIY Beneficial Microbes with JADAM

Korean Natural Farming, JADAM, and other natural ways of making soil amendments at home are a great way to boost your garden’s soil microbe population.

Do microbes sequester carbon?

Yes! Soil microbes are bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and others who support soil health in numerous ways.

Some microbes form mutualistic relationships with plants. The plants give them some of the carbon that they take from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.

Other microbes eat carbon-rich organic debris, and bring the carbon into the soil in a stable form.

Some microbes even eat other microbes, so the carbon gets cycled into the soil from their excretions. Yum!

What’s so great about homemade soil amendments?

Well, in addition to adding carbon-loving microbes into your soil, you’re also able to boost your soil health at a very low cost. Low-cost, low-time, low-effort, but a great impact.

How to make JADAM Microbial Solution:

One of the best videos I’ve seen on this is by JohnKNF on Youtube.

You’ll need:

• a couple boiled potatoes
• some sea salt
• 1 cup soil - healthy is best, or sourced from local woods
• cheese cloth/filter bag
• water
• bucket
• rock

1. Fill your bucket 4/5 of the way with water.
2. If your water is chlorinated, let it sit out for 24 hours (I didn’t calculate non-active time into this being a 10-minute project 😀 ).
3. Add handful of sea salt into the water.
4. Put the pre-boiled potatoes into the cheesecloth/filter bag and mash them up. Add in the cup of healthy soil. Add a rock to help it to stay submerged.
5. Suspend the bag into the water, and cover loosely. Place it in a shady spot for 36-48 hours.
6. Dilute at a rate of 1 part microbial solution to 20 parts water in a watering can, and water your garden soil with it. You can do this with soil before planting into it, or when transplanting seedlings.

Ways to Learn More:

• Learn about JADAM and other ways to make your own garden amendments from common and inexpensive materials.
• Nigel Palmer has an excellent book on this as well.

4. Plant a Fruit Tree

Ann Ralph’s fabulous book on this topic says, “Grow a Little Fruit Tree” — with the “little” making it possible for those with small yards.

What’s so great about that?

Pruning techniques and variety choices can help those with smaller backyards to have some long-lasting carbon storage in the form of a perennial plant. For a self-sufficiency bonus, you’ll get some long-lasting harvest potential, too.

What I recommend:

• Pole Apple Trees: These trees are small, and take up hardly any horizontal space. After a few years of being in the ground, I’m getting around 2 dozen apples on each tree.
• Dwarf Figs: Best for spots with mild winters, dwarf figs can provide fruit for generations. I have a “Fignomenal” variety, which grows to be only a few feet tall.
• Grapes: Not a tree, but pretty close. Can provide summer shade if trellised or utilize the boundaries of your garden.

Quick shifts, great results

I hope that you have the opportunity to try out one of these regenerative gardening projects before the end of the season!

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