No dig gardening is exactly as its name suggests-we never dig the soil.

Healthy soil is key to growing healthy veg. Avoiding soil disturbance is fundamental to no dig practices as it allows the natural biological processes within the soil to exist without interference. Modern agriculture has over-looked the health of our soils and has led to widespread degradation through its extensive use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers and intense machine based land use.

Keeping a succession of diverse, seasonal crops in our beds all year round will keep nutrient balances in check and soil microbes fed through their process of photosynthesis. With regular applications of compost mulch-we can replicate the natural ‘food’ of leaf fall and decay that feeds the soil organisms of the forest floor.

Nurturing Organic, chemical free, no dig beds in this way, we’ll be able to provide you with healthy, nutrient rich veggies, whilst bringing our soils here back to life.

Off-Grid Organics is human-scale farming, centered around good growing practices and working to enhance our local biodiversity. We are dedicating large parts of the land here to support wildlife and to actively encourage pollinators and natural insect predators.

This Winter I’ll be planting over 1000 trees in conjunction with local initiatives. Together we’ll repopulate an area of woodland and create a new, native, mixed species hedgerow.

I’ll also be sowing further areas of wildflower meadow, introducing low-intervention beehives, putting up bird boxes, making bug hotels, growing flowers, establishing areas of dead wood habitat and creating several ponds for wildlife and rainwater stores.

This Winter I will be planting a brand new mixed fruit orchard. Lucky for me, my neighbours are a fruit tree nursery!

Over 300 Apple. Plum, Pear, Cherry and nut trees, along with fruit bushes and companion perennials will fill the space beyond the market garden.

Again, the small permaculture orchard will be managed organically, so diversity is key to pest and disease limitation and to provide habitat to insects and pollinators throughout as much of the year as possible. As well as providing a successive and evolving harvest for our customers and our veg boxes.

I still pinch myself most mornings as I wake up here and walk down to the veg plot with my morning brew. The Ecological Land Co-operative make this possible for new entrant farmers like myself. They support a global transition towards small-scale agroecological farming. They help to secure access to land and create affordable, low impact small-holding, which has made my passion and dream a reality.

find out more at https://ecologicalland.coop