Some days I explain concepts of regenerative agriculture to others. Other moments I feel the regenerative agriculture business bubble as my nemesis. 🤪

Let me explain:
As input-maximised and yield-optimized industrializ agriculture is so horribly bad at preserving the environment, including its own basic requirements (soil & water, biodiversity, climate), the bar for doing things better is really not that high.
Regenerative Agriculture (#RegAg) additionally builds on traditional knowledge, pionering farmer's experience and good science. "Conventional" agricultural science doesn't really collaborate with farmers. At Universities, most stuff is investigated epistemologically, meaning cutting a system into single, tiny, easier-to-handle bits to understand and classify how they work. The sum yields then the whole.
Biology does not work like this. Hypercomplex ecosystems don't work like this. You need a holistic vision and look at the system. The direct benefit from understanding is that you work with nature, not against her. We call this "ecosystem services" and try to quantify the economic benefit of functional biodiversity.
This is complex and it is more difficult to sell stuff (therefore the industry is not so interested) or to write scientific publications (therefore scientists are not so interested).
Every some decades since around 100 years, somebody finds out that the reductionist approach is a very bad Idea and very cool people develop together new ideas.
As the more established researcher institutions have some problems with the newcomers, these alternative fields attract brillant independent researchers and pioneer farmers. This time it is RegAg (the climax of thepermaculture wave seems to be over). However, a new field of endless possibilities attract also entrepreneurs. As the regular systems of control do not work properly because most of the more established academia doesn't want to engage with these new & 'esoteric' techniques, it ibecomes easy for snake oil sellers to make great, hyperbolic promises. Together with charismatic personalities using effective communication techniques they reach a large audience of practitioners that are worried because they notice that industrial agriculture ruined their fields visibly already in their lifespan.
Many of the techniques make totally sense. Others less. Or just in some cases: in agriculture, there is no silver bullet. Even my most beloved combination of techniques (cover crops, reduced tillage & mulching) does not work in many places (too wet, too dry, too cold...).
But most RegAg-ideas are still much better than the conventional techniques. Therefore, I can (and have to) accept a lot of hot air from RegAg prophets. Although many of their claims are totally exxagerated, often they do more good by convincing many people. And real farmers anyway do what they want and adapt their systems.
I just hope that not too many will get frustrated when the expensive courses and great promises don't play out as expected.

@ramonita @un_blaze

#RegAg #RegenerativeAgriculture #Agroecology #NoTill #Mulching #Horticulture #ElaineIngham

I've never had any problems using fresh arborist's #woodchips as mulch ON TOP of the soil. I was once lectured by a FB group gardening "expert" that #mulching my newly planted strawberries with fresh woodchips would kill them. Instead, the plants thrived and put out well over 100 runners INTO THE #MULCH, the paths, everywhere. The only plants that died were ones that didn't get mulched at all, so they were smothered by weeds. The entire PDF is very interesting. https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/.../sites/403/2015/03/wood-chips.pdf
#gardening #compost #composting

I compost almost everything from the garden, including weeds, plus vegetable 'waste' from the kitchen, coffee grounds and egg shells.
On the left, one of the composting bays now. Mostly brown material still. By autumn this should be beautiful compost.
On the right, ready compost from last year.

#compost #gardencompost #mulch #mulching #artistsgarden #garden #gardener #gardening #gardenphotography #artist #wolfkettler #permaculture #photography #gardenwiltshire #wiltshiregarden #wiltshire

@whitepineswhisper: Yes! Woodchips decay without the assistance of greens. Keep an eye on it - notorious for catching fire and turn it. You’ll find the center has already turned to ash.
#composting
#mulching
#gardening

Today the white oak and elm yielded their last leaves to Earth’s recycling program. I can now mulch and move pieces to serve next year’s gardens. #gardening #sustainability #mulching

To do, cont. "2. HEALTHY #SOILS: crop rotation, #mulching, non-tilling, mycelia, compost teas, worm farming, animal poop, #biodigesters, reusing sediment in one area for another
3. #EARTHWORKS: swales, weirs/#CheckDams, small #ponds, #terracing, #KeyLine system, rocks, guiding downhill rainfall to seep into ground replenishing, #gabions, zuni waffle garden, water piano."

Ok, we're all doing #Intoduction posts, so my interests are

#linux
#bicycles
#mulching
#himbofication

Today we cleaned up the vegetable garden and planted field beans to enrich the soil with #nitrogen.

These beans, called "favini" in Italian, are sacrificial: Next spring, during flowering, the plants will be cut and left on the earth (#mulching). The roots, rich of nitrogen, will remain in the ground.

This is an old technique which has been used in this region to fertilize olive trees, but we will try it for tomatoes.

#permaculture
green #manure

How to use #ethics checklists to turn your #killer #algorithms into highly ethical, forward-thinking computing innovations: „A #Mulching Proposal“ https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3310433

P.S: They should really get #SoylentGreen certified as organic, too.

Bon, la pelouse, sur le devant de la maison, semé il y a 10 jours, pointe le bout de son nez ! Les queques jours de pluie ausont fait du bien ! Quand à l'arrière de la maison, il va bientôt falloir faire la première tonte ! #Clisson #mulching