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It’s no secret Mother Nature needs us to take some extra care of her right now.
And everything counts…..even the way you manage your garden or veggie patch at home!
That’s where biodynamic gardening comes into play.
Let’s start with what that actually means.
Biodynamics is a holistic, eco-friendly and ethical approach to farming, gardening, food and nutrition.
Instead of just using and abusing the earth, the soil, and the space we’ve been so lucky to be given, it’s about working to bring plants, animals and soil together so they can support and work together for the greater good.
That means less damage to the environment, a more conscious gardening experience, thriving plants AND tastier fruit, herbs and veggies from your backyard veggie patch and orchard.
Here’s 6 ways you can level up your gardening game and help the environment at the same time.
It’s all about working with nature and not against it, right?
1 :: Soil Health
Everything comes down to healthy soil, whether you have 500 acres of pasture or you’re growing herbs on your window sill.
Think of the soil in the ground as a big sponge. The higher the organic matter in the soil, the more water it can hold, which helps nurture and grow plants through dryer conditions [not that we have to worry about that at the moment but no doubt we will as the extreme cycle of weather patterns keeps on truckin’!]
So organic matter in the soil is important but how do we increase that?
2 :: Companion Planting
A simple way to increase organic matter is to increase the diversity of species growing in that environment.
Once again, it doesn’t matter if you’re on a large farm, running a backyard veggie patch or growing herbs in a kitchen garden, the principle is the same – you want a variety of plant types.
So mix up your planting. Don’t grow all potatoes or all lettuces. Companion plant different seasonal species next to each other.
Pop some lavender next to a rosemary bush. Go crazy and plant coriander right next to the parsley – living on the edge, right?
The more species you have above the ground, the greater diversity of life growing beneath the ground.
The plants are feeding the bugs in the ground by pumping sugar into the soil. There’s a wonderful relationship between plants feeding the soil bugs like bacteria and fungus, and the bacteria and fungus then creating the nutrition the plant needs.
Soils don’t make plants. Plants make soil.
Super interesting, right?
3 :: Make Your Own Compost
Making your own compost is easy to do. Kitchen scraps, cook poo, grass clippings….there’s plenty of things you can include.
A good compost will have had worms go through it and worm farms are ideal for urban households. The worms help break all the matter down, digest it, ferment it and pasteurise it. If the worms have left a compost heap, then it’s ready to use in the garden.
The key is making sure you have the appropriate level of moisture in the compost. If you grab a handful, squeeze it and get one drop out of it, it’s perfect. If nothing come out, it’s too dry.
4 :: Get The Kids In The Garden
Children are the ones who are going to inherit this earth and they’re the ones who will probably do more than any other generation to improve the environment, so let’s get them excited about where their food comes from.
They love getting dirty so if you don’t have a veggie patch, that’s a great project to start with the kids. Get them digging and planting. Do research together on what to plant each season. Let them choose which seeds to plant and give them the responsibility of keeping the veggie patch healthy.
Soil health and human health go hand in hand. The more people can connect with their food and grow their own good, the healthier they will become.
5 :: Steer Clear Of Chemicals And Fertilisers
While fertilisers and chemicals have their place and can be super useful, they can also seep into the soil and into the plants we’re growing AND we also need to think about what bugs, insects, bees and other animals pick up from our soil and plants.
There are plenty of natural options to help keep plants pest free – for example, you can make up your own garlic and onion and cayenne pepper spray to help ward off pests. You can grow your own garlic and onion to make your natural pesticide! Love it!
Check in with your local nursery or garden centre for chemical free options, and help keep the chemicals out of the food chain.
6 :: Get To Know Your Local Farmers + Buy From Them
If you can grow your own food, awesome. But if you can’t, the next best thing is buying your food from a local producer.
Many small scale, local producers follow biodynamic practices and many are organic too.
So, get to know your local farmer or producer and buy direct from them as much as possible – Farmer’s Markets are great for this too!
There you go! Plenty of super useful info to get your gardens, veggie patches and herb gardens not only thriving but thriving in a way that minimises the impact on the environment, takes care of the bugs, animals and insects in the garden AND cleans up your food from a nutritional, taste and health perspective too.
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