In the lead-up to this weekend’s 2040 ReGeneration Weekend, Landcare Award winner Charlie Arnott shares his tips on how to create healthy pastures and veggie patches
We’re getting excited about the 2040 Regeneration Weekend – an awesome collab of local organisations brought together by WILDfest and Carousel Lifestyle, happening in the Highlands on Oct 25-26! Such a fab concept!
“Thanks to films like 2040, there is a wonderful shift happening now where regardless of politics, culture, religion – people are starting to come together and focus on the environment,” says Amanda Fry from WILDfest, one of the event organisers.
2040 filmmaker Damon Gameau and Landcare Award winner Charlie Arnott (plus loads more awesome presenters) will be sharing their knowledge and expertise with Highlanders to get us talking and active about what we can do to make a difference – right now!
“We already have some awesome people doing great things locally. The purpose of this event is to get everyone in the same space and share what’s happening,” explains Amanda.
“The council are doing this, the tiny house movement is doing that, the wildlife guys are working on this project, you can buy direct from these farms here……”
“Inspiration is one thing but what we want to do is take it to the next level. Working collaboratively with all these different organisations is how we get serious change and stand together to protect the pristine environment of the Highlands.”
We are sooooooo in!
So, where do we start?
With Charlie Arnott’s tips on how to get down and dirty (in the garden, people!).
Charlie is super passionate about organic, biodynamic and regenerative farming practices and was happy to share some tips with The Fold to help us Highlanders get biodynamic in our own backyards – literally!
SOIL HEALTH
“It all comes down to soil health,” Charlie says.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re growing herbs on your windowsill or you have 500 acres of pasture, it all comes back to healthy soil.”
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 – and we know how important THAT is right now – yes, we’re looking at you, drought!
Okay, so how do we increase organic matter?
COMPANION PLANTING
“A simple way to increase organic matter is to increase the diversity of species growing in that environment,” says Charlie.
“In a pasture situation, you want a variety of grass types, plants and legumes in your pasture. The same principle applies to a backyard veggie patch or herb garden,” he explains.
So if you’ve got a veggie patch or herb garden in your backyard, mix up what you grow. 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 ground, the greater diversity of life is growing beneath the ground,” Charlie says.
“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.”
Mind.
Blown.
MAKE YOUR OWN COMPOST
“Making your own compost is easy to do. Kitchen scraps, chook poo, grass clippings….there’s plenty of things you can include,” says Charlie.
“A good compost will have had worms go through it. The worms help break all the matter down, digest it, ferment and pasteruise it. If the worms have left a compost heap, then’ it’s ready to use in the garden.”
Worm farms are ideal for more suburban households – join Wingecarribee Council’s compost revolution here and order your own worm farm.
“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 comes out, it’s too dry,” Charlie says.
GET THE KIDS IN THE GARDEN
“Get children involved in and excited about where their food is from,” Charlie says.
“They’re 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.”
Kids love getting dirty, that’s a no-brainer, so if you don’t have one, start a veggie patch. 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 food, the healthier they will become,” says Charlie.
STEER CLEAR OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILISERS
“I have been farming all my life and just followed traditional conventional farming methods, which included the use of chemicals. I just did what my Dad did,” Charlie explains.
“But it wasn’t until I went to a couple of training courses that I really started to question why I was doing things this way.”
Charlie began to investigate the importance of soil health and considered animal health, and the habitats of different species. He also began to rely less on external suppliers and focused on becoming more self-sufficient.
“Why were the animals getting sick? Let’s look at the cause rather than treat the symptom. That led me to question why I was adding fertiliser and using chemicals.”
“I had to change the paddock between my ears before I changed anything else.”
GET TO KNOW YOUR LOCAL FARMERS AND BUY FROM THEM
“I always say to people, who’s your doctor? How often do you see them? Are they important in your life? In your health?” Charlie says.
“And then I say who’s your farmer?”
Crickets.
“Yeah, not many people can answer that question! I say if we all had a farmer, or a number of local farmers and producers that we connected with regularly and supported, we wouldn’t have to go to the doctor as often!” he laughs.
Good point!
“If you can grow your own, awesome. If you can’t, then do the research and go direct to the farmers who understand soil health and grow nutritionally dense food.”
We can’t wait for the 2040 ReGeneration Weekend, Friday 25 October and Saturday 26 October. There’s a lot of local buzz about this event and we’re lovin’ the look of it too! The 2040 ReGeneration Weekend in Bowral is an awesome collab of local businesses brought together by WILDfest and Carousel Lifestyle, inspired by Damon Gameau’s thought-provoking doco about the future of our environment. The Mill will come alive with screenings of 2040, sustainability workshops, expert speakers and fresh, local produce for sale. There is still some space in some of the workshops, but even if you’ve missed a spot, there will be plenty going on and lots of information to soak in – so see you there!
