The UK throws away around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in a single year.
At the same time, Every year England and Wales lose 2.9 million tonnes of topsoil to erosion.
Soil erosion occurs primarily when dirt is left exposed to strong winds, hard rains, and flowing water. In some cases, human activities, especially farming and land clearing, leave soil vulnerable to erosion.
Can we link these things and do better? I'd say so, but let me know what you think 🙏
What a perfect day to share this snippet of a video made by @_spicymoustache_ when he visited me a short while ago.
I've written a piece on my journey to regeneration in this season's edition of @bloom_the_magazine and happily discovered that in the regenerative section, my piece is right beside my pal Alessandro!
You can find a link to our full video together via my bio and hosted on Alessandro's fantastic @youtube account where you can find a whole load of great content.
I'll be talking about this journey from a business perspective at @sussexbizshow in a couple of weeks.
Soil chiropractic - cracking it into shape due to compaction and poor structure. This is a term I first heard used by @ben_falk_wsd in the film Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective, about 11 years ago now.
We've broadforked and created a surface tilth to transplant garlic out into. Then mulched the surface with a bit of compost.
The real magic is in the compost extract that we've applied as a soil drenched as well as the living @biolife_compost that the garlic was growing in.
First crop sown to be grown the Meliora way.
All after allowing our pasture raised Light Sussex chickens to feast on the grass, turning it into fertility.
#soilfirst #regenerativefarming #livingsoil #broadfork #teamingwithmicrobes
It seems not to matter the compost - composting at a commercial scale means things like plastic and glass can make it into the bag. Organic, peat free, sustainably sourced, it doesn't seem to matter...
I'm not saying that no contaminants make it into @compost_club processing (our members have always been vigilant, maybe the odd fruit sticker) but they do not get shredded up, because we ferment the food waste with bokashi instead.
Because our @biolife_compost is hand screened (if needed at all), we are able to remove anything we find too.
Human scale allows for artisan compost ♻️💪
You just don't get it in many places. That's indeed why I started doing this in the first place!
Do join your local compost club peeps as it supports meaningful jobs for good people, uses less resources, it produces a far superior compost, and it helps regenerate the earth.
#compost #compostclub #livingsoil
"Healthy soil underpins everything: our food, ecosystems, health and future." 🌱
New @soil_ed_uk ambassador Michael Kennard has joined the campaign to embed food, farming and sustainability on the school curriculum.
We must teach the next generation about agriculture, if we want to protect it.
Tap the link in the @farmersguardian bio to find out more about the campaign 🔗
@compost_michael@compost_club
• 150 metres of hedgerow.
• Hundreds of trees.
• 15 people, none of whom had ever planted one before.
Marked out and planted on contour to slow water, hold soil, and stitch biodiversity back into the landscape.
In the years to come, this row will thicken, flower, fruit, and fill with life. Birds, insects, mammals, all finding a place here.
For now, it’s just the beginning 🌱
Thank you to @woodlandtrust@wealdendc and Chalk Cliff Trust for supporting this work.
Bluebells in the woods at @greatdixterofficial
Always a joy to see the gardens here and lovely to take the little ones along for the home ed day.
We'll definitely be back again another time.
A small device with a big role in understanding what’s really happening on the farm.
Here, @compost_michael is installing a bioacoustic monitor that will stay with us over the next month, quietly listening to the landscape and capturing the presence of birds and bats as indicators of ecological health.
This was set up with the help of @rewilding_gardener from @peoplesparkfornature and our @atfgould following this afternoon's move of our mob-grazing goats across the field below.
It’s a nice moment of overlap between action and observation. Grazing to shape the system, and listening to understand how it responds.
So much of rewilding is about tuning back in. Not just changing what we do, but paying closer attention to what returns.
It’ll be fascinating to see what we hear and how this changes year on year.
Popped the drone up to capture the early impact of our mob grazing approach with goats. A key part of a wider effort to restore pasture health through natural processes.
Last year, this field struggled with creeping thistle. Now the goats are selectively grazing new growth, converting it into manure and urine that naturally fertilises the soil.
By moving them regularly, we:
• Prevent overgrazing
• Keep them on fresh, nutrient-rich pasture
• Reduce parasite load
• Allow long recovery periods for the land
It’s a simple system, but one that builds resilience over time, improving soil structure, encouraging biodiversity, and reducing the need for intervention.
It's made easier with the @gallagher.unitedkingdom smartfence system and solar energiser. With this setup we've been able to outwinter our goats, keeping them on the move along with their beloved field shelter.
We’re looking forward to tracking how this field responds over the coming seasons.
#MobGrazing #RegenerativeFarming #BoerGoats #PastureRaised #BecomingARegenerativeFarmer
This feels a bit like cheating 🐔
The Omlet Smart Chicken Feeder opens and closes using a daylight sensor, and they’ve already learned where to be when it opens.
Safe to say they’re fans.
It didn't take them long to figure it out!
#pasturedeggs #chickensofinstagram #farmlife #homesteadlife #regenerativefarming
Packing orders that'll arrive by Friday.
This batch is unbelievable! Look at all that mycelium running!
We've had some delays in getting our spring orders out but rest assured, it is coming.
Love you all as much as an earth worm 🪱❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
They have 5 hearts.
I'll get a video of this under the microscope later.
Comment MICROBES if you wanna see 🤓🔬
This photo was taken by my lovely little 4-year-old and chicken helper.
These chicks were hatched by us 6 weeks ago.
All part of our home ed journey.
Delighted to be raising our little ones at @meliora_community_farm and instilling wisdom from the likes of @soil_ed_uk and @soilassociation
The kids were telling me that farm chemical sprays kill microbes and worms and that our organic practice means we can get lots of them 🪱
I'll share the lovely book they enjoy where they got that from.
My work is done 🥰
