What Is Regenerative Agriculture?

-By Christine Young, Volunteer Blogger-

Did you know that just one teaspoon of healthy soil contains more living organisms than the number of people on Earth? Much more than just dirt, soil provides the foundation for our planet, playing an integral role in nourishing us all. Keeping it fresh and vibrant is key to regenerative agriculture. 

Regenerative agriculture is a sustainable practice that focuses on building and preserving soil health and biodiversity without using synthetic chemicals. Backed by scientific research, this practice yields more abundant, nutritious edible plants. As we experience the effects of a warming planet, from devastating droughts to extensive floods, farming approaches like this will be increasingly vital. 

Regenerative agriculture is central to what we do and promote at LEAF. The LEAF Urban Gardens serve as living classrooms, soil science labs, and community spaces that empower people to learn, connect, and grow together. To learn more about the practice, I turned to LEAF President Elaine for her insights.

“You cannot have a healthy planet without healthy soil,” says Elaine. “There’s a whole network of animals and insects that live in the soil. Most of it is invisible, such as microbes. There are also earthworms, snakes, and even frogs that bury in the soil—all of them contribute.”

Elaine added, “One of the practices to build healthy soil is to have a buffet of many types of plants rather than a monoculture approach where only one crop is planted in a given space. Polyculture farming encourages a diverse array of soil-based organisms to flourish. Encouraging beneficial carnivorous insects to visit the garden and eat the vegetarian insects is one way to create a natural balance.”

From Weedy Fields to Bountiful Gardens

At LEAF, our volunteer gardeners follow a polyculture approach, planting a variety of plants at the same time to attract a variety of insects and organisms. Each season here welcomes a different rotation of annual and perennial herbs, flowers, vegetables, and fruits. In the winter, for example, you’re likely to find legumes such as beans and peas. Legumes have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria for nitrogen fixation, Elaine explained. These bacteria form nodules on the legume’s roots, converting atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms like ammonia. The plant then absorbs this ammonia through its roots, she said. In the summer, there are plenty of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, cucumbers, and melons. 

When LEAF began leasing its current space, the soil was very compacted. In fact, the lot consisted of weedy fields and its soil contained a lot of hard clay. Thanks to regenerative agriculture techniques, the garden eventually began to flourish in a very natural way. 

To transform the once-weedy fields, LEAF volunteer gardeners first pulled out all the weeds and unwanted plants and bushes. Then, they covered the spaces with cardboard to suppress future weed growth. Finally, they covered the paths with bark chips and the cultivation areas with compost, Elaine explained. 

Our gardeners initially planted crops with roots that reached deep underground to break up the clay in the soil. These crops also attracted beneficial soil microbes. The microbes, in turn, drew in bigger and bigger insects, and subsequently earthworms and even frogs. Elaine notes that clay soil does contain good minerals, but since it tends to be compacted, it can be problematic for plants given its high water retention and poor aeration. Clay soil can also hinder root growth and nutrient uptake. That’s why adding compost is so important to building up the soil, she explained. 

Before long, a diverse ecosystem began forming. To keep the LEAF Urban Farm thriving, our gardeners tap into a variety of other proven regenerative agriculture techniques. For example:

• They plant cover crops to help prevent erosion, improve soil structure, suppress weeds, promote nutrient cycling, and reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers. 

• They rotate in a variety of crops from season to season, which promotes soil health and biodiversity while minimizing plant disease. 

• Plant trimmings, leaves, and other organic matter are composted, resulting in rich soil that goes back into the land. 

• The gardeners do not till the soil. As Elaine pointed out, different organisms live in different layers in the soil. Tilling the soil would damage the habitats of beneficial soil microbes, harm the microbes themselves, and also hamper the microbes from accessing the food they need to survive. In addition, tilling would release carbon that would otherwise remain stored in the soil. 

• Our gardeners avoid chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides. Synthetic chemicals can kill both good and bad bugs and adversely impact human health while also causing significant environmental damage, soil degradation, and water contamination.

• Since plants absorb the most moisture from their roots, watering is done at the ground level via soaker hoses. 
  

Every other year, LEAF collaborates with various partners to perform soil testing: StopWaste.org, a public agency dedicated to reducing waste in Alameda County; Alameda County Resource Conservation District; and the University of California, Davis. The resulting data validates the health of the soil and provides continued guidance on the agricultural practices used. 

Toward More Sustainable Food Production

The term “regenerative agriculture” may sound like a marketing buzzword. However, the practice’s origins go back thousands of years. Indigenous peoples around the world sustained their communities through regenerative agriculture techniques. In modern times, the practice was championed by the late Robert Rodale, whose family’s Rodale Institute advances regenerative organic agriculture as a responsible way to grow food. According to the institute, Rodale coined the term “regenerative organic” to “describe a holistic approach to farming that encourages continuous innovation and improvement of environmental, social, and economic measures.” 

Given the rapid rate of soil erosion around the globe, there is great urgency to promote soil health more pervasively. In 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations issued a stark warning: by 2050, 90 percent of the Earth’s topsoil will likely be at risk. The organization also noted that it takes about a thousand years to create just a few centimeters of topsoil and to foster land restoration. 

The regenerative agriculture practices and educational offerings at the LEAF Urban Farm are one example of how communities can make a difference in preserving soil health and educating people to become stewards of our Earth. As our world wrestles with the impacts of climate change—including soil erosion—regenerative agriculture provides a natural and responsible way to feed the planet’s growing populations. 

Want to learn more about regenerative agriculture or try it out for yourself? Sign up for one of our events or volunteer at the LEAF Urban Farm.