What's happening on the farm this 2021

It's all happening this year with a purchase of a no-till seed drill, and opening our minds looking at regenerative farming practices. The idea of no-till is that the soil is left un-disturbed during the seeding practice, only making a slight indent of 2 inches, dropping the seed only 1 inch down into the soil. This method is a less invasive way of seeding, compared to ripping up the soil, turning it over, bringing up rocks etc. No-till seeding doesn't disturb the natural microorganisms in the soil, or the worms, the carbon and all the bugs we actually need to have a healthy soil.

We sowed our first multi-species cover crop, on both farms, so in two different soil types. Here on our farm we have the black peat soil and it has proved to be a successful seeding, germination eventually after a decent rain and growth is very impressive so far. With the pasture a foot high at the end of June, we finally let some ewes and lambs into graze the cover crop for the first time. Growing cover crops is also part of the regenerative farming, with the idea that every inch is covered in some way by planting a multispecies mix. The mix we sowed was a variety of 13 species from Buster radish, cereals, clovers, field peas, broad beans, Turnips, Vetch and all is proving to be a success so far. Each plant putting back different nutrients into the soil and increasing carbon. Let me just say, I'm super excited about regenerative farming and cover crops and increasing carbon on our farm.

Last year we started tree planting on the farm and this year We have 3 plots ready to go, with planting happening mid July this 2021 on our farm. Last year we planted a mix of Pink Gum and Tea Tree behind our house on the south west side. This year though, I have bought a mix of swamp oaks, salt water tea tree, Red Gum, drooping sheoak and flowering gums. This is the perfect mix to get that layering happening for cover as a shelter belt for our sheep on the farm, aswell as offering different flowerings for the bees and biodiversity. It gives me much pleasure when I and we as a family can contribute back to mother nature and our planet in some way, with a plan to plant trees every year from now on.