Applying Regenerative Farming Practices to Urban Gardening

How do you apply regenerative farming methods to your urban garden setting? Specifically, small-scale vegetable gardening where you cannot utilize the benefits of animal impacts.

By regenerative farming methods, I am thinking of the tenets of soil health that were outlined by Gabe Brown in "Treating the Farm as an Ecosystem with Gabe Brown Part 1, The 5 Tenets of Soil Health" (it can be found on the YouTube
channel Living Web Farms - I don't know if I'm allowed to post links).

I'm thinking that mulch and chop and drop techniques can help build up the 'armor of the earth', but am stuck when trying to come up with ideas to mimic the effects of animal impact. Of course, adding manure is an option - but is that all that I can achieve when the by-laws prevent me from having anything but a dog or a cat in my yard?

What other methods would be beneficial to help me build the ecosystem in my backyard garden?

Welcome to Permies! So glad you're here!

This topic is near and dear to my heart--I am looking forward to seeing what other people say.

Our city permits chickens, so we are going to get 4 backyard chickens this spring, and will be composting their manure to use in our postage-stamp sized vegetable garden. I hope your town/city will allow them soon, too.

Also, I am planning to try to grow my own mulch plants to chop'n'drop.

10 mins. away is a farmer whose horse manure I can bring back home, and although it's an off-site source, it will be good for the garden while I have access. Maybe you can find something similar?

Thanks for the welcome! I've been browsing the forums for quite a while - just soaking it all in - but finally figured it was time to jump in and participate.

Our city permits chickens, so we are going to get 4 backyard chickens this spring, and will be composting their manure to use in our postage-stamp-sized vegetable garden. I hope your town/city will allow them soon, too.

Our city does allow chickens, I applied for a permit last year and got declined. Our lot is just shy of the square foot requirements. Before the permit was declined I had plans to place the chicken run area and the vegetable garden areas side by side, with each being independently fenced-in so the chickens could be let into the vegetable garden to work the beds in at the end of each season.

Also, I am planning to try to grow my own mulch plants to chop'n'drop.

What kind of plants are you thinking? I was planning on just using the greenery from the plants I planted that season (minus the powdery mildew-prone ones like tomato and squash leaves) and topping up with some straw or hay to give a nice thick layer. Or, are you thinking of an off-season cover crop?

10 mins. away is a farmer whose horse manure I can bring back home, and although it's an off-site source, it will be good for the garden while I have access. Maybe you can find something similar?

There are several riding associations and a large horse rescue within a 40-minute drive. I'm hoping I can source some good manure from a couple of them when it's needed.

I can personally help with this,
first, I would personally aim to understand what you're already working with:
soil type, natural area /zone you live in , wild and native plants in that area etc.etc.
this is R & D and will be continues with permie philosophy, cycling energy in the form of knowledge(earth)
once that is establish/clear understanding, we use various soil test and plant tissue analysis to get a better clear image on how to build our regenerative design systems from the soil up!(stacking functions around permaculture ethics).

For most this would be some of the starting points.
Please feel free to connect with me directly or network here and i can help consult further.

If anyone is in southern California area/region & would like to do the same, please lets network.

Deanna Taylor wrote:

What kind of plants are you thinking? I was planning on just using the greenery from the plants I planted that season (minus the powdery mildew-prone ones like tomato and squash leaves) and topping up with some straw or hay to give a nice thick layer. Or, are you thinking of an off-season cover crop?

Fueled by a recent read (The Beginner's Landscape Transformation Manual), upon the author's recommendation (p.135) I plan to grow sorrels, Jerusalem artichokes, yarrow, and squashes particularly as mulch makers this year.

Hello Deanna and welcome to Permies! I have a couple of thoughts. First - links are fine, even encouraged if they are relevant to the discussion. I haven't watched that video - looks like a good evening's entertainment!
Have you thought about other livestock, could rabbits, or quail perhaps be an alternative to chickens for you? Alternatively wildlife can be encouraged to visit the garden. Birds and bats are ones that could contribute significant amounts of manure perhaps.
Helen Atthowe grows regeneratively without livestock (apart from some vole deterring dogs and cats!). She does a lot of composting in situ on the growing beds with both crop residues, chop and drop intercrop plants, and hay/grass clippings from elsewhere and between beds to create a vibrant soil community. Here's a little taster video of hers:

Hi Deanna!
So I have a small urban plot as well. 7 meters wide by maybe 27, which includes my house, so less than half that. it was full of trash and construction debris when we moved in, on top of total clay (this area used to be sand quarries with layers of clay and springs, they took out the sand and left the clay).
In about 5 years of trench composting and hugel bedding (digging down 2-3 feet and throwing in junk wood, brush, etc) I got some really nice soil. we don't have many deciduous trees here so brown materials for composting are scarce, so i only do trenching and bokashi. in the last 5 years i've started keeping 2 rabbits, which eat all my kitchen and garden waste and give me amazing fertilizer (I don't breed them for meat, although i could conceivably do that as well).
edited to add: recently people have started asking to buy the manure from me- i kind of have my hands full, but that could be an interesting sideline. i have so much good fertilizer materials from them, from the urine-soaked coffee grounds i put under their hutches, and from the comfrey tea and bokashi compost i make, that i probably give away half the rabbit manure we get from them as it is right now.

i also work to attract birds and bats to the garden, and actually get some significant manure from that. understanding what kind of fauna you have nearby makes that easier.

Welcome to the forum!

Other folks have given you some great suggestions.

I believe soil health is the key to regeneration.

Making and using compost, taking advantage of the benefits of wood chips, making leaf mold and growing mushrooms are some of the keys to soil health.

You and others might enjoy Dr. Bryant Redhawk`s Soil Series:

https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil

Especially these:

https://permies.com/t/93911/soil-mother-nature

https://permies.com/t/67969/quest-super-soil

https://permies.com/t/76498/biology-soil

Rachel Lindsay wrote:Fueled by a recent read (The Beginner's Landscape Transformation Manual), upon the author's recommendation (p.135) I plan to grow sorrels, Jerusalem artichokes, yarrow, and squashes particularly as mulch makers this year.

I've added this book to my shelf of want-to-read books. I'd much rather find a way to provide mulch from my local biome rather than have to purchase and transport some in. I'm also guessing that some vegetation lends itself well to mulching for this purpose - while others might be better suited for the compost instead. I'll give the book a read before I finalize my planting list!

Thank you for the welcome. I will be sure to add links whenever I mention an online source.

Nancy Reading wrote:Have you thought about other livestock, could rabbits, or quail perhaps be an alternative to chickens for you? Alternatively wildlife can be encouraged to visit the garden. Birds and bats are ones that could contribute significant amounts of manure perhaps.

I considered rabbits after our chicken permit was declined - but the City's livestock limitations are in place for those too. They are:

Livestock Limitations
On properties where livestock is permitted, the following limits are in place:

2 livestock for every 0.4 hectare (1 acre) with the minimum lot size of 0.4 hectare (1 acre)

6 sheep or goats for every 0.4 hectare (1 acre) with the minimum lot size of 0.4 hectare (1 acre)

12 head of poultry, excluding roosters, for every 0.4 hectare (1 acre) with the minimum lot size of 0.4 hectare (1 acre) **

2 rabbits or chinchillas for every 0.4 hectare (1 acre) with no minimum lot size

** Despite Sub-section 7(a) of Zoning Bylaw, the keeping of chickens may be permitted in the RA, RA-G, RH, RH-G, RF, RF-SS, and RF-G Zones, where the lot is greater than 669 square meters (7,200 sq. ft.) but less than 0.4 hectares (1 acre). Certain limitations apply. Keeping of hens is subject to the Chicken Keeping Bylaw. See our raising backyard chickens web page for more details.

At first, I read these and assumed the rabbits were not allowed - but upon looking at them today it looks like I could have up to 2 rabbits. Our lot is 7,167sf... so close! I will discuss the possibility of rabbits with the landlord, though. As to wildlife, we have been attracting and feeding the wild birds here for decades. I'd like to add nesting boxes around the beds to encourage some to stay in the area for better insect control. I am concerned about the danger of a few of my neighbours' cats attacking the nesting birds, though. I know there are bats around - but haven't considered ways to attract them to my yard - that is something I will have to research more.

Helen Atthowe grows regeneratively without livestock (apart from some vole deterring dogs and cats!). She does a lot of composting in situ on the growing beds with both crop residues, chop and drop intercrop plants, and hay/grass clippings from elsewhere and between beds to create a vibrant soil community.

Thank you for the video! I am planning to provide spaces for vermicomposting in my beds (I have a worm tower with red wrigglers and a robust population that will be utilized). I hope this will give lots of healthy and bio-available nutrients to the underbeds. It is reassuring to see an example where the livestock element is not mandatory to create a living ecosystem.

Rabbits, worms and fish are all animals that give good manure and raise few objections.
I suggest using wood pellets as rabbit bedding, to capture the urine,which is often overlooked.
This brings up the biggest source of animal fertilizer: humans.

We eat more and waste more than any other creature in our environment.
The urine from one adult human has a lot of nutrients.
The dumpster food I've cycled into my land is probably the biggest source of nutrients I've tapped into.
Since you can't use chickens for that, consider an expansive wormery and some mechanical assistance for the worms in the form of thrift store blenders, or better yet a garbage disposal.

My second biggest source of "human" nutrition is fall leaves.
Since humans collect them for me, I'll give them the credit.
Many of my beds are basically strait leaf duff and they do quite well.
It is also the bulk of brown ingredients in the chicken curated compost.

The fish thing has been harder for me.
A pond stocked with koi fish and duckweed or azolla and  could be a great source of fertility but it just looks like mosquito factory to most people.
I'm still working on a implementation that is both affordable and palatable to the wife and neibors.

The Pond Guy is a great resource for ponds.

It has turned into an addiction for me so be careful :-)

caution ponds and fish are addictive

I have actually been playing with biofilters now for a couple years and a few fish a couple small pumps no mosquitoes.  The link is intended as a research starter,  have fun and don't feel obligated to spend lots of money, there's all sorts of work arounds.

Hi Deanna!
I would always think of creating ecosystems, which can be really tiny. Then you can connect one small ecosystem to another, and another.

William Bronson wrote:A pond stocked with koi fish and duckweed or azolla and  could be a great source of fertility but it just looks like mosquito factory to most people.

Koi is actually a colour of fish, not a species. You can even have a koi guppy! But you probably mean some variety of common carp. Luckily, they're all voracious mosquito eaters. Crucian carp will eat all the duckweed too.

I wouldn't use human waste in a small garden, where you can't circulate it through many layers.
But you can set up a worm composting system for kitchen scraps, of course!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Koi (disambiguation).
Koi fish
Conservation status
Domesticated
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Cyprinus
Species: C. carpio
Variety: C. c. var. "koi"
Trinomial name
Cyprinus carpio var. "koi"
Linnaeus, 1758


Koi (鯉, English: /ˈkɔɪ/, Japanese: [koꜜi]) or more specifically nishikigoi (錦鯉, Japanese: [ɲiɕi̥kiꜜɡoi], literally "brocaded carp") are colored varieties of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens.

Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of C. carpio kept for ornamental purposes. There are many varieties of ornamental koi, originating from breeding that began in Niigata, Japan in the early 19th century.[1][2][3]

Several varieties are recognized by the Japanese, distinguished by coloration, patterning, and scalation. Some of the major colors are white, black, red, orange, yellow, blue, brown and cream, besides metallic shades like gold and silver-white ('platinum') scales. The most popular category of koi is the Gosanke, which is made up of the Kōhaku, Taishō Sanshoku and Shōwa Sanshoku varieties.
History
Carp are a large group of fish originally found in Central Europe and Asia. Various carp species were originally domesticated in China, where they were used as food fish. Carp are coldwater fish, and their ability to survive and adapt to many climates and water conditions allowed the domesticated species to be propagated to many new locations, including Japan.

As far as humanure, it should be either well composted in a hot pile with frequent turning, or left to stand for two years to get rid of any possible disease organisms. humanure handbook and videos

I have heard of a pest control system that invites wild birds into your yard. Post bird houses on either side of the garden. The birds will fly from one side of the garden to the other eating pests. Increasing biodiversity also increases soil health. And, I don't think HOAs can control flying birds.

Hi Alea, That sounds interesting. I'm Just trying to work out how I might apply the idea. So are those bird houses for nesting? surely the birds would just use one? Or are they feeding stations? Or just places to perch?

When it comes to birds, there's lots of ways to attract them-suet through the winter to attract and keep insectivores, then stop feeding after the birds have settled in.   Just routine seed feeding is more for a hobby bird watcher, since seed attracts rodents and is not particularly specific about attracting the bug eaters

just a regular T  pole where ever you want extra fertilizer-- birds will perch there while they survey the ground for predators and food, then poop as they take off--T pole  can be moved as needed

Don't forget bat boxes and  bird baths, but keep an eye out for predators possibly taking advantage-- snakes can be a real issue