What is Regenerative Farming—and Why Does it Matter?

Regenerative farming is at the heart and soul of everything we do as we grow vegetables slowly and gently in full accord with nature. We use special techniques to create healthy soil—in which to grow healthy crops that provide the maximum in flavor and nutrition for people who enjoy eating them.

For a more technical answer, regenerative agriculture is an umbrella term for the farming practices and principles that enrich the soil and the ecosystem where our crops are planted and grown. It goes beyond sustainable farming, which aims to maintain the status quo, to regenerative strategies that leave the soil in even better shape.

Cover crops are crucial to this type of farming—and these are crops that are strategically planted in a field for a reasonably short amount of time. Then, the cover crops—often some sort of mixture of oats, rye, buckwheat, and sorghum—are harvested and worked into the soil. This accomplishes two things: feeding the soil and controlling weeds. The process is repeated as often as needed, and then our seed beds are prepared.

At this stage, we allow weeds to germinate. But, before they emerge from the soil, we shallowly till the ground. Why? To disturb the weed hairs.  We don’t dig deeply, because that would only bring up another round of weed seeds that we’d need to address. We don’t let the weeds emerge, either, because they’re more difficult to kill.

It’s a delicate dance, for sure, but a key element of regenerative farming—and, because we do this step properly, the white root hairs of weeds simply desiccate in the wind. This process is also repeated a couple of times, and then we’re ready to plant our crops in rich and healthy soil.

If you think this process involves a whole lot of steps to take with plenty of physical labor involved, you’re right. So, why do we do all this?

In short, this is what eliminates the need for chemicals.

We don’t settle for minimum standards, where we quickly till and then dump chemicals onto the soil. In fact, we never settle. Instead, we keep our eye on the prize: to produce deliciously healthy, nutrient-dense, farm-fresh vegetables while also protecting our land for future use.

That’s regenerative farming.

The reality is that soil is not dead. Soil has its own ecosystem and, the more alive and vibrant we keep it through our farming techniques, the healthier our crops will be.

For an even deeper look, we invite you to read our post, Benefits of Cover Crops, Carbon Sequestration & Regenerative Farming. We’ll highlight five key points from this in-depth blog post.

1. We plant seeds in soil that’s been enriched by cover crops for the vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and more that we grow.
2. The sun provides nutrition for these crops through the miracle of photosynthesis, while water from our planet provides hydration.
3. At peak times throughout the year, we gather in the fruits of the harvest.
4. We make these farm-fresh vegetables and more available to you to create delicious and nutritious meals. (Here’s more about our home delivery boxes that are sent to your front door.)
5. Then it’s time to plant cover crops again, to make our soil even healthier.

Home Delivery Boxes

If you’re looking for fresh vegetables to help you in a specific way, consider one or more of these boxes:

• low carb vegetables
• vegetables to contribute to liver health
• vegetables to support hormone health and wellness
• immune support vegetables
• vegetables to support gut health
• vegetables to contribute to brain health
• vegetables to include in a heart healthy diet
• vegetables for a cancer prevention diet
• vegetables to include in a multiple sclerosis diet
• vegetables for preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum