Beginners guide to regenerative gardening – from a beginner

I’ve always held a strong love and care for the rest of the natural world. My earliest memories are filled with Steve Irwin and David Attenborough programmes and throughout my childhood my relationship with gardening was influenced by my next-door neighbour who encouraged my siblings and I to jump the fence to pick tomatoes straight from the vine in his warm greenhouse.

As I grew older, I wanted to start growing my own food, but it wasn’t until 2023 where an unexpected opportunity appeared. At the beginning of last year, I finally started my food growing journey as I became the proud, inexperienced but very willing steward of an allotment.

My first year of being an allotmenteer was filled with enthusiastic reading, youtube watching and gardening rabbit holes. However, the world of gardening can be quite overwhelming and knowing where to start can certainly be like opening a can of worms – pun most definitely intended.

All I knew was that I wanted to garden in a way that had a light touch on the Earth. I wanted to give back more than I received and in my gardening rabbit holes “regenerative gardening” kept creeping up. I’m still on what I’m sure will be a lifelong journey of learning and by no means am I an expert, but here is my beginner’s guide on how to care for the soil in your patch.

1. Composting

By far the most enjoyable thing I have done so far to improve soil health is learn how to compost. Being able to give back and prevent waste potentially going to landfill has allowed me to practice the act of reciprocity with the land which has been so rewarding and good for my bank balance! Compost adds natural organic matter, nutrients and beneficial micro-organisms needed to improve soil health. To do that, you need to mix carbon-rich (brown) materials and nitrogen rich (green) materials together.

For more information on how to compost, here is a 101 by my gardening hero Charles Dowding:

2. Keep it covered

Mulching, which is adding a layer of organic material on top of the soil, such as grass clippings, mulched leaves, wood chippings and straw can help to prevent soil erosion, add nutrients and lock in moisture.

Planting cover crops or green manure also help keep the soil covered. They tend to be planted in autumn to protect the soil during the winter months and examples include legumes like clover and vetch that help to convert nitrogen from the air into nutrients that will benefit the next crop you plant in the soil.

3. Little disturbance

To dig or not to dig, that is the question! Depending on who you talk to you may get differing answers. I’ve opted to ‘no dig’ at my allotment and this means instead of digging into the soil to prepare it, I pile organic matter like compost on top of it. By not digging, it preserves a healthy soil structure, keeps carbon in the soil and respects the little ecosystem of life living in the soil – it also means less work for me, work smarter not harder is a keen motto I live by (others might call it lazy).

4. The more the merrier

Embrace diversity. Avoid planting the same things in your space, opting for a diversity of different plants helps to build a vibrant and productive ecosystem both above and below the ground. Companion planting can help to bring different nutrients down into the soil whilst also acting as beneficial natural pest control.

5. Trust the process

Enjoy it. Beginning anything can be overwhelming but sticking with it and being open to new things, embracing imperfection and having a gracious and loving relationship with failure is an approach to regenerative gardening that has helped me. In our #RegenerativeGardening series, we will share more on how to get involved both as an individual and with us, Climate Action Torfaen in our community.