Regenerative agriculture
Agriculture provides our food, maintains our landscapes and holds many keys to
our climate adaptation but working with living organisms and changing seasons is complex.
Regenerative agriculture aims to protect biodiversity, microbial life in the soil, and to slow down the water cycle.
The orchard
First harvest planned in 2028
The first trees were planted in November 2023, but there has been a lot of damage caused by roe deer despite the tree protections.
- 4 rows, approximately 10m apart, on a hillside facing east.
- Each row is planted with different varieties with the same harvest period: one row for July, one for August, etc. Each month, we will harvest several types of fruits from the same row.
- The base of the trees is mulched with hay and the rest of the row sown with clover, although the grassland soon took over again.
- 12 pear trees, 12 apple trees, 10 plum trees, 2 apricot trees, 8 berries
The vegetable patch
First harvest planned for 2025
The first gardens will be prepared in the winter of 2024/2025. The aim is to supply the house and future culinary workshops with fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables. Guests will be able to buy a vegetable basket or pick their own for delicious meals.
Surplus produce will be processed in the future watermill's kitchen to offer delicious soups, jams and more.
pears,
apples,
plums,
apricots
The water cycle
The pond is fed by natural springs
It was dug in September 2023 in partnership with Iocal water authority Vendée Eau to create a wetland habitat to foster biodiversity. The pond captures the numerous springs on the hillside that used to soak the land at this location.
It is about 250m2 for a depth of around 1.50 m and is located at the top of our land. Through gravity, the excess water irrigates the entire meadow and orchard before flowing down into the stream.
A mix of ryegrass and clover was sown on the bank and a year later, it is a if the pond had always been there and biodiversity is taking root.
The stream in the wet meadow
The water from the springs fills the pond and the overflow penetrates the grassland soil. It flows slowly down the slope, irrigating the orchard on the way, and ends up meeting the stream down into the valley.
The stream and springs flood the valley every winter. Like a giant sponge, the grassland stores and purifies the water, and creates habitat for fauna and flora. The nearby hamlet never floods thanks to this natural buffer zone.
Permaculture
Using what is readily available and working with nature
The main guiding principles:
- keep the soil covered with mulch or a cover crop to preserve water, promote soil life and capture carbon
- avoid monoculture. Diversity brings resilience and variety: don't put all your eggs in one basket.
- preserve the microbial life in the soil, which feeds the crops: banish fertilisers that destroy the chemical balance of the soil, and pesticides that destroy the biological balance.
Animals: an essential link of the cycle
- grazing and maintain orchards and meadows
- controlling weeds and pests (e.g. chickens eating insects)
- amending the soil with manure
- and simply being good company
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