We miss walking out the door and into the established medicinal herb gardens at our previous farm, where more than 60 herbs eventually grew around us. Part of me wants that abundance to simply appear here overnight.
But those gardens did not begin with planting either. At our last farm, we spent nearly two years preparing the ground first, experimenting with multiple no-dig methods, adding organic matter, and building healthier soil before moving much of what we grew from pots and raised beds into the earth.
At Wild Indigo, the first job was clear: stop the erosion, protect the pond dam, open the future garden site to sunlight, and build healthy soil before planting.
Our earliest work has centered on erosion control, soil restoration and amendments, and the health of Princess Leia's Pond and its dam. The dam and future garden area had become heavily overgrown with well over a thousand trees. We have already completed a massive first round of removal, with hundreds still to thoughtfully address on both sides. This work helps protect the dam and pond while opening the future medicinal-garden area to sunlight, views of the water, and the native plants already waiting beneath the canopy.
For us, medicinal herbs and nutrient-dense vegetables begin with soil health. We are adding organic matter, amending the soil, using no-dig practices where appropriate, watching how water moves through the site, and improving the ground before asking it to support permanent medicinal beds. We learned at our previous farm that this preparation pays off: after nearly two years of soil building, we were able to move plants from pots and raised beds into living, productive ground.
