Harvest Hill at Hodbomont: Regen Ag Deep Dive - Ep. 30
By Anita Boone
TL;DR: Harvest Hill at Hodbomont demonstrates practical regenerative farming methods, highlighting manure management, mulching, small-scale infrastructure, and innovative seed-saving.
- Manage manure and stable bedding for nutrient cycling.
- Implement seasonal mulching for soil protection and growth.
- Maintain infrastructure like fences and water systems.
- Use intentional beds for volunteer seed-saving.
- Monitor plant health and variety integrity.
Why it matters: These on-the-ground practices offer replicable strategies for small-scale farmers and gardeners to enhance soil health, manage resources efficiently, and build resilient systems.
Do this next: Start a dedicated volunteer bed this season by burying ripe fruit scraps in a marked spot.
Recommended for: Small-scale farmers, market gardeners, and enthusiastic home gardeners interested in practical regenerative agriculture and innovative seed-saving techniques.
This Substack episode by Anita Boone profiles Harvest Hill at Hodbomont, a regenerative agriculture site, blending narrative observation with practical on-the-ground details useful to small-scale farmers and gardeners. The piece opens with a descriptive account of the site—its topography, seasonal cues, and the observable rhythms of animal and plant production—setting a contextual backdrop for the practical tasks discussed. A significant portion of the episode focuses on routine site work: manure management (how compost and stable bedding are handled for nutrient building), seasonal mulching strategies to protect soils through winter and promote spring growth, and small-scale infrastructure maintenance such as fence repair and water routing that supports rotational grazing and garden beds. Seed-saving and volunteer management are addressed in a grounded way: the author describes using intentional volunteer beds and marked areas where seed-bearing fruit residue is left or buried to produce controlled volunteers the following season, noting that this reduces seed-processing labor while harnessing natural overwintering processes. The narrative gives specific examples of timing and technique—when to deposit ripened fruit for overwintering, how deep to bury scraps, and how to mark and protect the spot in subsequent seasons—so readers can replicate the approach in their contexts. The piece also discusses plant selection and variety management, emphasizing the need to monitor for disease and maintain variety integrity when using volunteer-saving techniques. Another theme is community and learning: the author reflects on knowledge exchange among neighboring farms and volunteers who help with seasonal tasks, highlighting how small-scale operations benefit from shared labor and local seed-saving networks. Practical notes on monitoring and adaptation close the episode: tips for adjusting manure application rates based on crop needs, watching for volunteer patch overcrowding, and performing small germination tests to confirm seed viability. The tone mixes first-person observation with actionable advice, making the episode both a narrative snapshot and a field manual for regenerative small-holdings seeking low-input seed-saving strategies and improved soil management.