The Mushroom Initiative and Regenerative Farming
The substrates used for growing mushroom is actually a pile of organic matter still full of nutrients. To complete nutrient cycling, we made use of the land of our base and set up a little vegetable garden as the final destination for the substrates where they can be further broken down in soil. This garden is also where we put our knowledge on soil health in use.
Overview of the farm
Fungi are inseparable to plants in nature. They connect the live and dead in the circle of life, as different kinds of fungi help plants extend their roots for water and nutrient access, decompose dead organic matters and protect plants against pathogens.
Yet, fungi has long been notorious for infecting plants and causing plant diseases, which actually is due to only a small group of fungi. This thinking kept people from knowing the true value of fungi. In a soil with balanced ecology, fungi have far more positive effects on plants than negative ones.
Starting from April 2018, we started our journey to explore and experiment the practices of “regenerative farming”, aiming to enhance the health of our farmland.
Our main focuses:
- Support our practice with solid soil science
- Emphasize the importance of data collection in the field for outcome assessment
- Restore soil ecology, especially soil fungi, to enhance the health of soil and plants