Field Good Farms owners dig regenerative farming and want you to try it

The owners of Field Good Farms in northeastern Ontario are encouraging others to think of regeneration when it comes to growing food in their backyards.

Ryan and Isabelle Spence left their city jobs about eight years ago to farm in Cache Bay, near Sturgeon Falls.

Using sustainable farming practiceshas always been a priority for the couple, but now, Ryan says they're working to be regenerative when they work the land.

"Rather than trying to maintain a certain level, let's try to make that level better and better in terms of the health of our soil, water and the general biodiversity on our farm," he said.

"So what I would love to see is that consumers can support local farms and in doing so, choose ones that are deciding to really invest in the long term wellbeing of the farm itself and the biodiversity that goes with it."

Isabelle says it is beneficial to work to improve the soil through farming.

"Sustainability is a great place to start," she said. "But what sustainable means is just operating along the status quo, it doesn't actually elevate us and it doesn't regenerate things."

Reducing impact

Now, the couple is offering workshops for people looking to start growing their own food at home.

Isabelle says there are plenty of options for people to grow aregenerative garden.

"Perennial plants are a great example of that," she said.

"If you have a home garden, things like asparagus are really great because you don't have to till the soil every year."

She adds fruit trees and berries are also good options.

"Those are examples where you're not tilling the soil and you're not releasing that carbon back into the atmosphere. Every time you disturb the soil, you're volatizing some of those things that are actually creating climate change."

Listen to the wholeinterview that aired on Up North CBC: