MHS members’ event
Our speaker tonight is Harrhy James who is a partner and Market Garden Manager at Rosewood Acres, Denstroude near Canterbury.

At Rosewood Acres they take the best from several agricultural practices: Alan Savouries work on Holistic Management and planned grazing, David Holmgren and Bill Mollison's work on permaculture and the way back to Masanobu Fukuoka's work on natural farming. All have the same insight, SOIL. Healthy soil is key to healthy food and healthy food is key to healthy people. This can help nature restore biodiversity and sequester carbon through careful management and keeping animals moving across the landscape as they have done for millennia.

Harrhy will talk to us about how they grow their veg in 'No Dig' beds pioneered in this country by Charles Dowding and expanded upon by Richard Perkins in Sweden. By laying down tons of compost directly on top of the soil this imitates an accelerated version of nature where the soil is building from the top in the form of decomposed organic matter. In doing so it eliminates invasive weeds and mitigates soil born disease so prevalent in tilled soil. Not tilling has the added benefit of keeping the mycorrhizal fungi intact allowing the exchange of nutrients from soil to plant that is not possible when fungi is not present.

Rosewood Acres sells chickens and eggs - raised on pasture, veg & salad boxes - 'no-dig' and chemical free, as well as grass fed lamb. In addition they have 'no-dig' cut flowers for sale as well as pick your own, and they do farm tours, eco-camping, & farm experiences.