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Ross Vintiner of Dali Olives holding a handful of Johnson-Su compost

Organic probiotic for the soil

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By Ross Vintiner


Growers worldwide are experiencing two fundamental growing challenges โ€“ high and rising input costs, and climate extremes. Species, soil, plants, crops, food supply and affordability are all threatened.

Organics is well equipped to solve and lead solutions.


This article proposes one proven method โ€“ the Johnson-Su compost system โ€“ as an example of how growers of all stripes can reduce inputs and costs, improve soil health, resilience and yield, and reduce food costs and human contributions to climate extremes.

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First, a little context

Since the 1940s, agricultural fertiliser input volumes and prices have risen dramatically in real terms, whereas production per input unit has declined. More fertiliser, less crop and greater cost per input unit applied. The result: higher food prices, poorer soil, health, species, environmental outcomes, and lower grower returns.

Climate extremes will intensify with an elevated El Niรฑo weather pattern now in place. Resilience to adapt to fast-changing climate has become the grail of agriculture. As a result, a fundamental change is occurring to how we grow.

Mainstream and even progressive agronomists have until recently put huge productive store in soil and plant nutrition through fertiliser inputs. The soil as an ecosystem was lost to industrial agriculture. Thanks to those practising the wisdom of Rudolf Steiner, founder of biodynamics, Albert Howard, father of western organics, and indigenous systems, the soil is again being viewed more widely as a living, integrated organism rather than the dead chemical medium of dirt.

The living soil

Recent pioneers have applied scientific understanding of the soil food web, the soil ecosystem, to show how microbes are more critical to soil health and productive performance than fertiliser inputs. Everything we have in our environment today comes from microbes that have cycled carbon and minerals to grow life.

Despite this, fungi, for example, are being destroyed in modern agricultural soils โ€“ lowering plant immunity, eroding soil, reducing nutrient uptake, lessening water-holding capacity, producing food of poorer quality. There is a microbial species crisis.

Below our feet are armies of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, viruses, microbes far greater in number and importance to us than the stars above. But they are under threat. It is imperative that we save soil microbes to save ourselves.

ABOVE: White fungal cap on a Johnson-Su compost

What are the best growing systems?

The Kete Ora Trust funded Plant & Food NZ to undertake a meta-analysis of world research findings to determine the best growing system to produce nutrient-dense food (read more here). Results were mixed.

Far clearer were these overwhelming findings:

  1. that organic and biodynamic growing increase microbial biomass, the total number of microbes in soil;
  2. that organics produces the highest percentage of soil organic matter (SOM), made in large part from microbes, compared to non-organic farming;
  3. and that organics often outperforms other farming systems, thanks to microbes, to help plants produce phytonutrients, vital natural protectors of plants, animals and us. Phytonutrients are antioxidants and anti-inflammatories for the bodyโ€™s immunity.

Microbes play a huge role in growing soil organic matter (SOM) and the root rhizosphere, where most nutrient transfer happens between plant roots and the soil. Less than six percent of soil volume, SOM is also a key driver of soil oxygen, soil water-holding capacity (reducing the need for irrigation), beneficial soil structure (less compaction), and fertility. The more and diverse the microbes, the more carbon and the healthier and more productive SOM, soil, plant and crop. Soil plant nutrients are only a tiny fraction of total soil mass.

The Johnson-Su compost system

Enter a professor and his partner, fully aware of these points and the United Nationโ€™s case that one third of the earthโ€™s soils are severely degraded, largely due to modern farming practices that destroy soil microbes.

Dr David Johnson and Hui-Chun Su developed a low-cost system that brings lifeless soils back to life. This is a paradigm shift. Rather than a nutrient fertiliser, Johnson-Su compost functions as a high-biology, fungal-dominant microbial inoculant. Up to 2500 species of bacteria and 400 species of fungi can be produced. That is much greater than most composts, which are normally bacteria dominant. A full complement of soil microbe species helps a soil system function properly.

A Johnson-Su compost heap is not turned, but is aerated via vertical pipes, and matures over many months. Just a kilogram of this compost will go a long way in your garden, and can be applied either as a straight compost, compost extract ground drench or foliar spray. An easy web or YouTube search will show you how to make and use Johnson-Su compost in your garden, farm or orchard.

Think of the Johnson-Su composting method as a soil probiotic. We highly value nutritional probiotics as cultured inoculants to improve our gut microbiome. Helpful microbes control the growth of potentially harmful ones. The same principles work with Johnson-Su compost applied to the soil or plant. A small amount of the clay-like compost can be added as extract in water to power the plantโ€™s immune system and increase its ability to grow and produce.

In the Johnson-Su method, beneficial microorganisms are reintroduced to the soil usually in the form of compost extract or seed inoculants. The extracted microbes build a diverse SOM, enable much greater plant uptake of native and introduced nutrients, improve yields, assist soil oxygen and water retention. Extract improves seed germination and growth rates, while also increasing carbon sequestration.

This is a free, open-source system. It is proven and at work in many countries around the world. It can be used in the garden and at scale, with some farms in the US, Europe and Australia applying extract to thousands of hectares. For reasons already outlined, the microbial heavy Johnson-Su compost works best organic.

Itโ€™s also an easy system. The static pile compost requires no turning. Feedstock is often free. The compost bioreactor is inexpensive to make and has no odour. There is no leaching or contamination.

Our experience in the olive grove

What I have found using this easy compost method for three years on a commercial olive grove is a 50% reduction in organic fertiliser inputs, along with high growth and yield rates, and green grazing pasture all year.

Our soil has gone from being bacterial dominant to a fungal:bacteria ratio of 4:1, equivalent to the forest floor. Trees require fungal dominant soils. Garden soils require a 1:1 ratio. All soils and roots need beneficial fungi and other microbes to function, exchanging sugar for nutrients, communicating via networks.

Our feedstock is chipped ramial (side fruiting) branches from Italian alders, with 20% leaf coverage. A range of inputs can be used, from leaves to olive and grape pomace, to wood chips, ensuring a high carbon over nitrogen ratio. The static compost pile is aerated with pipes and kept around 70% moist. Worms are added after a heating stage.

Johnson-Su is far more than compost. Please read the research. Make a batch of Johnson-Su compost this month, let it sit for nine months at least, apply and enjoy the results. You will be helping to save soil microbes.

Just when we most need to lower growing inputs and costs, and to help mitigate and build resilience against climate extremes, here is one tool to help. Organics and nature can lead not only to grow far better, but also to save species and soil, and feed us as nature intended. No GE required.

Ross Vintiner of Dali Olives

Ross Vintiner asks questions and sometimes answers come. He took a broken olive grove that now ranks in the top 100 best groves in the world, organic and biodynamic by choice. Natureโ€™s answer.

www.daliolives.co.nz 

Text and photos: Ross Vintiner

Biochar, black gold and bananas

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What started as a simple experiment to improve soil in the direction of terra pretaโ€”a famously fertile, friable soil that seems to sequester carbon permanentlyโ€”has become a national field trial for the use of biochar in New Zealand.


Betsy Kettle from Hibiscus Coast Zero Waste tells the story.

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Phil and Jenny Grainger with banana trees grown in compost swales at their Waitoki farm


One of the programmes of our environmental education trust is City to Farm, which involves schools, retirement villages and cafes collecting their food scraps in wheelie bins, along with bokashi to add microorganisms and biochar to control odour and build topsoil.

The bins are transported to a local farm for composting.

Jenny and Phil Grainger have been experimenting at their Waitoki farm, in Rodney district north of Auckland, creating compost swales, enriching the soil and growing bananas.

Seven years later, the results are in. The compost swales created at the Graingersโ€™ farmโ€”layered with mulch, food scraps, and biochar, then planted with bananasโ€”have transformed from hard, lifeless clay into something resembling the black, soft soil of the Amazon. Soil tests from Hill Labs and the Bioeconomy Science Research Lab confirm it.

ABOVE: Phil and Jenny Grainger | Photo: Betsy Kettle

WHAT IS BIOCHAR? Biochar is a form of stabilised carbon that can last for decades, centuries, or even millennia in the soil without decomposing โ€“ read more about it on the Biochar Networkโ€™s website here.

The black gold of terra preta

Archaeologists who have analysed terra preta tell us that ancient Amazonians placed organic waste of many kinds, along with biochar, into trenches to transform their infamous clay into their famous, long-lasting topsoil.

So we followed their lead. We imitated the process by collecting food scraps from town, using donated biochar from Soil Conditioner Products (SoilPro), and keeping both the composted area and the area around it planted.

The biggest mystery, though, is this: how long does it take to make terra preta? We know there are areas of this โ€˜black earthโ€™ that are centuries, perhaps even millennia, old. But does it really take that long to create it? Landcare Research told us it would take at least five years before we would notice even the slightest change in soil carbon. We were a little concerned, but we carried on.

ABOVE: Paul Candy of Future Ready Farms checks out the soil in the compost swales | Photo: Rebecka Keeling

Compost swales

Compost swales are designed especially for clay soils to catch water from above and help it soak into the subsoil. Long, shallow excavations are dug across the contours of a hill, sloping gently downhill. The excavated soil is mounded on the downhill side and planted.

The hollowed area is then layered again and again with woody mulch and food scraps with biochar, or another nitrogen source, until the desired height is reached.

After that, it is simply left to compost. The compost is not turned and not moved. Instead, the combination we used of biochar and bokashi in the food scraps keeps the heap fresh and healthy, if it is not sitting in standing water. The bokashi โ€˜zingโ€™ (microorganism mix) in the food scraps supports some anaerobic breakdown, and worms move in once the heap has cooled. Fungal hyphae grow undisturbed.

Climate action tool

Swales are useful climate action tools because in times of drought the biochar and deepened topsoil act as a reservoir that plants can draw from. They can also help ease flooding by encouraging runoff to soak into the subsoil. And when the swales are saturated, the bunds provide a drier, more aerated area for roots.

Compost swales are also climate action because they use the stabilised carbon that is biocharโ€”making it a carbon sink in its own right. But this is not the biggest carbon sink. The growth of the living soil microbiome may be much larger.

Biochar acts as a long-lasting home for soil microorganisms, giving them more surface area to colonise. Fungal hyphae also seem to be stimulated by biochar and add to the growing carbon mass. But the fungi and bacteria must still rely on a steady source of food from the starches and sugars that plants pump into the soil.

ABOVE: Banana trees growing in compost swales | Photo: Rebecka Keeling

Holistic approach

So, the swale, biochar, compost, plants, and microorganisms all work together symbiotically and synergistically to transform the soil.

Will this work in other parts of New Zealand? We may have been fortunate: we were working with the same โ€˜deadโ€™ kaolinite clay found in much of Rodneyโ€™s soils, that are also found in the Amazon.

We encourage growers throughout the country to experimentโ€”not only with biochar, but with creating diverse living systems that work together to create living carbon sinks that are resilient to an ever-changing climate.

Betsy Kettle has been a zero-waste advocate and composter for at least three decades and is a trustee of the Sustainable North Trust. She thanks Auckland Council for their support for the City to Farm project over the past eight years.

Cabbage and mulch strip-till field trial at IGZ

Clover under cabbage reduces harvest โ€” rye mulch keeps yields

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Clover under your cabbage sounds like a perfect organic win โ€” soil cover, free nitrogen, fewer weeds. However a new temperate-climate field trial says pause before planting: clover living mulch reduced cabbage and celeriac yields by about 17โ€“25%, while row beds with freshly cut, wilted rye mulch kept yields on a par with bare soil.

The rest of this Research News article is for Soil & Health members. Join us for full access.

Lettuces and watering can in home garden

Worm juice and soil fungi: why compost alone isnโ€™t enough for juicy lettuce

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If your lettuce beds already get compost and still look a bit thin by midsummer, new research suggests the missing partners may be sitting in your worm farm and in the fine white threads of soil fungi. A trial published in the New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science found that worm-farm liquid (vermiwash) plus arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, used together with compost, grew better head lettuce than compost alone.

The rest of this Research News article is for Soil & Health members. Join us for full access.

Loving soil, but also learning soil

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By Jenny Lux

This article was first published by Earthworkers and is republished here with their kind permission.

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I have always been a details-oriented sort of person. As a child I remember planting flowers with my Mum, learning all of their names and pressing them in a flower press. I later I revelled in learning how to identify and use the three names of all our native vascular flora (Mฤori, English and scientific). My first career was in plant ecology, after I did a Masters in that area looking at the relationships between soil and the regeneration of kauri forest after fire.

Moving between the details and the big picture, I became seriously concerned about climate change around the time of my late twenties. Not just mildly concerned as I had been in my youth, but in-your-face, losing-sleep, suffering-existential-fear-and-anxiety level of concern.

Of course, this had coincided with finding a husband who was a big-picture thinker and having two wonderful baby boys. I did not end up giving up at that point, but I decided that when I got back to paid work, I would be dedicating my time to a career in climate action.

Above: Richard scything grass

Growing vegetables

I moved from field-based plant ecology work to growing and selling organic vegetables, as a home-based profession that could keep me close to our kids and our food. Richard helped me establish Lux Organics, a small-scale organic market garden on the outskirts of Rotorua. He initially kept his day job as an ecologist, but then joined me full-time in the business for three years. My parents got involved, providing a generational backbone to the business.

We grew beautiful vegetables for our community, and by the time the Covid crisis and lockdowns occurred, we were able to pivot to vege boxes, bringing them to peoplesโ€™ doors with our electric van. We started hiring seasonal staff in 2020, which meant a succession of people learning the organic growing methods with us. By 2023 we had added solar panels to our shed, powering our household, vegetable chiller and van with the sun.

This has been a journey of creating a business that minimises carbon emissions while growing food. Hand tools, electric tools and hands in the soil have been our main inputs. The productivity of our soil has been the foundation of our business (as it is for all farming) and we have strived to care for it, taking soil tests each year, and learning about every aspect of soil health along the way.

Beetroot

When you grow a crop for market, and especially when you grow over 40 of them (!), there are a lot of questions and uncertainties about how to manage the soil, what might be affecting the outcomes youโ€™re seeing, how to solve problems, and how to keep producing all through the seasons.

These veins of query are what led me to the five-day Earthworkers Regenerative Horticulture 101 course in the winter of 2021. I attended with two of my staff and I encountered a whole group of amazing people involved in different sorts of projects who were on my wavelength.

I discovered new terms which opened up my mind to the soil ecosystem in a new way. Quorum sensing, cation exchange, paramagnetism, root exudates, polycropping. I have kept in touch with the group ever since (online and in person), and this has led to multiple fertile exchanges and more farm visits, opportunities to learn and even to help others. Itโ€™s a magic human interaction!

ABOVE: Lux Organics market garden, February 2025

In recent years, with the domestic recession, business has been tough, as local people cut their organic vegetable spending. Looking at in a big picture way, itโ€™s a manifestation of how people cannot/do not make longer-term environmental and health choices when they are poor and worried about their daily survival. Our business relies only on its connection with the local food system, rather than export.

While we experienced a huge high after the Covid crisis, when people suddenly became concerned about the sustainability of their local food supply, we are now in a phase of relentless cost-cutting. Our customer base has concentrated to only those who value food produced in a way that is free from contamination, and which looks after land.

Now that I have been working in practical agroecology on my own land for over nine years, I am curious about taking my soil knowledge deeper and broader, to have a wider impact. It’s one of those cliches… the more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know, and it becomes impossible to give simple explanations any more.

I would now never say, “ah, just use compost and everything will be fine”. There’s a lot more to growing, and to soil, than most of us really, truly understand. Related Research News: why compost alone isnโ€™t enough for juicy lettuce (worm juice + mycorrhizae). My curiosity burns and I want to know which levers to pull to achieve the healthiest crops and soil. Looking again to the bigger picture, how we manage soil on our productive land is the probably the most important aspect of New Zealandโ€™s climate emissions profile.

This is why I’ve dedicated pretty much all of my market garden earnings in 2025 so far to further study and investing in my own knowledge growth.

I have taken papers at the University of Waikato in soil science and hydrological management, and I have attended specialist courses by regenerative educators (Graeme Sait from Nutri-tech Solutions, and Nicole Masters from Integrity Soils).

I am building up a research library and reaching out to soil mentors for the next step in my career. I even bought a microscope from a fellow Earthworker (thank you Coral).

All of this new learning is feeding directly into the next stage of my journey โ€” growing my skills, confidence, and contribution through the Earthworkers community.

Over the next few months, Iโ€™ll be deepening my learning through the new Regenerative Horticulture 201 and Future Agronomists courses, working directly with Daniel Schuurman as we develop and pilot both programmes. My goal is to grow my capacity as a biology-first regenerative agronomist โ€” someone who can read the soil, guide other growers, and support the shift toward biology-led farming across Aotearoa.

In 2024 I mentored for For the Love of Bees on their year-long Communities of Regenerative Learning programme, which opened a new path for me as a mentor within the sector. That experience, and my continued involvement supporting new growers through the post course Earthworkers WhatsApp network, has shown me how powerful it is when we stay connected โ€” helping one another, sharing knowledge, and learning together every day out in the field.

I look forward to doing Regenerative Horticulture 201 in 2026 and keeping up my active learning and practice. Growing in soil is a bit like general lifeโ€ฆ you canโ€™t follow one set recipe. Things keep moving and changing, and you have to be observant, responsive and kind.

Jenny Lux is a former chair of the Soil & Health Association. Find Lux Organics online here.

Earthworkers has launched

The natural evolution of For the Love of Bees, Earthworkers has a new hub to support biology-first regenerative horticulture in Aotearoa.

After a year of development they have launched a brand new website, and a full learning pathway.

Enrolments are now open for 2026:

  • The foundation course Hort 101 (4โ€“8 May, Mangaroa Te Awa Kairangi โ€“ Wellington region) 
  • The advanced course Hort 201 (13โ€“17 April, Palmerston North, in partnership with Live2Give)

Both courses come with post-course support via a WhatsApp chat network to help growers transition to resilient, profitable, biology-first regenerative systems.

Earthworkers’ first alumni blog, Cultivating Knowledge Together, features Jenny Luxโ€” an experienced grower and organic advocate who will be one of the first participants in our new Hort 201 and Future Agronomists programmes, designed to grow New Zealandโ€™s next generation of biology-first agronomists.

Explore the pathway: earthworkers.org

Earthworkers courses in 2026

Also related (Research News): Living roots beat dead mulch: why bare beds go hungry โ€” Lincoln BHU update: living root exudates drive ~80% of lasting soil organic matter; keep beds green between crops.

Worm Farming Tips

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Home gardener Michelle Coenradi has four worm farms on the go. Here she outlines the benefits, and offers some tips from her experience.

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I am passionate about my worms. There are so many benefits to worm farming, and itโ€™s something you can do almost anywhere, even on a balcony. Worm farms produce two types of fertiliser: a liquid (sometimes called tea or juice) and a more solid one (vermicast). Recent Research News on worm juice plus mycorrhizae for juicier lettuce explores how that liquid pairs with soil fungi and compost. I leave the siphon open and sit a bucket underneath to collect the liquid.

Benefits of worm juice and vermicast

  1. Enhances soil fertility.
  2. Promotes plant growth.
  3. Deters pests and diseases.
  4. Improves soil structure โ€“ contains microorganisms and enzymes that improve soil aeration and water retention, leading to better root development.
  5. Rich in readily available nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as trace elements.
  6. Improved aeration and drainage results in reduced soil compaction
  7. Enhances the activity of beneficial microbes which are essential for nutrient cycling and overall soil health.
  8. Cost-effective fertiliser that you can make yourself.
  9. Vermicast is pH neutral.

ABOVE: Inside one of Michelleโ€™s worm farms (Photos: Michelle Conraedi)

A healthy home for your worms

Worms need a dark, moist and well aerated environment and a temperature between 15โ€“25ยบC. You can put in shredded paper for them to live and breed in, or a worm mat which can be purchased at hardware stores.

Worms love anything curved or round to nest in and keep themselves warm, especially avocado and watermelon skins, and pumpkin is a hit as well.

What do they like to eat?

  • 70% nitrogen-rich โ€˜green wasteโ€™ like fruit and vege scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds and tea bags (make sure theyโ€™re compostable ones). Avoid citrus fruit and the onion family.
  • 30% carbon โ€˜brown wasteโ€™, like newspaper and cardboard.

You can feed them daily but I tend to feed weekly.

When I put scraps in I sprinkle Tumbleweed worm compost conditioner over the top. This keeps the pH balanced โ€“ you can tell if the worms are struggling with an alkaline imbalance because they lose their colour and start turning white. You can also use garden lime sparingly.

The vermicast is referred to as black gold, indicating its value in the garden. I find worms are hardy and easy care; you really canโ€™t go wrong with a worm farm and they are so rewarding.

ABOVE: Michelle’s vegetable garden flourishes with the addition of vermicast and liquid from her worm farms.

More information

There is lots more information about worm farming online, such as these tips from the Compost Collective.

Photo at top: Compost Collective

From paddock to plate and back again

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As he deepens his knowledge of organic and regenerative horticulture and the links with soil, food and health, Chris McIntosh has found his life journey coming full circle.

Sarah Smuts-Kennedy finds out more in this second article about participants and alumni of the Earthworker Regenerative Horticulture course. 

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Seeds planted in childhood 

Raised on his grandparentsโ€™ farm, Chris McIntosh had a childhood steeped in traditional practices. โ€œThey cooked everything from scratch, preserved food, and had animals,โ€ he recalls. His grandfather, a market gardener from Holland, unknowingly planted the seeds of horticulture in him. These experiences became his happiest childhood memories and set the foundation for his later passion for growing food.

As a chef, Chrisโ€™s approach to food was always health-driven. โ€œMost chefs focus on flavor. My first question is, โ€˜Is this healthy?โ€™โ€ 

Health challenges forced him to scrutinise ingredients and their sources. โ€œWhen you start asking where food comes from, it becomes pretty scary.โ€ This curiosity and necessity drove his journey into horticulture.

ABOVE: Left – Chris is well pleased with the corn crop at Ethos in January 2025. Photo: Wade Aukett, Anglican Action
Right – Chris in the Ethos kitchen

Starting with Earth Stewards

Chris found the culinary industry to be a toxic environment, so he left, and took a leap of faith. He had no job but had always dreamed of starting a farm. A friend introduced him to Warwick Hutchinson, who offered him land to begin Earth Stewards, a certified organic urban farm project in Hamilton inspired by North American regenerative farming pioneers like Curtis Stone and Jean-Martin Fortier.

โ€œI approached the farm with methods I learned online,โ€ Chris explains. But the labour-intensive practices of broadforking and double digging werenโ€™t sustainable. He pivoted to no-till horticulture, laying heavy compost directly on the soil, which worked well initially. Over the years of growing Chris has realised that one size does not fit all in horticultural practices.

ABOVE: Chris (centre, arms folded) with a group visiting Earth Stewards in 2019. Photo: Sarah Smuts-Kennedy

Ethos: A new chapter

Chrisโ€™s second urban farm project reflects his deeper understanding of horticulture. Itโ€™s a cafรฉ called Ethos, located within the social enterprise of Mahi Mihinare โ€“ Anglican Action farm, also in Hamilton. 

โ€œStarting another growing project gives me a chance to apply everything Iโ€™ve already learned. But it also makes me realise there is so much more I want to know about regenerative horticulture.โ€ 

From creating his own potting mix to understanding soil chemistry, he emphasises the importance of getting it right from day one. โ€œIf you donโ€™t get a good start, you donโ€™t get a good outcome.โ€

Soil testing has become really essential, something he has learnt from the mistakes he has made which have taught him valuable lessons. โ€œThis season for example, one bad input material has affected all our growing beds, and Iโ€™ve had to spend months trying to recover from it.โ€ This was bought-in compost that turned out to be very poor quality.

The Ethos project also gives Chris the freedom to explore the connection between food culture and horticulture. โ€œFood culture is born around what we can grow in season locally, not what we can import. Iโ€™m trying to find my identity within the food industry and our culture.โ€

The integration of this new urban farm with the Ethos cafรฉ means he is focused on using surplus produce to create preserves adding value to their produce. โ€œThis way, we make the most of what we grow, while educating customers on seasonal, local food.โ€

Lessons learned

Key takeaways from Chrisโ€™s journey include:

  1. Observation is a horticulturistโ€™s greatest tool: โ€œNature is always speaking to us. Everything in nature is perfect. Why am I so arrogant to think I know better?โ€
  2. Holistic thinking: Health, soil, and community are interconnected. โ€œYou canโ€™t just focus on one aspect and hope the rest falls into place.โ€
  3. Importance of systems: โ€œAs a chef, Iโ€™ve learned the value of good systems. Without them, nothing flows, whether in the kitchen or in the garden.โ€

Hosting the Earthworker Course

Chris is extending his learning, connection and growth not only by participating in the Earthworker Course, but at the same time by offering to host the course coming up in late March at the Mahi Mihinare conference facilities where Ethos is located.

โ€œI want to be part of the biology-first regenerative horticulture movement and learn from others on this path. I already have a few years of urban farming under my belt, and I recently completed the Nutri Tech Solutions course in Australia with Graeme Sait, but I know Daniel [Schuurman] has more to teach me here on my own site, and I also sense being part of the Earthworker network will be invaluable for growing my confidence and ability as a horticulturist.โ€

He sees this as an opportunity to refine his skills and contribute to a broader community of regenerative growers. โ€œI hope to support other projects and participate in further education opportunities to become an agronomist like Graeme Sait and Daniel.โ€

โ€œIโ€™ve spent years practicing, but now I want to understand how the system works beneath the soil. To become a good steward of it.โ€ โ€“ Chris McIntosh

ABOVE: Spring garden at Ethos Cafe gardens. Photo: Wade Aukett, Anglican Action

Mentorship: Daniel Schuurmanโ€™s support

A key figure in Chrisโ€™s journey has been Daniel Schuurman, the lead teacher and mentor for Earthworkers. Daniel has over 45 years of lived experience as a grower, giving him a long-range perspective as an agronomist and consultant. He began supporting Chris during his time at Earth Stewards and has continued to guide him through the challenges of his new project at Ethos. 

โ€œDanielโ€™s depth of knowledge and ability to connect science with lived experience have been invaluable,โ€ Chris says. โ€œHis mentorship has helped me navigate complex challenges and saved my arse a few times. Slowly his support is helping me build necessary foundational knowledge. โ€

ABOVE: Chris and Daniel at the vege gardens at Ethos discussing how to remedy the impact of the poor quality bought-in compost. Photos: Sarah Smuts-Kennedy

A transformative opportunity

The Earthworker course will be a transformative opportunity to deepen his understanding and connect him with like-minded growers. โ€œI have a million questions a week, and being part of the Earthworker Alumni network will allow me to tap into a growing community of regenerative practitioners who prioritise ecosystem and community restoration.โ€ For more information about the Earthworker Alumni network, see the first article in this series here. 

Chris is excited to learn specific practical skills, including:

  • Making his own biological inoculations for seeds and brewing applications for soil and foliar use.
  • Understanding the nitrogen cycle and how minerals like phosphorus interact with fungi.
  • Improving his composting techniques to prepare for creating his own seed-raising mix, inspired by Earth Stewards manager Coral Ramiro.
  • Developing effective mulching strategies to improve soil health and water retention.
  • How nutrition affects plant health, impacts on a plantโ€™s ability to photosynthesise, be pollinated effectively, and encourage its relationship with soil microbes.

The five-day immersion into the chemistry and biology of thriving horticultural systems is particularly exciting for Chris. โ€œIโ€™ve spent years practicing, but now I want to understand how the system works beneath the soil. To become a good steward of it.โ€

Chris feels passionate about making biology-first regenerative horticulture his lifeโ€™s work. Heโ€™s especially eager about the prospect of joining a small cohort of Earthworker Alumni in 2025, participating in a research group that will receive expert coaching to achieve a higher level of mastery. โ€œThis is an incredible opportunity to deepen my expertise and contribute to the future of regenerative horticulture.โ€

The bigger picture

Chrisโ€™s vision extends beyond his garden. He dreams of a world where people reconnect with the land and embrace community living. โ€œEveryone has moved away from horticulture because of the materialistic dream of city life. Weโ€™ve lost our connection to the very thing that sustains us.โ€

By hosting the Earthworker course and sharing his journey, Chris hopes to inspire others to return to the land and take responsibility for their food and health. โ€œIf we work with nature instead of against it, we can create a sustainable future for ourselves and our communities.โ€ 

Sarah Smuts-Kennedy is the founder of For the Love of Bees and OMG (Organic Market Garden in central Auckland), and co-founder of the Earthworkers programme. 

Earthworkers Hort 101

24โ€“28 March 2025, Hamilton

Hosted by:

  • Coral Ramiro and team at Earth Stewards
  • Brit and James Stembridge of Tomtit Farm
  • Chris McIntosh at Ethos Cafรฉโ€™s new start-up farm

These three farms will showcase regenerative farming practices in action. Participants in the course will learn from these growers who have experience of managing farms and offer models of whatโ€™s possible using biology-first regenerative methods.

Find out more and ENROL HERE by 9 March 2025.

Working with the earth

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Coral Ramiro is the manager of Earth Stewards certified organic urban farm in Kirikiriroa Hamilton, and an alumna of the Earthworkers Hort 101 programme.

She tells her story to Sarah Smuts-Kennedy.  

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Coralโ€™s journey to organic regenerative growing 

Sarah began by asking Coral how she became a regenerative grower and how the Earthworkers course helped shape her path.

โ€œMy journey into regenerative farming began far from the soil and was an unexpected turn,โ€ says Coral. โ€œI actually trained as an interior designer in Spain, but had to move to London in 2008 after the recession made it impossible to find any work there. It was in London while living in a tiny flat with no access to nature, that I started to notice I was developing a longing for a connection to the outdoors.โ€

So when the opportunity arose to volunteer at one of Londonโ€™s educational farms, Coral joined the team.

โ€œI have always been a vegan, passionate about sustainable food systems, so I quickly gravitated towards the growing team, where I discovered a deep sense of belonging with like-minded individuals who shared a desire to create a food system that nourishes both people and the planet.โ€

ABOVE: Left – polycropping at Earth Stewards; right – Coral Ramiro
Photos: Sarah Smuts-Kennedy

Challenges: catalysts for change

But despite her growing passion, she faced challenges breaking into the sector due to a lack of experience. This was a catalyst for Coral and her partner embarking on their big OE (overseas experience), first going to Australia before ultimately landing in New Zealand.

โ€œI completed my Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) at Whanganui Eco School before I was lucky to secure my first role in the sector at Earth Stewards in 2019, just as the farm was getting off the ground,โ€ says Coral.

During Covid-19 Earth Stewards lost its manager and Coral was encouraged to step up and take the reins. It was a daunting task, but luckily six months later, she was invited to take the Earthworkers Hort 101 course, which proved to be a pivotal moment in her career.

Earthworkers course: valuable learning

โ€œThe course really opened doors for me,โ€ says Coral. โ€œIt helped me become an informed decision-maker. I need to understand something before I can truly embrace it. The course gave me the base knowledge of why we do what we do, especially when it comes to growing regeneratively and organically. I came away with answers that gave me clarity and confidence in my role as a market garden manager.โ€

One of the key takeaways for Coral was understanding the science behind regenerative practices, particularly the relationship between soil microbiology, chemistry, minerals, and nutrients.

โ€œIt was overwhelming at first. I had a headache for days trying to absorb all the new information, but by the end of the course, I really understood how everything fits together.โ€

As a creative person, Coral also loved how polycropping allowed her to apply her design skills to farming.

โ€œI get a lot of joy from the colour patterns that appear across the beds over the growing season. We got really excited at Earth Stewards as a team about planning our polycrops, and it gave us a simple way to contribute and learn together.โ€

โ€œI need to understand the why behind what we doโ€”why we grow in ways toย protect the soil and the whole ecosystemโ€ โ€“ Coral Ramiro

Supportive network of growers

In addition to the valuable knowledge gained, the Earthworkers course provided her with the opportunity to connect with other like-minded growers.

โ€œThrough the course, I met Jenny Lux of Lux Organics and Brit from Tomtit Farms, and weโ€™ve formed a lasting, supportive connection. Our farms collaborate by sharing produce, seedlings, and knowledge, and weโ€™ve visited each otherโ€™s farms, like Jennyโ€™s in Rotorua. Itโ€™s been a reminder that weโ€™re not alone. Being part of a network of like-minded growers makes all the difference, especially in a field where the challenges can feel isolating.โ€

Coral has found the Earthworkers support network to be crucial for her and the Earth Stewards team, especially when it comes to managing pest and disease pressures.

โ€œHaving access to the post-course WhatsApp group has been vital. Itโ€™s reassuring to see other growers experiencing the same challengesโ€”it makes you feel better about the difficulties youโ€™re facing.โ€

ABOVE LEFT: Earthworkers participants at Highwic House, left to right: Coral Ramiro, Richard Conyngham, Jenny Lux, Pippa Hayes and Kaitlyn Lamb
ABOVE RIGHT: Coral, standing in the centre, and Brit Stembridge at the front, with other Earthworker participants at Highwic House, learning โ€˜flipping bedsโ€™ with no-till systems. Photos: Sarah Smuts-Kennedy

Stepping up to share knowledge and innovation

โ€œBrit and I are excited to host the 2025 Earthworkers Hort 101 course at Earth Stewards and Tomtit Farms. The Earthworkers course was a game-changer for us, and being able to see these practices in action at the FTLOB (For the Love of Bees) model farm OMG in Auckland really made it feel real and achievable. Now, as we step into hosting the course on our own farms, we hope to inspire local growers in Waikato to embrace biology-first regenerative growing systems.โ€

Coralโ€™s enthusiasm for soil science as a result of the Earthworkers course led her to undertake more study with Dr Elaine Ingham via the Soil Food Web. Participants in the next Earthworkers course in March 2025 will be able to see some of the research project she did.

Earth Stewards is certified organic with OrganicFarmNZ. It has come a long way since its early days, and Coral and the team will share some of the farmโ€™s innovations with course participants in March.

Enhancing soils with compost and cover crops

โ€œOne of the things weโ€™re really proud of is our ability to grow all the inputs we need to produce high-quality compost. Weโ€™re now self-sufficient in compost production, which we use for our seed-raising mix. Knowing that we control the quality of our seedlings has made a huge difference.โ€

โ€œWeโ€™ve also had our first successful season managing our cover crops, allowing us to have in-situ mulch on most of our beds. This has drastically improved our moisture management and weed control, while also providing nutrition to the plants as they grow.โ€ โ€œThis season while we were planting out our seedlings we experienced the soil being bouncy underfoot for the first time, and found preparing for planting carrots much easier. Over time we are seeing a change in the physical conditions of the farm as a result of the practices we are using.โ€

ABOVE: Abundant growth in the Earth Stewards greenhouse. Photos: Sarah Smuts-Kennedy

Finding the best sales model

At Earth Stewards they have also made real progress with their sales system, which they discovered is just as important as the growing.

โ€œWe started out doing farmersโ€™ markets and had just started implementing the CSA (community supported agriculture) model as Covid started,โ€ Coral recalls. โ€œIn a few weeks we went from doing a few CSA boxes to over 100, which put us under untenable pressure. It took us a while to find the right balance, and model, for selling our produce, but now we have a thriving shop on site which is open one day a week with talk of opening another day.โ€

โ€œOn sunny days there is a queue to buy produce which comes from a few local growers we are collaborating with. This gives us a very practical way to contribute to local growers who are also needing to sell their produce.โ€

The importance of a sense of community in organic regenerative farming is huge. Farming can be isolating, especially when youโ€™re committed to healing the ecosystem the community gets even smaller. But for Coral and others the Earthworkers network has helped them feel supported and connected to others who are facing similar challenges.

โ€œTogether, weโ€™re learning, growing, and turning our farms into models of biology-first regenerative practice.โ€

Earthworkers Hort 101

24โ€“28 March 2025, Hamilton

Hosted by:

  • Coral Ramiro and team at Earth Stewards
  • Brit and James Stembridge of Tomtit Farm
  • Chris McIntosh at Ethos Cafรฉโ€™s new start-up farm

These three farms will showcase regenerative farming practices in action. Participants in the course will learn from these growers who have experience of managing farms and offer models of whatโ€™s possible using biology-first regenerative methods.

Find out more and ENROL HERE by 9 March 2025.

ABOVE: Earthworkers lead agronomist Daniel Schuurman showing soil samples to Earthworkers participants at OMG in central Auckland. Photo: Kate Micaela

Earthworkers alumni โ€“ continuing the journey

Since it was launched in 2020 the five-day Earthworkers Hort 101 course has encouraged nearly 200 alumni to turn food production into an ecosystem restoration tool. Continuing this support via post-course mentoring they have established a network of optimistic like-minded growers who help each other in the day-to-day stresses and joys of learning how to work alongside nature to feed their local communities.

As a result, Earthworkers lead agronomist Daniel Schuurman and Earthworkers co-founder Sarah Smuts-Kennedy are developing the Earthworkers Educational Pathway to include opportunities for those wanting to take their learning to the next stage.

In 2024 For the Love of Bees (FTLOB) ran the Communities of Regenerative Learning (CORL) programme) in Tฤmaki Makaurau, supporting six urban growing projects engaging alumni to step into mentoring roles. In 2025 this is being rebranded as the Earthworkers Alumni Research Group and will support a small group of alumni who want to deepen their knowledge using their own projects to do this.

Sarah Smuts-Kennedy is the founder of For the Love of Bees and OMG (Organic Market Garden in central Auckland), and co-founder of the Earthworkers programme. 
Steve Erickson, second from right, and group in pasture

Creating on-farm fertility

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By Jenny Lux

Chaos Springs at Waihi run regular workshops about soil health, composting, and creating on-farm fertility. Jenny Lux reports on a recent workshop.  

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Chaos Springs workshops 

I have been an avid follower of Chaos Springs since I first went there in 2014 on a field trip as a student doing an evening class in Level 3 organic primary production. Recently I did a cheeky entry into one of their competitions for a free place in a workshop and I won!

So on a sunny spring Friday in October I attended the Creating On-Farm Fertility workshop taught by Steve and Jenny Erickson. This proved to be equally useful and stimulating to me, a market gardener, as it was to the many pastoral farmers, orchardists and general public attending, who all had a common interest in living off the land in some way.

ABOVE: Jenny Erickson (left) and Steve Erickson by the vege garden, looking at the health and quality of the soil. Behind Jenny is a huge lemon verbena.

The biological engine

It all comes back to what Steve calls the โ€˜biological engineโ€™ and getting that really humming. Itโ€™s an analogy that suits a mechanic like Steve, who is the man behind the innovative Cyclone multi-task sprayer. This machine allows you to combine compost, minerals and fertilisers in a liquid format for a single application onto land, and can handle particles up to 15mm โ€“ an amazing tool!

Steve (centre) with workshop group and the Cyclone at right
Steve Erickson (centre) with barrels of comfrey extract

The day began with a couple hours of lectures, and a sumptuous morning tea, followed by a BYO packed lunch and a farm tour. We started looking at the plant extract facility, then onto the commercial composting area (with a demo of the Cyclone), and a walk through some paddocks to dig holes and observe soil structure and visible biological activity. We finished at Jennyโ€™s biodynamic home garden, where you could see and also feel the energy of plants growing in balance.

This Chaos Springs workshop attracted a lot of practitioners with many years of knowledge, so there was a really rich exchange of ideas and advice. My only criticism was that it didnโ€™t really seem long enough!

If you are managing any piece of land, I would highly recommend attending one of the Chaos Springs workshops. There is an on-farm composting workshop coming up on 29 November.

https://www.chaossprings.co.nz/events

Jenny Lux, immediate past co-chair of Soil & Health, is an organic market gardener at Rotorua.

ABOVE: Jenny Erickson with her ashwagandha plant inside her glasshouse.
ABOVE: Steve Erickson of Chaos Springs (second from right) speaks of his journey in pasture management over the last 22 years, from a fairly degraded base of ragwort-infested conventional dairy pasture on clay, to a currently thriving mixed sward on a darker clay-loam that provides optimal nutrition for his animals and is maintained only twice a year with a biological liquid spray, all made on farm.

Shai Magic

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Raglan organic grower, compost maker, gardening educator and permaculture landscape designer Shai Brod shares his compost-making and spring gardening tips with Mynda Mansfield.  

Shai Brod

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Mynda Mansfield is a writer and long-time organic gardener who lives in Raglan. She runs a homeschool group for 12 children using Waldorf education principles, and has published a book called A Eurythmy Teacherโ€™s Handbook.

www.myndamansfield.com