Hmm. I thought you were a big proponent of integrating animals into "regenerative agriculture". Mistaken identity.
Yes, I'm a big proponent of integrating animals into agriculture for the purpose of regenerating land -- it is one of the six principles of Regenerative Agriculture.
And actually I do allow integration of animals in my yard, which I treat my entire yard as my "garden", such as soil organisms which do "manure" my yard with their waste and dead bodies -- I also do this by adding tons of organic matter, locally sourced (not purchased) and never using any form of herb/pesticides. And I don't use fertilizers, so that plants must form a strong symbiosis with the soil life.
However, I can't integrate animals that were once native to this area, because I live only about a mile from the ocean and as with so many areas near the ocean, it's very heavily populated, so there are no herbivores I need to worry about. And I will not artificially spread manure from cows and such -- although I am thinking about integrating chickens and/or rabbits.
When I first started converting my yard I made the mistake of thinking I would just let nature maintain the environment, but at the end of the year I had a mess of plants that took over my yard, drowning out most of the other plants, these aggressive plants were actually native, not invasive. Furthermore, those plants depleted my soils and reversed all the mulching I did, which started creating very good looking soil -- but at the end of the year the soil started looking gray and lifeless sand again, due to the over grown conditions which were basically a monoculture.
My most aggressive plant was the Bidens alba (AKA: shepherd's needles, beggarticks, Spanish needles, etc. ). Every thing I've read about this plant says it gets to a height of about 3-5 feet. No, let it go in full sun and it gets up to 7 ft tall, then falls to the ground and the stem sprouts roots like a tomato plant and branches go everywhere.
At first I thought, nature screwed me, but after a lot of studying I realized that my yard is NOT natural. And it's not natural, because we have removed much of the animals that evolved with the plant life in this area.
So nowadays I do a lot of chop-and-drop, which is basically what herbivores would do, but they do many other things I can not do, but at least I'm allowing other plants (biodiversity) to flourish and adding to organic matter on the ground, I'm also preventing the overgrown monoculture from sucking up all the soil nutrients and moisture.
Six Principles of Regenerative Agriculture
Minimize Soil Disturbance: Avoid heavy tillage and excessive chemical use. This protects the soil's natural structure and prevents the disruption of beneficial microbes.
Keep the Soil Covered: Protect topsoil from wind, rain, and extreme temperatures by using plant residues and cover crops. This reduces erosion and stops the soil from drying out.
Maintain Living Roots: Keep living plants in the ground year-round to feed soil microbes and drive dynamic biological processes.
Maximize Biodiversity: Grow a wide variety of plants and rotate crops regularly. This breaks pest cycles, improves nutrient availability, and builds long-term resilience.
Integrate Livestock: Introduce managed grazing to crop or pasture systems. Animals help naturally cycle nutrients while their hooves break up the soil and trample plant matter into fertilizer.
Understand Context: Tailor your farming practices to your specific local climate, geography, and community needs rather than relying on a "one-size-fits-all" approach.
