FARMING ON THE WILD SIDE: THE EVOLUTION OF A REGENERATIVE ORGANIC FARM AND NURSERY

Follow one farm’s decades-long journey into regenerative agriculture, and learn how these methods enhance biodiversity, pollinators, and soil health.

Northern Vermont’s Nancy and John Hayden have spent the last 25 years transforming their draft horse-powered, organic vegetable and livestock operation into an agroecological, organic fruit farm, fruit nursery, and pollinator sanctuary. In Farming on the Wild Side, they explain the philosophical and scientific principles that influenced them as they phased out sheep and potatoes and embraced apples, pears, stone fruits, and a wide variety of uncommon berry crops; turning much of their property into a semi-wild state; and adapted their marketing and sales strategies to the new century.

With practical tips and techniques, Farming on the Wild Side is both an expert guide and an inspiring story of how and why the Haydens turned a former conventional dairy farm into a biodiversity-based regenerative farm. It’s a story about their farming practices and how they built a relationship with the land and all its inhabitants by working to heal and restore as co-creators with nature.

In Farming on the Wild Side, you’ll find information on:

• The benefits of pesticide-free perennial polyculture fruit plantings
• Regenerative no-till soil practices
• Rootstocks, scion wood, and grafting basics
• Working with and propagating uncommon berries like clove currants, beach plums, and honeyberries
• And much more!