Our mission is to empower society with the best information and knowledge to allow them to make informed decisions, which change their lifestyle patterns and strengthen their life on a whole.

Here at Backyard Jem we are passionate about teaching and helping others to grow in a way that is beyond organic; it's bio-intensive, biological and it restores and renews the soil. We are learning a path which optimises healthy soil, microbes, minerals and vitamins in the best ratio and form which in turn increases the capacity for all plants, animals and humans to absorb.

This is what gives us our Nutrient Dense Food.

Growing this way is more than organic and conventional intensive agriculture. It involves managing minerals, microbes, plants and pests with a positive impact on our environment. If we have a pest problem it means we have a deficiency of minerals in the best ratio and form. We have to treat everything as a whole circle, everything has an impact, taking one element and enhancing or changing it needs to be helpful in many areas in a positive way.

It sounds complicated – by now we hope you are still interested in learning more about how to achieve this in your own backyard. The biggest thing to remember is that if you are more aware and mindful and start making small changes one step at a time, you can achieve it in a healthy way that fits in with your lifestyle.

So what do we use to grow Nutrient Dense Food in our backyard?

We use:

• Reams soil tests

• Environmental Fertilisers

• Refractometer for Brix testing

• Bio-Char

• Homegrown compost

What are all of these things we use, and how can you apply them to your backyard?

Reams soil tests – These tests help you to measure the nutrient content in your soil and allows you to understand what is available for the plants to uptake themselves.

Environmental Fertilisers – This brand is the one we have used at Backyard Jem for 5 years now. In that time what we have found is a lot of our fruit trees in our food forest have been saved due to the fertilisers we have been using from Environmental Fertilisers. They are certified organic (dependent on certain products or custom blends) and it gives great results for the soil, microbes and plants.

Refractometer for Brix testing - Brix testing is the measure of the concentration of sugars, vitamins and minerals dissolved within the plant (sap sugar levels in a plant). Sugar levels tell us the mineral levels (nutrient density) of the plant.

A brix level less than 12 means the plant has simple sugars. Simple sugars is food for fungi, bacteria, viruses and insects. The digestive systems of insects and most microbes can only digest simple sugars, NOT complex sugars.

A brix level higher than 12 means the plant has complex sugars and the proteins tend to be complete proteins, this is what we want to achieve with our food. It is the complex sugars and proteins (nutrient dense food) our DNA needs to be nourished and function at its best.

Bio-Char – This is a charcoal product that is used as a moisture regulator in your garden. It helps to build humus levels in the soil, and retain the moisture and nutrients until the plant is able to use them; before and after soil bacteria have worked on the plants.

It is important to not overuse this as it can create poorer quality, insect pressure and a drop in brix.

Homegrown compost – This is one of the easiest things to make as a first adjustment in your lifestyle. Instead of sending all your household food scraps to the rubbish bin, instead begin to start collecting them and putting them into a compost bin. Watch how quickly they grow and how easy it is to get you own compost right in your backyard!

With homegrown compost you need to take into consideration crop rotation as it plays a big part in growing awesome plants and creating high quality materials for the compost pile. If you are growing nutrient dense plants, then the compost you grow/create is recycling the right nutrients instead of deficiencies.

This is how we have achieved our Nutrient Dense Food in our own backyard and we want to help see you achieve the same results. We hope this has encouraged you to learn more about the food you are eating and to empower you to want to learn about traditional, wholefood eating.

To get in touch with us or ask a questions, contact us today.