I began expressing my big Cancer emotions through writing at a very young age. For me, the unique act of writing is what allows me to process and evolve fully
.
Today, my weekly missives follow themes that weave between the literal fields of my work in the Gemmo Forest, our family homestead garden, and the energy field we all experience.
My life now follows the rhythm of the land. From spring through fall, I can be found outdoors, hands in the dirt, working alongside her husband, Joachim, to tend our 7,500-square-foot family garden or with local volunteers caring for Gemmo Forest.
When the cold sets in and the fields rest, I return indoors, where I rekindle my love of writing by the wood stove, always with my faithful calico, Ruby, curled close by.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
~African Proverb
Dear Reader
It’s crazy HOT here, as in so many places in the world. Garden projects begin at first light and, when possible, are completed by 10 am. Given the short window of time, it's been a bit of a triage system, my attention going to what is most desperate. In the spring, planting is top priority; in the summer, it’s always watering and harvesting vying for my time. While always useful, the forced indoor time can feel confining. I would take being barefoot in the garden over typing on a laptop any day. I did, however, have a writing assignment for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH) that just happened to fall within this week. As I called it a wrap, I considered sharing an extended excerpt with you. There’s nothing in it you haven’t heard from me before, but you might appreciate it all in one package. I hope you enjoy it over a refreshing cold drink in the shade.
It was the spring of 2023 that Joachim and I began two distinct growing experiments. I began the design and initial plantings of trees, shrubs, and medicinal plants within the Gemmo Forest, a non-profit 12.5-acre permaculture practice laboratory. Simultaneously, Joachim began making strides to establish six no-till garden beds for our first-ever family garden. While I spent my days that early spring surveying the land and isolating planting areas with mowed paths throughout the wildscape, Joachim was laying down cardboard and compost, sheet-mulching our inherited golf-course lawn. Each of us was juggling the many tasks alongside work commitments, and there simply wasn’t time or bandwidth to notice, let alone discuss, each other's efforts.
The projects, although disconnected in our minds, were inspired by a set of shared core beliefs about nature, health, and the healing process. Our family’s adopted approach has been to observe and work with the whole system as naturally as possible while respecting the innate wisdom present. Joachim’s rural German upbringing, my personal health challenges and years as a holistic health coach all played roles in our appreciation of the human body’s healing capacity and our acceptance that we are nature. Familiar with the language of the body, we were now curious and enthusiastic to discover the language of soil and what it communicates through the presence of volunteer plants, insects, and activity below the surface.
Throughout the 2024 growing season, our individual projects expanded yet remained on two parallel tracks; in 2025, a shift occurred. With my encouragement, Joachim had increased the garden footprint to 4,000 square feet, and by the summer solstice, he discovered that his traditional scheme of one crop per bed required more time and upkeep than he had bandwidth for. In addition, the plants simply were not thriving. Frustrated and overwhelmed, he turned to me for help. When I stepped into the garden on the weekends to support his efforts, I was far from inspired. Having enjoyed such wonderful success with polyculture planting practices, such as intercropping and guilds, in the Gemmo Forest, I simply wasn’t willing to help prop up a failing monoculture system.
I won’t hide the fact that this predicament did stir up some relationship issues. Yet after a tense and bumpy July, we came to an important mutual agreement. This decision changed the course of how we would garden and merged the paths of two parallel growers.
A joint effort building beds
We agreed to test the benefits of polyculture plantings by intercropping the fall vegetables on six permanent 30” x 16-foot beds with 18-inch paths. We also began to integrate perennial support from comfrey, yarrow, and thyme. Too late to make a difference, we left the summer crops as originally planted. Encouraged by our early results, we began transitioning the garden as each crop completed its cycle. One by one, permanent beds were developed and cover-cropped with oats. What once was Joachim’s garden was quickly becoming a shared project.
Curious but still skeptical, my very Taurus husband required some external input. I looked to existing models within the market grower community to assure him that these practices weren’t my wild ideas but rather a well-developed philosophy of farming. You can imagine I found many amazing resources, but the primary guidance we chose to follow was the comprehensive work of Perrine and Charles Herve’-Gruyer. They, in turn, were first inspired by the Parisian Market Gardeners, or the French Intensive Gardening method, Elliot and Barbara Coleman, and John Jeavons. So, to be clear, nothing we were implementing was unique or even new, but we’ve enjoyed borrowing methods and processes from a combination of rich teachings and making them our own.
As we bought seeds and prepared for the 2026 growing season, we could see that our two autonomous projects had delightfully begun to merge into one. The process was so natural and organic that we hadn’t noticed the obvious overlaps. To celebrate, we announced a series of spring workshops on permaculture practices. Normally offered in the Gemmo Forest, we showcased the polyculture permanent beds for growing food in our gardens and herbal medicine in the Gemmo Forest. We also opened a farm stand with overages from our gardens and educational materials to encourage others in their growing projects
Now, mid-season, it is so very clear that these projects are interwoven and increasingly interconnected through discoveries and lessons that flow from one to another. The outcome that continues to unfold is a tapestry of gardens, large and small, all built upon this key principle:
We grow in a way that benefits not only the land but also all who interact with it, now and for generations to come.
We do this by
Committing to minimal soil disturbance to protect the integrity of the soil structure
Monitoring the health of the overall system through the plants and wildlife that choose to make the land their home
Nourishing our soil through on-site-made compost and mulch, and integrating plants that preserve soil health but also contribute to its vitality
In closing, I acknowledge that we are still very early in this journey and accept that we’ve so much yet to learn. We are indebted to those who have walked this path before and generously shared their wisdom.
I’ll be sure to link the full article once it's published.
Energies I will be noting in the week ahead:
Mercury Rx in Cancer is just settling in. Feelings are running deep, not an easy time to hide your emotions. Push pause but don't suppress.
We are right in the middle of the transit through Gate 39. Are you feeling that opposing force to your strides forward? How else might you view the obstacles you encounter? The I Ching oracle suggests putting a distance between yourself and any obstruction.
Tuesday, 7 July, the Sun begins its transit through Gate 53. I will be watching for slow, steady opportunities for growth. We all would benefit from expanding our patience.
Copyright @2025 Gemmos with Lauren Hubele You are receiving this email because you have shown interest in Lauren's work Our mailing address is: Gemmotherapy with Lauren Hubele 180 Hurricane Road Keene, New Hampshire 03431
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
Field Notes from Lauren
Lauren Hubele
I began expressing my big Cancer emotions through writing at a very young age. For me, the unique act of writing is what allows me to process and evolve fully
.
Today, my weekly missives follow themes that weave between the literal fields of my work in the Gemmo Forest, our family homestead garden, and the energy field we all experience.
My life now follows the rhythm of the land. From spring through fall, I can be found outdoors, hands in the dirt, working alongside her husband, Joachim, to tend our 7,500-square-foot family garden or with local volunteers caring for Gemmo Forest.
When the cold sets in and the fields rest, I return indoors, where I rekindle my love of writing by the wood stove, always with my faithful calico, Ruby, curled close by.
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. Growing asks you to remember the part of yourself the world has conditioned you to forget. Dear Reader I honestly don’t believe there is anything more delightful in the midst of July than to wake to a soft, steady rain. The muted shushing of drops running off foliage and the sharp, clear birdsong pierce my heart. Not wishing to miss a moment of this sensory feast, I quickly assembled tea and berries on my breakfast tray and made my way to the...
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. ideas are not “out there” waiting to be discovered, but are tools—like forks and knives and microchips—that people devise to cope with the world in which they find themselves. ~Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club, A Story of Ideas in America Dear Reader When it’s Thursday afternoon, and I don’t have a throughline for my weekly missive, I know I’ve likely been looking in all the wrong places, missing the obvious storyline right before me. And so,...
Want to read this email on the web? Click here. Garlic bridges ancient wisdom and modern science as a protective ally – nourishing our bodies, healing soils, and guarding gardens in an era that needs its resilient spirit more than ever. ~Jay Drysdale Dear Reader I honestly don’t know how I have lived 66 years without experiencing garlic scapes, yet somehow I have. I actually had never even seen a scape until my first beds of garlic produced them last season. Whether it is possible for me to...