Andy Bleckinger

Aztec, NM

San Juan Soil and Water Conservation District

Andy Bleckinger received his Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies from Southern Oregon University, where he focused on herpetology and aquatic ecology. For the past 15 years, he has dedicated his career to connecting youth and local communities with the natural world around them, promoting environmental stewardship and advocating for environmental equity. Bleckinger moved from Los Angeles to New Mexico in 2017. As the Assistant District Manager for San Juan Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), he strives to support community agriculture, resource conservation, environmental equity, and helps manage many of the district’s grants and administrative tasks. His goal is to ensure resource conservation is accessible and equitable to all. He runs a series of Backyard Conservation Workshops in partnership with San Juan College and Growing Forward Farm, which are funded by a grant from Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Soil and Water Conservation Commission. He’s produced more than 20 different educational videos housed on the San Juan SWCD YouTube channel and website.

Bleckinger is using his backyard garden as a laboratory to experiment with soil health approaches for the home garden or small farmer. In his experience, compacted soil must be opened in some way, and over time it can be transitioned to no-till, gradually reducing tilling passes. He is using a cover crop and composting rotation that involves trench composting and planting cover crops over the soil blanket. This reduces drying of the compost and reduces water use, while the cover is nourished by the compost breaking down and encouraging soil microbes.

Bleckinger uses a variety of cover crop and intercrop systems as well as composting and mulching. This has reduced his water usage by 50 to 75 percent while increasing production. This system has also reduced weeds by 95 to 99 percent and eliminated the need for external inputs such as fertilizers or herbicides. He also utilizes a wide variety of composting systems and experiments with different manufactured containers, straw bale composting, and trench composting. His favorite methods in the dry desert of Northwest New Mexico are the tumbling composters and Cover Crop Trench Composting.

The soil quality in Bleckinger’s garden started out terrible due to the naturally sandy and bare sagebrush landscape and history of poor care. In the first year, his garden barely produced enough for one salad. With the higher altitude, dry air, and regular windy conditions, he is constantly battling very high rates of evaporation. But with lots of composting, mulching, cover crops and intercrops, he has found a way to successfully garden in these harsh conditions, while also improving soil health and conserving water. Bleckinger is excited to help others do the same.

Updated August  2022