Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Dieter Brand" <dbrand@mail.telepac.pt>]

Paul,

I sent my query in May last year. Amazing that it should turn up after all that time. I wonder if this message will take as long as that.

 

I agree that close spacing and mixed planting is useful for conserving humidity. In fact, I have practiced it for years; that is perhaps why I forgot to mention it in my list of water-saving measures. I don’t know what you mean by intensive gardening though. If this means double digging, I would only consider it as a first time measure, if at all, since experience shows that nothing will improve the soil and conserve humidity as does no-till.

 

Another summer has passed since I sent my query, but I’m still looking for ways of improving water efficiency.  My aim is to eliminate or at least reduce the need for irrigation.  I still haven’t found answers to my specific questions though, well, perhaps there aren’t any.

 

Cheers, Dieter Brand

Portugal

 

 

Your wrote:

Well, Dieter, good to have someone from Portugal. I hear they grow some
fine wine grapes. Here's something I wrote that should shed some light. I'm
not an expert so I do a lot of researching.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
-------------------------------------

Optimum spacing, intensive interplanting increases overall yields, reduces
moisture loss, losses to pests & weeds, & keeps all bed areas producing all
season.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Intensive planting techniques are those intended to maximize yields of a
given planting area over the growing season. Besides increasing production,
intensive gardening can save time, space, energy, fertilizer and water.
Intensive techniques can solve drainage problems, enable use of
inhospitable sites, minimize soil compaction, *eliminate the need for power
equipment* and extend the length of the growing season. Intensive growing
techniques also transfer well to raised beds or containers adapted to
disabled gardeners. Careful planning is essential for successful intensive
gardening, which relies on high yield practices such as wide-row planting,
staggered planting, succession planting, interplanting and growing upward.
Anna Carr in her Companion Planting for Gardeners defines multicropping,
succession planting, sequential planting, interplanting, and companion
planting.