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Well, I think that I've received some useful
perspective on my questions: Namely that there isn't an answer. Still, I
have a better understanding of my options, thanks to some of the replies.
Thanks. I have some work to do.
To more directly answer: My questions pertain to
intensive home gardening for family use (fresh - I don't want to
preserve). Most of my "protected" (from deer) area is devoted to my native
tree nursery, so my vegetable beds are small. Thus the need for intensive
gardening and good planning for a long season (i.e. garden software, which
I haven't finished evaluating). I had hoped that there was more
information that I could use directly, but I now see that only a starting point
is available.
Again, thanks for the suggestions.
BTW, many folks suggested Jeavon's book. I
had it on order from Amazon for a month, only to find that it (6th edition) was
out of stock because a 7th edition has been released. My copy is now on
the way from Powell's.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2007 2:11
PM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Dead
Planet, 3 Sisters
You make some good points, and I feel your cynical
Pain.
However, we often become enamored with heritage, romantic notions
of evolved indigenous systems, etc. Unfortunately, we may find that the best,
most nutritious foods are not politically correct at this time. For example,
the best, most efficient way to raise nutrition and be friendly to the soil in
most of Wisconsin is to raise pasture-fed animals and butcher them and harvest
their milk through the winter, as well as eating wild game which lives on
deep-rooted plants and tree fruits.
But that would require a lot more land
than the population can be supported by, and it requires acceptance from
civilization and 'civilized' polite society which has become accustomed to
fresh fruits all winter and entrail-free consumption.
The three
sisters is a combination that works as a general rule, but not everywhere. You
may want to give up one of the sisters for adoption and hire a maid, such as
alfalfa or clover for a broader ground cover of nitrogen fixing than beans
would have provided. Corn depends on how you can use and store it in quantity.
If you are raising animals, you might prefer barley, in a rotation with field
peas. Native Americans didn't have cows which were docile, they had buffalo
which don't tame. Otherwise, America may have turned out more like India or
Africa.
The mound -growing system of cucurbits also comes from needs to
keep the seeds high during heavy rainy seasons and for earlier warming in cold
clay soils. If you transplant, you can skip this and plant in rows.
If you
have nitrogen available (Humanure, anyone?), then the corn might be better fed
outside of the 3 sisters, so that the nitrogen fixing bacteria can be more
effective someplace else. Beans may be better used as an early crop and tilled
in to lead into fall Brassicas.
Squash varieties are better selected based
upon modern disease pressure (look in the catalogs) than on old historical
data. There are different diseases that have been imported from Asia, AFrica,
and Europe than what early settlers had to deal with.
Paul is right in that
variety selection is more of a matter of taste, and your particular place. Do
you have honeybees for pollination or bumblebees? Flea beetle pressure? TMV
(tobacco mosaic virus - do you or any of your help smoke cigarettes?)?
What
type of storage do you plan on using? Do you plan to sell anything at markets,
or only feed your own family (some varieties look better and sell better, but
don't store well or dry well or make sauces or paste or pie or whatever you
might desire.)?
Specific variety selections are best found when talking to
farmers near you, and with your local university ag research people that are
sucking up tax dollars anyway. Many are now doing extensive research into
heirloom varieties.
Keep asking...
Dan
These are just
examples of how you can modify a plan from original customs.
On 3/9/2007
at 5:37 PM E. E. Mitchamore Jr wrote:
> >Ok, there are
already enough books (at least 30 years worth) detailing
> >the
failings of our agricultural system. I don't expect this one to
have
> >any more impact than the others.
> >
> >At
another level, although there are plenty of books about how to garden
>
>(or farm), there still isn't much to bridge the gap between gardening
and
> >eating. In other words, if you're already convinced,
what, precisely,
> >should you grow to feed, first your family, then
others?
> >
> >For any given area, there must be crops that
give the most nutrition.
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