Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Steve Diver <steved@ipa.net>]

Regarding the following item:

Mini-Farming: A Sustainable Farming System
George Kuepper, Kerr Center/ATTRA.
http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/6_1998.htm



The article posted says it was written by George Kuepper,
but then it has some inserts within the article that are funky.
For example:

"[Average gross in l998 is $8,000 per acre. A
family can garden 3-6 acres. KH]"


That statement by KH is plain whacky.   "Garden writers" need
to be careful.  No families have a garden of 3-6 acres.   Gardeners
are working patches of ground that are measured in 1,000
square feet.

I can guarantee you that nobody in the USA has a
bio-intensive mini-farm of 3-6 acres.  The whole purpose
of biointensive beds is to reduce the space needed as much
as possible and strive for high yields.   I am hand-working
12 beds of 100 sq. ft. each, the classic Jeavons style, which
is 1200 square feet, on a part-time basis.  Jeavons says a
21 bed system is ideal for a sustainable garden that grows its
own fertility.  You'd have to be a full-time gardener to manage
21 beds.   21 beds would be equivalent to 2100 sq. ft of actual
growing space.  But I recommend 4' headways between the
lawn and garden, and 2' pathways.  So you'll have more total
land area devoted to the garden.  

Fyi, as of May 2007, George Kuepper will no longer be working
for ATTRA and in fact is re-joining the Kerr Center where
he used to work in the "1980s."    ATTRA's funding was cut for
FY2007.  Some staff were completely laid off and others are
cut back on hours.  The program remains open for technical
assistance which is the core service. The publications on the
web page cannot be maintained with current information due
to severely reduced funding.   People who sit on keyboards and
think they are accessing ATTRA by using the web page are
missing the essential reality.  ATTRA has always been
a technical assistance service.  The publications you see
on the web page evolved from the research service.

The other confusing aspect of discussion on this list
is that biointensive methods of Jeavons are somehow
grouped as "organic no-till"..... as if no-till is a cure all.

In the first place, the Jeavons method is not remotely
related to no-till.   He distinctly favors double-digging
or broadforking.  The PURPOSE is to create a
deep rooting zone *because* you are growing plants
in a small area and producing heavy top yields.  It
is identical to a permaculture principle.  Practice
follows the principle because there is a goal.

On the other hand, I know biointensive garderners
who dig their beds really well to get started, then
shift to authentic no-till with heavy mulch and no
further "digging".

We have many biointensive gardens around town
because there are many folks who enjoy
the practical and beautiful gardens that result
from this method.

But we don't have many commercially viable
"BIMFs" around these parts, because BIMFs
aren't well suited to market farming.   They
are extremely labor intensive compared to
a broad range of market farming techniques
that include roto-tillers, tractors, mulches, etc.  

On the other hand, we have market farmers
who use parts and pieces of BIMFs in their
production methods.

There's more than one way to skin a catfish.

Steve Diver
Crooked Holler Farm