Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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HIGH YIELDS AND HIGHER HOPES
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1976-05-01/High-Yields-Higher-Hopes.aspx
Biodynamic/French intensive agriculture:
A report by Ecology Action of the Midpeninsula

The world's population is off and running and crying, "Feed me if you can!"

"OK. But give us more ," answer the spokesmen of agribiz. "More money and 
more machinery and more fossil fuels and more chemicals." "Wait a minute," 
interject a few thoughtful souls. "There isn't any more. Not for long, 
anyway. We're going to have to do the job with less."

And that's just what John Jeavons and the folks at Palo Alto's Ecology Action 
of the Midpeninsula in California are doing.
WHO WE ARE

Ecology Action of the Midpeninsula is a non-profit, tax-exempt, 
California-based organization that was formed in the early 70's to promote 
and carry on environmental research and education. In 1972, we began 
experimenting with biodynamic/French intensive food production techniques on 
a 3-3/4-acre community garden called "Common Ground".

Our findings thus far indicate that the method may soon make it possible to 
grow an entirely balanced human diet on 1/4 to 1/20 of the area presently 
required by conventional means . . . and that such yields can be accomplished 
using as little as 1/2 to 1/16 the nitrogen fertilizer, 1/2 to 1/16 the 
water, and 1/100 the energy expended today by mechanized agriculture.

Considering the current state of the world (overpopulation, widespread 
malnutrition, diminishing availability of land, dwindling fossil fuel 
supplies, and all the rest) we feel that such findings are vitally important. 
We also suspect that many of MOTHER's readers will be interested in sharing 
our discoveries. Who knows? Maybe some of you will even want to start similar 
experiments of your own!
THE BASICS

The biodynamic/French intensive method is really a synthesis of a number of 
techniques developed by European schools of agriculture during the past 
century. It was all brought together into one system by Alan Chadwick, an 
inspired English horticulturist who now lives in Covelo, California. Mastery 
of the concept requires a good bit of acquired skill and knowledge, 
but—generally speaking—here is what's involved:

[1] DOUBLE-DUG, RAISED BEDS. Plots three to five feet wide and of varying 
length are laid out, and a temporary wooden form (see photos) is staked 
around each one's perimeter. The soil is thoroughly dug up to a depth of one 
foot, and then loosened an additional 12 inches manually with a shovel. This 
preparation enables plant roots to penetrate easily and deeply, and promotes 
a steady flow of nutrients to their stems and leaves. Such beds retain 
moisture well, erode hardly at all, and are very easy to weed (there's no 
need for two-handed, heave-ho pulling here!).

[2] INTENSIVE PLANTING. Seeds or seedlings are placed so that each is the 
same distance from those nearest to it, and close enough so that—when the 
plants mature—their leaves will just barely touch those of their neighbors 
and form a kind of continuous green "roof". (Two-inch spacing is about right 
for most vegetables.)

Some folks simply broadcast seed and then thin the resulting shoots to the 
desired distance. When we plant, however, we lay a guide—made by stretching 
2" hexagonal-pattern chicken wire over a frame—across the bed, and center a 
seed through each opening in the grid as shown in one of the accompanying 
photos. The technique creates a shaded environment under the leaves (some 
call it a "living mulch") that helps retain moisture, protects the soil's 
valuable microscopic life, retards weed growth, and—therefore—helps to 
produce higher yields.

[3] COMPANION PLANTING. Many kinds of vegetables and fruits grow better when 
near other varieties (green beans and strawberries, for instance, make a 
particularly compatible—and productive—pair). Some plants repel harmful 
insects, while others attract beneficial ones. (Borage does both: It wards 
off tomato worms, and produces blue flowers that attract pollinating bees.)

In addition, many species (including weeds) grow exceptionally long roots 
that loosen the subsoil and bring up previously unavailable trace minerals 
and nutrients. So, the biodynamic/French intensive gardener or farmer plans 
carefully, places mutually beneficial species together, and—in so 
doing—encourages high-quality crops and helps create (and maintain) healthy, 
vibrant soil.

[4] COMPOST. All organic gardens, of course, thrive when treated to lavish 
amounts of well-decayed manure or vegetable matter . . . but beds that have 
been planted intensively require even more of the material to feed their more 
heavily concentrated crops. Compost improves soil texture, creates better 
aeration and water retention, and supports the microorganisms that fix 
atmospheric nitrogen and produce disease-preventing antibiotics in the soil. 
Conventional farming tends to destroy such life forms.

It's important to note that the above "components" of the biodynamic/French 
intensive method constitute a whole system. The well-prepared soil, the 
closely spaced plantings, the companion planting, and the liberal use of 
compost intermesh to create a complex living environment for growing fruits 
and vegetables . . . but no single one (or just two, or three) of those 
techniques can effectively stand alone. (Farmers in Europe who experimented 
by using only the intensive spacing factor in combination with conventional 
agricultural practices have learned that lesson well: They soon found 
themselves beset with deteriorating soil, nitrate toxicity, poor-quality 
produce, diminishing populations of beneficial insects, and lowered plant 
resistance to disease and pests!)
ENORMOUS YIELDS POSSIBLE

According to our experience, a simple 24-inch-deep soil preparation allows 
four times as many plants as usual to be sown in a given space, because the 
roots have sufficient room to develop downward. That factor alone, combined 
with the growth-promoting effects of compost treatments and companion 
planting, allows anyone adhering to the techniques to quadruple his or her 
vegetable production! Such harvests can be (and have been) obtained even in 
the first year of planting.

Furthermore, research performed at the University of California at Berkeley 
indicates that the overall root health level of produce grown in agricultural 
soil has declined : . . and that even a 2% to 4% increase in such health 
could result in a two-to four-fold increase in field crop harvests. The 
method we've been experimenting with makes such an improvement possible by 
texturizing, aerating, fertilizing, and watering the soil as a matter of 
standard practice.

So . . . if you combine the arithmetic spacing and root health factors, it's 
easy to see that biodynamic/French intensive techniques can, ideally, produce 
sixteen times more food than is produced by currently accepted farming and 
gardening methods here in the United States. Other factors, of course—such as 
climate, soil condition, and type of vegetable, grain or fruit, and the 
degree of skill of the farmer or gardener—can (and do) reduce that optimal 
figure.
OUR YIELDS THUS FAR

When we began experimenting with b/F intensive techniques in 1972, our soil 
was in relatively poor condition (would you believe a pH of 8.0? ) . . . and 
our own skills, of course, required considerable enrichment also. Since that 
time, however, both factors have been improved and our annual 
harvests—measured under reasonably controlled test conditions—have shown a 
corresponding increase. They have, in fact, varied between two and sixteen 
times the national, California, or Santa Clara County averages.

The table below will give you some idea of how we fared as compared to the 
U.S. averages for each year and crop cited:

As you can see, some harvests have actually doubled from year to year as the 
soil in our test area has improved . . . which indicates still another major 
advantage of the b/F intensive method: Yields are apparently sustainable in 
an environmentally balanced way.

Mechanized agriculture relies on chemical fertilizers which—because they 
gradually deplete the earth's capacity to produce—must be applied in 
increasingly large doses in order to keep annual harvests from declining. 
Biodynamic/French intensive techniques, on the other hand, build the soil and 
thus encourage better and better yearly production.

To date, 62 different crops—including rice, wheat, and fruits—have been 
test-grown at "Common Ground" with varying degrees of thoroughness and 
success judging from our experience and that of others, it appears that the 
biodynamic/ French intensive method will produce four to six times the U.S. 
national per-acre average of protein source beans, grains, and rice, 8 times 
the average soft fruit and vegetable yield, and 4 to 8 times as much seed.

As staggering as those statistics may seem, they're absolutely mind-blowing 
when compared to world averages, which are much lower than those of the U.S. 
In fact, the worldwide figure in the bean, grain, and rice category is 
203times less than the yield which can be expected with b/F techniques!
MINIMAL RESOURCE USE

Obviously, high crop yields alone do not a viable agricultural system make . 
. . not—that is—in today's world, where virtually every natural resource is 
at a premium. So it's especially significant that biodynamic/French intensive 
farming uses water, land, fertilizer, and energy in a very miserly way.

For instance, our experiments in vegetable production required only 1 /2 to 1 
/8 as much water per pound of food produced as that consumed by commercial 
agribiz . . . and we were working with relatively out-of-shape soil! The 
Community Environmental Council in Santa Barbara, which is conducting similar 
tests on better ground, boasts a water-use record of 1/10 the "normal" amount 
required. And once again, the major "components" of the technique, 
intermeshed as a whole system, are together responsible for the figures.

Research has shown that soil containing 2% active organic matter (such as the 
compost used in our beds) needs only 1/4 the rainfall or irrigation required 
by poor land . . . that shaded areas (such as those formed by intensive 
planting) decrease moisture evaporation by 13%—16% . . . and that earth which 
contains large quantities of nutrients (encouraged, in our case, by adding 
decayed vegetable matter to deeply dug beds) can reduce transpiration of 
water through leaves and stems by as much as 10% to 75%.

Put all those factors together and it's easy to see why biodynamic/French 
intensive techniques may someday help countries grow at least four times as 
much food as they do currently, under natural rainfall conditions . . . with 
no expensive irrigation required in most cases at all! Even arid lands such 
as the African Sahel could conceivably become productive!

Fertilizer, of course, is used in vast quantities these days, and—worse 
yet—requires great amounts of energy (and materials) to manufacture, 
distribute, and apply to the land. The primary fuel used to make such 
substances is natural gas . . . of which the U.S. has only a nine-year 
reserve. And it's estimated that—by the year 2000—20% of all the energy 
consumed in the world will be needed just to produce nitrogen fertilizer!

Obviously, any reduction of the use of such materials would be significant . 
. . and, in our experiments with raising vegetables, we found that we needed 
only 1/2 to 1/16 as much added nitrogen per pound of food as do commercial 
farmers. And because the b/F intensive method is manual rather than 
mechanized, a further reduction in energy consumption is apparent. Such 
savings should be particularly important in countries which cannot afford 
today's high fuel and fertilizer costs.

A NEW KIND OF FARMING!

Consider the implications of what we've observed so far: The 
biodynamic/French intensive method can produce very high yields on little 
land almost anywhere in the world, using few resources and only simple 
low-capital-investment manual tools. Together, those factors have fostered a 
new concept that may well change the face of agriculture on Planet Earth: 
super-productive mini-farming!

Current estimates based on test results indicate that widespread use of b/F 
intensive techniques could conceivably allow 3%—6% of a population to grow 
all of a country's food. A family of four, working a total of 56 hours per 
week (that's two hours a day for each individual) on a little less than two 
acres, should be able to raise—within a six-month growing season—enough food 
(grains, vegetables, fruits, and fodder for dairy animals) to supply a 
complete 2,379-calories-per-day annual diet for 32 people!

Wholesale market value (50% of retail) of such a harvest, based on current 
U.S. food prices, would be around $9,600 . . . and, if inexpensive 
mini-greenhouses were used to extend the growing season year round, that 
output (and the resulting cash income) could be doubled!

On a smaller scale, a family of the same size working toward food 
self-sufficiency alone could use b/F intensive techniques to raise their 
entire annual food needs on just 10,000 square feet of soil—less than a 
quarter of an acre—by working just one or two hours a day during a six-month 
season!

Such stunning efficiencies, of course, cannot be accomplished overnight. Most 
soils require considerable improvement (a gradual process that can take up to 
five years), and would be mini-farmers must give themselves enough time to 
develop both an intimate understanding of the concepts involved and a 
familiarity with the skills required to produce successful harvests.

Nevertheless, the potential value of biodynamic/French intensive 
agriculture—for individuals, homesteading families, communities, and (perhaps 
most important) Third World countries now struggling desperately to feed 
their citizens—clearly overrides the relatively insignificant investment of 
time and effort that's initially required.
AND A FINAL NOTE

Ecology Action of the Midpeninsula is now eagerly entering its fifth year of 
exploration into the wonders of biodynamic/ French intensive agriculture. We 
hope that many of you, too, will recognize the importance and possible 
worldwide impact of the system, and begin similar experiments of your own. 
With a little patience and work, you'll soon see for yourself what the method 
can produce: high yields for you and your family . . . and even higher hopes 
for Planet Earth and its people!