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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] The Minimum Tools For Small-Time Garden Farming

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] The Minimum Tools For Small-Time Garden Farming
  • Date: Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:38:29 -0700


I didn't mention the margin question but you got it. Point being, intensive
planting in beds can be a far more efficient use of space than single or
double rows with aisles for walking or cultivating between every row. I do
intensive beds and supply two markets thru the season on less than a quarter
acre without machinery. Smaller varieties get far more in the same space, but
even the larger plants like brussels sprouts or squashes benefit from bed
growing, not walking on the growing soil. It doesn't get compacted by feet or
machinery and doesn't need plowing or tilling. I only turn it over some by
shovel for mixing in amendments. Mulching does the rest. And doing without a
tiller or paid labor raises the profit margin. Biointensive was popularized
by Jeavons at USC, and in this climate and soil it's the only way to grow.
And there's almost no home growing anywhere in this county.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 12/6/2009 at 11:47 AM Pete Vukovich wrote:

>Planting right to the margins you'd get rows of 25 or 250 for the bed.
>
>
>--- On Sat, 12/5/09, Tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net> wrote:
>
>From: Tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net>
>Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] The Minimum Tools For Small-Time Garden
>Farming
>To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
>Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009, 2:07 PM
>
>
>Not that everybody ought to do it one way. Those with enough land should
>do cover crops, rotate, and graze animals, ideally. And there are other
>ways to produce sustainably. This is what works for me on less than a
>quarter acre, and considering I'm not a youngster any more, millions with
>little room to grow could do even better. By building healthy soil from
>dry dirt, in raised beds, I can produce quite a bit for markets in very
>limited space. And of course I'm still learning from mistakes and
>successes.
>
>Here's a question: how many carrots can you get in just one 3x8 bed if you
>thin them to 4 inches apart each direction?
>
>
>paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
>






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