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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Resilient gardening - Part I by Christine Patton

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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] Resilient gardening - Part I by Christine Patton
  • Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 21:15:28 -0600


Yes, and IMHO the one size fits all is a route to disappointment at best. Too
many try to grow what does far better in a different climate or growing
season. BTW this year I have some sunchokes sprouting from Fedco, the
Clearwater variety less knobby for cleaning.

There's so much in that "resilient" concept to go over. Their last point was
on target, that ag too long has been stuck in the monoculture profit mindset,
instead of practical production for our own use in challenging and
unpredictable conditions. Which we have enough of already without a perfect
storm of peak everything on the horizon. Dealing with challenging and
unpredictable conditions is missing from most "how to" garden books.

Perennials for food needs a lot more discussion among growers, and not just
fruit trees. I can't do animals for fertilizer here but there's plenty around
nobody's using. Finding free amendments needs more discussion. I also
propagate comfrey this year and will be selling pots of it for fertilizing
gardens. The noninvasive variety. I can't rotate pole beans; they need all
the fence I have. And yes, Seed To Seed is an indispensable book. I have
doubts about row covers protecting from pests. I'll rely on healthy soil to
deter the lunch buffet crowd. DO learn to grow everything from seed (or
cuttings). Don't count on nurseries to have what you want when you want it.
Timing is everything.

If the idea of home growing is to save on groceries, then buying a tiller
blows that. I use hand tools (except for a weedwhacker between beds). Working
with permanent beds and aisles cuts the shoveling, amending, and watering in
half. Don't waste it on aisles to walk on. There's a time and place for
mulching but it's not all the time in all climates. Beds need to dry out some
before transplanting so pull it back till plants get a little bigger. Swales
can be a waste of valuable garden space. Of course adding organic amendments
makes soil more moisture retentive - Organic Gardening 101. Reusing greywater
is good if you can arrange it; not everybody can.

Diversifying is where it gets complicated but it's the basis of resilience or
redudancy. Sorry, but that "four season harvest" does take some serious
investment upfront, and I wouldn't waste that growing something as low in
food value as lettuce. As for fruit trees, we may not have time to see them
bear fruit. I'd stick with annuals and fast perennials like brambles or
sunchokes etc. Most of all I'd ditch the trendy "permaculture, forest
gardening, or edible landscaping " stuff. Maybe you can grow food in a
forest, but it helps to have a forest doesn't it. You can grow for maximum
food production or you can grow for something to take pictures of and write a
book about, but not both. And if you check into Toby Hemenway you may come
away with the same opinion I got. I'd sell the Mercedes and buy good land
among those country hicks he despises.

That's my reaction to it, thanks for following. YMMV.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net



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

On 5/29/2010 at 3:58 PM Norma Sutton wrote:

>I skim read this. It hits a lot of good points, but I think it misses the
>need to find crops that will work in the area you are in. They may not be
>crops that you would normally think of either. Learning to utilize the
>"weeds", only weeds in that they take over everything, would be beneficial
>in a lot of ways. Here we have sun chokes, and numerous wild berries
>everywhere, it means being flexible in what you eat, but if times get
>really
>rough those will be there.
>Norma
>
>






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