Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] the learning curve

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Emery Mitchamore <emitch@att.net>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] the learning curve
  • Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2010 07:12:29 -0600

Although I don't grow for market, I see this planning for crop production as
a serious need and opportunity. There are so many variables to consider and
record that it immediately sounds like a good candidate for a computer
program. I know that some exist, such as Plangarden, but I don't hear much
about how people do their planning, whether on a computer or on paper. And,
without a "written" plan, how can you keep records of what worked (or didn't
work), and why?

May I suggest a conversation on the subject of planning (and record keeping)?
Considerations should include space, time, production, revenue, etc

E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.net



On Nov 20, 2010, at 9:46 PM, Tradingpost wrote:

>
> In the eight years since we started this list, growing more food on space
> available has turned mainstream. Even urban growing has sprouted from
> Detroit to Richmond, CA and many other places. Obviously, as the need grows
> and the economy tightens it's essential to make the best use of the space,
> the labor and inputs. What I've learned is, for most of us, there's a hard
> learning curve to get the most from that space. If it's going to take time
> then some people need to start years ago.
>
> And I'm not there yet with growing for market. My use of one-sixth of an
> acre has hit maybe 60-70% efficient use of the space, and the bottleneck
> seems to be in the crop planning. For example, I expanded sweet peppers and
> snow peas but miscalculated stagger timing on snow peas and wasted a few
> beds on things that didn't sell much. Grasshoppers ruined our first try at
> kale and chard so I'll forget that and expand beets, kohlrabi, snow peas,
> and better onion varieties, for more continuous harvest and sale. Other
> crops worked better than planned. It's not as simple as it sounds and so
> far I haven't seen a book or even an article on this exact subject to help.
> There's more on growing for home use. Either way it means growing what
> you'll use or preserve at home, or what you can reasonably expect to sell
> without much loss. It involves planning crop times on the ground, what can
> be grown before or after another crop, guessing maturity times and
> staggering certain plantings for conti
> nuous harvest to use or sell, and more depending on weather and other
> committments. But, either way biointensive or some variation with permanent
> beds and aisles seems so far to be far and away the most efficient use of
> space, labor, water, mulch, and amendments.
>
> There is an urgency to this and not just for us. You don't make a lot of
> money at it but it has other advantages and plenty of people can do it and
> be better off for it. Esp when living costs keep rising and there's one job
> opening for every five unemployed. There should be a billion dollar crash
> program for local, healthier food run by a lot of people who are better at
> this than I am.
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Livingontheland mailing list
> Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page