permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

Richard Archer wrote:
> At 8:55 PM +1000 12/5/10, Benny H wrote:
>
> > Is this an advertisement for BioIntensive?
>
> No, it's spam advertising the DVD "Food Production Systems
> for a Backyard or Small Farm".
>
> I actually had this DVD on my list of things to buy, but
> now I've been spammed on multiple lists I think I'll give
> my money to Geoff Lawton instead.

Spammed? Spamming with an ad for his products is the last thing one 
would expect from Jeavons or Bountiful Gardens. He is an institution. 
His circle gardening concept has been used widely around the world. Have 
a look at his books.

> The research to the  answer to that question was started back in the
70's
>  by a very forward  thinking man named John Jeavons.  The work has
>  continued since then  and a method developed into a system called
>  "Bio-Intensive  Gardening".  The Bio-Intensive method has been
>  implemented worldwide  to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.  There is a
>  wealth of detail in  the entire Bio-intensive method, but the short
>  answer to how much land you  need can be summarized as approximately
>  8,000 sq.ft. for a complete diet  for one person (you need 4,000 sq/ft.
>  of actual growing space and at least  4,000 sq.ft. for pathways and
>  access).  That is also assuming you  have four growing seasons per year.
>  So if you can only get two  growing seasons, then you need to double the
>  space needed per  person.  For reference, an acre is 43,560 sq.ft. 
So in
>  a more  southern climate, you could theoretically support about 5 people
>  per acre.
>
>  The absolute best reference for the Bio-Intensive method is the book
>  /How To Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land
>  Than You Can Imagined /by John Jeavons.  And for another comparison,
>  with data taken from Jeavons book, the average U.S. diet with
>  conventional farming requires 15,000 to 30,0000 sq.ft. and is done in
>  such a way that it diminishes soil -- i.e. it is not sustainable.

I don't know about any DVD but his books are some of the very best ever 
written, on par with Mollison's. Jeavons was instumental in stewarding 
the emerging organic food production movement in the US and elsewhere.
Using the right tools and double digging to turn marginal land into 
productive garden space.