Notes from the book, taken 10-12 Feb 2010.
Bed Preparation
Good structure and balanced / plentiful nutrients allow for uninterrupted growth
First year you do it, allow 1 hour per 1m2
Second year onwards, allow 30 mins per 1m2
Ongoing maintenance is about 1.5 mins per 1m2
Initial Preparation
Perform a soil test
Soak with sprinkler for 2 days
Allow to dry for 2 days
Loosen to 12" deep with a fork and remove weeds
Loosen by hand for 5 mins and leave to rest for 1 day. (If there are lots of large clods of soil, leave longer.)
Add sand to clay, or clay to sand, to improve the texture. Do not use more than 1" per foot.
Add 1-2" compost, depending on soil quality
Water for 5 mins. Rest 1 day.
Double dig (see fig 1.) Note this is only on the first year you prepare your bed. (Contradicts the Dowding No Dig rules!) More information at On a Limb.
Fig 1. Double digging. Dig a 12" hole, remove soil. Dig a 24" hole next to it, moving that soil onto your 12" hole.
Average maximum root depth is 4ft. A carrot or beetroot is max of about 8-10ft.
If soil is nutrient deficient, replenish it from external sources, since compost from local plants will also be deficient as the nutrients aren’t in the cycle to start with.
Aim for
70% ‘compost’ crops: carbon + calories: potatoes, garlic, parsnips, turnips.
- 30% ‘diet’ crops: calories + carbon: beans, peas, wheat, oats.
Compost
- Compost has two purposes:
Improve soil structure
Add nutrients
Healthy soil -> healthy plants -> more resistance to disease & attacks
You should only need to buy in in the first year, if you have weak soil, otherwise your own compost and some crop rotation should do it for you.
Humus fixes nitrogen in the soil (negatively charged, it attracts and retains positively charged trace elements)
Roots are surrounded by hydrogen ions, which trade ions with the humus
Plants pull in nutrients only as required
Making a good compost
It normally takes 3-6 months to make a good compost.
Normal soil which gives the starter micro-organisms
Green vegetation including kitchen waste (just no meat or cooked)
Browns such as cardboard, leaves, twigs / chipped wood
Do NOT use: anything diseased, acidic (eg eucalyptus), very tough, ivy, pernicious weeds, or cat or dog poo. Speed up by increasing nitrogen levels, amount of air, or surface area. Turn it once during its lifetime to mix it up a little.
Green manures
Cover crops live clover, alfalfa, beans, peas, and other legumes can be grown and dug back into the soil just before maturity. This fixes nitrogen, and breaks down the soil with its roots. They decompose rapidly so you can plant 1 month after digging in.
Fertilisation
Build up and balance out the nutrients
Keep nutrients in-the-lop by composting
Use enough nutrients, water, and compost.
Buy and use a soil test kit. Professional testing is better than a home kit and worth it on land you’d like to keep working on.
“Sow thistle” and “red clover” can stimulate poor soil.
It is worth growing some organic produce solely for compost (eg nettles), since plants need:
Lots Some
Nitrogen Zine
Phosphorus Boron
Potassium (ash) Copper
Sulphur Iron
Magnesium
Calcium
Seed Fertilisation
Plant seeds as deep as they are high (ie not very)
If there’s an eye on the bean, point it downwards
Diagonally offset to get the maximum use of the space. This also minimising watering.
Growing mix: 50% compost, 50% soil. Maybe some sand to break it up.
Transplanting: be gentle, and protect from strong sun. Water it a little.
When you plant out, bury the seedling so that its first set of ‘starter’ leaves lie beneath the soil.
Save some seedlines to back-fill ones which don’t make it.
Watering
Gently
A few hours before sunset
Think what the plant needs, eg tomatos and pumpkins will need a lot of water. Beans, less so.
Planning your garden
Ask advice and opinions from neighbours, local agricultural agents, and local nurseries.
Which veg grow well?
When is the main planting season?
When are the first and last hard frosts?
Are there any special requirements for my soil?
Special climatic conditions? (eg hailstorms in May)? And any tips on planning for this?
Garden plan, year by year:
Basic. Small, easy crops.
Double the area, and try some harder crops.
Add trees, herbs, strawberries, asparagus into worked soil Add another area.
Use your acquired skills to compact your garden area (not yoiur output) Grow protein and fibre crops, or special interest, eg bamboo.
Ed’s note: This is different from forest / permaculture gardening, which suggests planting a little faster, since some things are going to take time to develop. First plant your fruit trees at normal intervals, then interplanting with dwarf fruits, then shrubs, then herbaceous, then roots, then ground cover, then vertical.
Plant twice as many seedlings as required. Plant out the strongest.
Plant both late and early varieties
Site your beds to have 11+ hours of sun
Draw and maintain your plans
Companion Planting
The best way to companion plant is just to have a lot of biodiversity.
Think about physical companions:
Sun / shade
Shallow / deep rooting
Fast / slow maturing
Vertical location of the edible portion
There are big long lists of companion plants and I’m not going to type them all out here! If you have a specific pest, look it up and you’ll find something which deals with it.
General good ones are:
Lemon balm: attracts bees, smells great
Marjoram
Oregano
Nettle: tea, soup, used in oils, and good compost.
Valerian: good for you, increasing phosphorous activity
Chamomile: concentrates nutrients in the soil
Dandelion: increases aromatic quality of local herbs
Oak: concentrates calcium in its bark
Crop rotation
Rotate crops (over the years, obviously) to replenish nitrogen levels
- Heavy givers (N++)
Legumes
Peas
Clover
Alfalfa
Fava beans
Light Feeders (N-)
Turnips
Sweet potatoes
Green peppers
Heavy feeders (N–)
Corn
Tomatoes
Pumpkin
Lettuce
Cabbage
Balanced ecosystem
- For every problem, there is a reason, and a cure
Ed note: Permaculture mantra: the problem is the solution
Strong, healthy plants are the beset defence against insects. It is the soil which is likely to be at the root (ha ha!) of the problem:
aerated?
enough nutrients?
enough / too much compost?
pH correct?
proper transplanting?
right amount of water?
effective weeding?
enough sun?
right season?
Use seeds from / for the local soil and climate
Use hardy straings
Companion plant
Crop rotate
Use predators
Birds like moving water, bushes and trees, and plants with tasty seeds
Frogs like ponds
Ladybirds love aphids
A 10% crop loss / damage is a) fair enough, really, and b) good for the crops since it keeps them keen (like pruning)
Use barriers: copper, white tree paint
Hand pick and don’t use pesticides
Spraying natural sprays works. Go with aromatic for the chewers and with soapy for the suckers
Source: How to Grow More Vegetables (than you ever thought possible on less land that you can imagine)