The Sattwic Peace Garden; An intensive gardening process
An intensive garden is, quite simply,
one in which the most produce possible is grown in a given space. Our
Sattwic Peace Gardens are closely modeled after Mel Bartholomew’s
Square Foot Gardens. The only differences are in the soil mixtures
and the fact that we use biodynamic seed, that is seed that has been
grown by a very special process, without any artificial chemical
fertilizers, pesticides or additives of any kind.
We also use some special all-natural
preparations on the compost and the soil.
We are very grateful to Mel Bartholmew
and the Square Foot Garden organization for all the wonderful work
they have done in developing this intensive gardening technique which
has proven to be successful all over the world.
Instead of long rows of vegetables and
herbs, intensive gardens are usually 3-4 foot square. A garden can
consist of one square or many, depending upon the needs of the
gardener. It has been demonstrated that this process will produce
five times the amount that can be grown on the same surface using
standard gardening methods.
Intensive gardening is done on raised
beds. The soil is double-dug, meaning that the top twelve inches of
soil is removed from the bed; a spade or spading fork is inserted
into the next 10-12” of soil at 6-8” intervals and the fork is
wiggled around to break up the compacted soil. The top soil is then
mixed with generous amounts of compost and loosely piled back into
the bed. The resulting soil mixture should be fluffy and raised
above ground level. The raised bed may be free-standing or have a
solid frame of wood, stone, brick, etc. to hold it in place. In hot,
dry areas where the soil tends to dry out very quickly, a lowered bed
may be preferable simply because raised beds tend to get hotter and
dry out quicker. With lowered beds more soil is removed from the
garden site but the rest of the process is the same, resulting in a
bed that is slightly below ground level.
Probably the most important component
of intensive gardening is the production of the compost. Compost has
a dual purpose. It improves the structure of the soil, in other
words, makes it easier to work with, and it provides nutrients for
plant growth. As plants and organic materials contain different
ingredients because they are produced in varied conditions and
places, the more variety you use in your compost pile the richer and
more nutritious it will be.
What to Put in It: “Dry”
high-carbons: hay, straw, leaves, sawdust and wood shavings, shredded
newspaper, pine needles, shredded branches and bark, corncobs, hulls
from grains, dried vines and plant parts, etc.
“Wet” high-nitrogens: grass
clippings, green plants and leaves (weeds too), fruits, vegetables,
egg shells, coffee grounds, tea leaves, seaweed, feathers, hair.
What Not to Put in It: – milk
products; bread and baked goods; animal fat, bones, meat or skin;
dog, cat or human manure; diseased plants. Why not? These may
attract pests, rodents or carry disease.
How to Construct It: Make a pile about
3’ x 3’ x 3’, enclosed or not, convenient to both kitchen and
garden. Layer dry materials, wet materials and a thin layer of
soil. Chop large or whole items. Keep moist, but not too wet, and
turn often to add air. Let the first pile “cook” when it reaches
the desired size and start another pile. In 4 – 6 weeks you should
have a dark, crumbly, pleasant smelling, nutritious, composted
product.
Why Compost?
It’s the best soil and
fertilizer possible for your garden. It’s organic, inexpensive,
earth-friendly, and made from natural materials available all around
the world.
The garden is divided into squares,
each square devoted to a different plant. Plants are spaced equal
distance from each other on all sides. Mel Bartholomew, originator
of Square Foot Gardening and Author of the book by the same name,
suggests that rather than planting many seeds and then thinning the
sprouts, only as many seeds should be planted as the gardener expects
to harvest. Some gardeners might get a little nervous about this and
wish to plant at least two seeds in each spot, thinning down to one
plant if both seeds sprout. Thin the plants with scissors rather
than pulling them out so you won’t disturb the roots of the other
plants.
Succession planting is employed to
maintain a continuous harvest throughout the growing season. This
means that new seeds or transplants are planted whenever one area is
completely harvested. Since every crop adds and subtracts different
elements to and from the soil, the location of a particular kind of
plant should be rotated from one square to another. Through crop
rotation and the regular addition of rich compost to the garden (work
a little bit of compost into a square each time you are ready to
replant that square) the soil will not become depleted.
To make the most use of space,
vertical gardening (using trellises, cages, or poles for vining or
sprawling plants) and inter-planting (growing two or more types of
vegetables in the same place at the same time) are commonly used
techniques.
Plants such as cucumbers, tomatoes,
melons and pole beans are obvious candidates for vertical gardening.
Some plants will entwine themselves onto the support while others
will need to be coaxed or tied. Vertical planting will cast a shadow
so avoid shading sun-loving plants or take advantage of the shade by
planting shade-tolerant crops such as lettuce or spinach in the
shadow of the vertical ones. Vertically growing plants will dry out
more quickly and may need to be watered more often. The soil in the
vertical section of the garden should be deeper to allow the roots to
extend vertically rather than competing with other plants. It is
also important that this area of the garden is well-drained.
Successful interplanting requires
knowledge and planning. The factors that must be taken into account
for each plant are the length of the growth period, its growth
pattern (tall, short, below or above ground), possible negative
effects of one plant on another, preferred season and light, nutrient
and moisture requirements. Interplanting can be done by alternating
rows within a bed (a row of peppers alongside a row of onions) by
mixing plants within a bed (radishes and carrots), or by distributing
various species throughout the bed. Carrots and radishes work well
together because radishes have a short growing season while carrots
require a longer season. When the radishes are ready to harvest, the
carrots will be ready to be thinned. Radishes can also be grown at
the base of larger plants such as broccoli. Shade tolerant plants
such as lettuce and spinach can be grown in the shadow of taller or
vining plants.
One benefit of interplanting is that
it helps keep insect and disease problems under control. Pests like
large areas of the same crop. When plants are intermixed, if a pest
problem does occur it is likely to be contained within a small area,
giving the gardener the opportunity to deal with it before it gets
out of control.
Intensive gardening is a low-tech way
of growing produce. Hand tools and a watering can are about all the
necessary equipment. John Jeavons, who has been developing and
teaching bio-intensive gardening for the past thirty years points out
that, “Rather than shirking human labor, trying to reduce the
amount of it used or to increase its productivity in unsustainable
ways, we need to exalt in its proper use and the maintenance of the
very muscles involved in an effective human life.” Yet, intensive
gardening is not really work-intensive. There is very little weeding
due to the fact that the entire area is planted, as opposed to rows
of un-planted, weed-generating space between the rows of vegetables.
In addition, the spacing of the plants creates a nearly perfect leaf
canopy which decreases both water loss and weed growth.
Many believe that this type of
gardening could go a long way towards solving the world’s hunger
problems. Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland said of
John Jeavons’ work, "There are probably a billion people in
the world who are malnourished. The Jeavons approach could enable
that segment of the population to feed itself adequately for the
first time ever. That would be a remarkable development in this
world, and would do more to solve the problems of poverty, misery and
hunger than anything else we've done."
Intensive gardening uses a fraction of
the water used by conventional growing techniques. It builds soil
rather than depleting it. It does not consume non-renewable energy
and it produces far more food in the space used, thereby allowing
much more of our planet to exist in it’s naturally beautiful state.
Some unique features of the Sattwic
Peace Garden are:
- We do not use any artificially produced substances to enhance the soil; compost, crop rotation and inter-planting are employed to bring the soil to a healthy state and keep it that way.
- We use all natural preparations to enhance the development of the compost.*
- We use seed that has been grown biodynamically
.
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