Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Planting our potatoes closely allowed the plants to act as a living mulch, shading out weeds. We planted
these rows 3 feet across.
Intensive gardening methods have several benefits for the backyard farmer:
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Planting in large swaths of land means you can concentrate all your soil-building efforts and
know it will be used by the plants. Instead of laying down compost over the entire field, and
then leaving dirt unused between every row, you are making the most of the fertile soil by
planting the entire area.
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You can water the garden without wasting your water on areas that aren't producing
anything. The water conservation efforts of an intensive garden will be greatly improved with
plants shading the dirt beneath them and every drop of water falling where it will be used.
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Weeding is easier with intensive gardening because the plants help shade out and block out
weed seeds. Weeds that do begin to grow are easily plucked out.
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Growing plants vertically, up the trellis or fence, can make a huge difference by giving you
space in an extra dimension. I discuss vertical gardening in detail later in this chapter.
Keep a Garden Journal
Garden planning is something that never ends. Every year we try something new or stop doing
something that didn't work so well the year before. Now we are growing our plants from seeds and
saving them year by year.
