Is it spring already? It sure feels like spring with the warm weather that we have had lately. While I'm concerned about the crops up north and other things that happen in Michigan when the weather is poor, I am also very excited about the possibility of starting the garden early this year.
I have been reading a new book called How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine. Long title, I know. But the title says exactly what the book is about. This summer I'm going to use the technique in this book, called Grow Biointensive. This method, unlike other methods I've used in the past, focuses almost entirely on soil health. Yield is considered a byproduct of healthy soil. This all makes a lot of sense and of course that is partially why I've never heard of it before.
Anyway, the Biointensive method is a long term commitment kind of thing, so I will have plenty to blog about in the coming months. I'm very excited about getting started with this new plan, especially with the other ideas I'm putting into the works with the city soon. I'm working on getting a lot of support from all sorts of people and so far, everyone I've pitched my ideas to has been overwhelmingly excited about the concept of inexpensive, quality food availability in Ferndale.
My home garden is also going to expand this summer. Basically, I am going to be working all day every day to accomplish all the goals I have in mind for this endeavor. I addition to the beds I have already built, in order to get to my golden 100 sq ft number, I will be expanding one bed to 4x6 and adding another bed of the same size. This will give me a total of 102 sq ft of soil to cultivate.
I also plan on setting up several more rain barrels, building a chicken coop, creating at least 3 compost heaps of varying materials and, if time allows it, still riding my bike with my kids several times a week!
My next post will be all about composting, so stay in touch for that!
Does "grow more vegetables than you ever imagined..." talk about container gardening at all? Or just small yards?
ReplyDeleteThe biointensive method is meant to work for 100 sq ft or more. Because it requires you to have at least 24 inches of soil deep, I doubt it would work well for container planting. You could try some of the square foot gardening technique, since he only asks you to set up 6 inches of his specific mix for the soil. I'll keep my eyes open for some container gardening books. Also, I recently read an article about growing roots in pots rather than in the ground, I'll scan it and send it to you when I get time.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteThe one thing I'm finally get used to is how often I need to fertilize in containers. Last year I managed a few tomatos and some lettuce. I wasn't fertilizing nearly enough. This year I've managed to grow kale. I kept getting powdery mildew last year, so I'm pleased it isn't as big of a problem this year.
A big part of what I am reading now, as I mentioned in this post, is that soil health is vital to the health and yield of your plants. Fertilizer is good in your situation because you can't compost on a large enough scale to make up for lost nutrients. Make sure you are using organic fertilizer and also look into which plants need what. Tomatoes usually need extra calcium, while leafy green plants usually need more nitrogen. Keep these things in mind when making amendments to your soil as well as when you are attempting to diagnose a problem. Sometimes it is much easier to fix a problem than you think!
DeleteI found a book you might consider. It is called "Apartment Gardening" by Amy Pennington. I haven't actually looked at the book, but it might be helpful!
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