Every garden and gardener is different. We each have our goals for the year, whether it is almost complete self-sufficiency to growing a few special plants that we can’t buy at the store. I’ve built a small calculator to help figure out how much of what vegetables you should grow depending on what percentage of … More Gardening — Planting Amounts
See yesterday’s post on the introduction and use of the broadfork, also from Matt Miles. If you possess some basic welding and metalworking skills, then you may find it worth your while to build your own broadfork at a fraction of the price that a commercially built version would typically cost.ยน This applies to an … More DIY Project — Making a Broadfork — From Contributor Matt Miles
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post which outlines how to build your own broadfork, also from Matt. In a situation where fossil fuels have become scarce or unavailable, the use of tractors and mechanical tillers for food production will be out of the question, while the use of equine power and horse-drawn equipment will require a … More Understanding and Using the Broadfork — From Contributor Matt Miles
As gardening season comes to an end, many of us are coming to terms with an unwelcome competition for our fruits and vegetables. As much as we love a good tomato or cabbage, there are plenty of creatures who love them even more than we do. The fight against insect and other animal pests is … More Polyculture: Letting Nature Do the Work — Contribution from Andrew Flachs
Raised beds have become a staple of urban gardening and for good reason. Artificial beds have plenty of advantages: Excellent drainage Easy to keep tidy Able to be installed over poor soil or potentially contaminated soils Good foundation for garden infrastructure (irrigation, row covers), see photo. Prevents soil compaction Can keep away some pests Can … More DIY Project — Raised Beds