SOIL-BUILDING BASICS
(Page 3 of 7)
Furthermore, since crop rotation can also help prevent the spread of soil-carried diseases, our gardeners make an effort not to raise different vegetables from the same family successively in a growing space. They focus this concern mainly on three groups: the cucurbits (squash, cucumbers, and melons) ... the brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, turnips, mustards, collards, and kale) . . . and the nightshades (potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant). The Sullivans also tend to avoid back-to-back plantings of members of the Umbelliferae (carrots, parsley, parsnips, and dill) and the Chenopodiaceae—or g oosefoot—family (beets, spinach, chard, and lamb's-quarters).
RELATED CONTENT
DOUBLE-DIGGING
So much has been written—in past issues of MOTHER—about double-digging that it'd likely be a waste of space for us to cover the procedure in detail here. (EDITOR'S NOTE: For thorough discussions of this topic, 'see "Biodynamic/French Intensive Gardening" in MOTHER NO. 61, page 92 . . . The Plowboy Interview with John Jeavons in MOTHER NO. 62, page 16 . . . and "Getting Ready for Next Year's Garden" on page 114 of THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS ® Guide to (almost!) Foolproof Gardening.) Nonetheless, this biodynamic/French intensive technique—which involves removing the top 12 inches from a four-foot-wide strip of soil, loosening the subsoil yet another foot deep with a garden fork, and then replacing the broken-up layer—has been an integral part of our gardeners' success.
Kerry and Barbara are quick to note that double-digging doesn't preclude the use of other gardening techniques, though. ("I'm not against rototillers or anything like that," Mr. Sullivan states.) Yet its distinctive virtues—allowing a person to grow large crops in a small space and to garden completely (and quietly) with hand tools—appeal to a lot of folks. Kerry adds, "There are certain people, like me, who probably wouldn't have any luck gardening if' they didn't double-dig."
The Sullivans maintain over 100 double-dug raised growing beds in the Eco-Village garden. Approximately 30 of these 4' X 30' areas are used for perennial crops, including asparagus, cane fruits, and long-lived flowers. The rest are redug on an annual basis, either in the fall or early spring. As Barbara puts it, "You'll have to decide how often you want to doubledig your beds, but if you really want to improve most soils—especially clay-laden ones—quickly, you'll redig every year. Fortunately, though, it takes only a couple of hours to work up a well-loosened bed, as compared with the six to eight hours required to dig a 4' X 30' plot from scratch."
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