Here’s a brief list of things we’re doing to boost the quality of our soil in our forest garden. I’m writing this because I saw a video a while back that explained why they don’t use worm castings, compost tea, leaf mulch, rock dust and so on any more. That video might confuse some people into thinking these things aren’t helpful. What actually happened is their soil has become so good (by using these materials!) in their small backyard garden raised beds that these soil amendments are no longer necessary. Since they’re only dealing with a few pickup loads of soil, it’s not overly difficult to create that much high quality soil.
permaculture
Our Mesh Hoop House is Finished
We recently completed a mesh hoop house in our forest garden. Our climate is tropical, so we wanted a mesh fabric covering that blocks the intensity of the sun and allows plenty of ventilation. The hoop house will be used to grow vegetable starts for the garden, microgreens and tomatoes in large containers. The project … Read more
On life, work & leisure in Gothenburg’s tiny house allotment
“Sweden’s first allotment gardens and summer cottages were established in 1895, much later than the dachas of Russia or the extra-urban gardens of the UK and Denmark, but the gardening/tiny cottage tradition is still evident outside any large city. The “members” (the land is leasehold) of each plot are allowed to build a tiny cottage or shed. “
$1 MILLION on 10 acres — Scaling up the small farm with JM Fortier.
Curtis Stone, the Urban Farmer, and JM Fortier, the Market Gardener, are both are highly influential sustainable agriculture experts who are educating others about six figure income farming (how to make growing food profitable without expensive machinery). Their ideas can be scaled up or down. You can use their ideas in your back yard or on a commercial farm. They both offer a ton of free information on their websites and YouTube channels. I’ve already spent hours immersed in their sites absorbing as much as I can.
How to Build a 32’X48′ Hoophouse by Yourself Part 1
I’m currently building an 8’x20′ hoop house in our forest garden. Oh how I wish I’d used a kit that pops together like the one in this video. More news coming soon. We’re going to use our hoop house for growing vegetables, but of course they could be used for all sorts of other purposes such as a shop and housing.
Korean Natural Farming with IMO – Indigenous Microorganisms
Adding IMO (indigenous microorganisms) to gardens is one of the most important steps to gardening success. Drake, the speaker in the video, talks about how his neighbor who’s been an organic gardener for 40 years and has good soil suddenly doubled the size of his vegetable starts by adding IMO. His recommendation is to propagate trillions and trillions of the ‘good guys’ (desirable organisms from your area) and spread them throughout your garden and fields so they can fend off pests and boost plant growth.