In the old days, before the power of fossil energy was used in planting and cropping, the farmers used companion techniques (like the three sister planting) in order to maximise the space they had for their crops, even if that meant a loss of time.
When the fossil energy started to be used in farming, during the industrial revolution, the farmers could afford to have bigger plots as they hace the machinery to work on them faster. To plant in those big plots had a requirement, there had to be enough space for the wheels of the tractors to go in. That meant loss of space but the machinery saved a lot of time.
There is a very interesting documentary about the impact of fossil fuel in farming
Una Granja para el Futuro from Horatiux on Vimeo.
Showing posts with label rotation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rotation. Show all posts
Crop rotation
If we have a garden of a certain size we would be able to establish a crop rotation system that will help to fight the pests and to improve the use of nutrients by different groups of plants.
If we have enough space to organize 5 beds, we will establish a 4 year rotation.
If we have enough space to organize 5 beds, we will establish a 4 year rotation.
- Legumes: They are good nitrogen fixes. They do not like fresh lime
- Brassicas: They are heave nitrogen user. They do not like lime
- Alliums: They have shallow roots. If they grow in the same area for more than two years the fungi white-rot will appear and ruin the crop
- Root/tubers: They are heavy fresh manure users (high potasium and sodium). They have deep roots (potatoes, tomatoes... never plant potatoes and tomatoes together as they will spread a disease from on to the other)
- Permanent crops (crops that will not rotate every year)
In our rotation plan we have to consider rotating also between the indoor and outdoor crops.
- Artichoke
- Rhubarb
- Aspharagus
- Strawberries
- Currants
- Apple...
Rotation to avoid plagues
You change the crop from one place to the other to confuse the pests and distribute the nutrients. Each plant takes different nutrients from the soil.
For any pest, it takes a while to adapt to a specific plant, so its good to move plants, to chop them and change their space, so the pests don't have time to get familiar with the plants.
For any pest, it takes a while to adapt to a specific plant, so its good to move plants, to chop them and change their space, so the pests don't have time to get familiar with the plants.
Three sisters planting
The Three Sisters Garden is a wonderful example of relationships in the garden. From a scientific, agricultural perspective these relationships are between particular families of plants, legume family (beans, peas), the grass family (corn) and the gourd or curcubit family (squash, pumpkins and melons).
The "three sisters" are maize/corn (Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and squash (Cucurbita spp.). According to historical records, the farmer dug a hole in the ground and placed one seed of each species into the hole. The maize grows first, providing a stalk for the beans, which reach upward for access to the sun. The squash plant grows low to the ground, shaded by the beans and corn, and keeping the weeds from affecting the other two plants.
Today, intercropping in general is recommended as an alternative system for small-scale farmers to improve their yield, and thus food production and income in limited spaces. Inter-cropping is also insurance: if one of the crops fail, the others might not, and the farmer is more likely to get at least one of the crops to produce in a given year, no matter how extreme the weather circumstances.
The microclimate produced by the three sisters combination favors the survival of the plants. Maize is notorious for sucking the nitrogen out of the soil; beans, on the other hand, supply replacement mineral nitrogen back into the soil: essentially, these are the effects of crop rotation without actually having to rotate crops. Overall, say crop scientists, more protein and energy are produced by intercropping three crops in the same space than that achieved by modern monocultural agriculture.
Maize maximizes photosynthesis, and grows straight and tall. Beans use the stalks for structural support and to gain greater access to sunlight; at the same time they bring atmospheric nitrogen into the system, making the nitrogen available to maize. Squash performs best in shady, humid places, and that is the type of microclimate provided by the corn and beans together. Further, squash decreases the amount of erosion that plagues monocultural cropping of corn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)