Gardening Methods

whereas fertiliser may feed the plants, it is better and more sustainable to feed and nurture the soil

Food Forest / Permaculture

Grow berries, fruit trees, and many other perennials that leave an impactful legacy that you hope to last for generations

  • looking at the entire landscape as a functional tool with highly diverse systems of trees with understory crops. Choosing plants to grow in guilds instead of individually

  • Lower maintenance due to perennial fruits & nuts.

    Serves multiple purposes such as energy & water retention

  • More effort to establish than most other gardening methods

  • Earthside Nursery a lake country based edible landscape company

    Guild Planting principles of permaculture

    Permaculture Research Institute

no dig/Raised Bed

Grow flowers & food in almost any space by established a garden above ground

  • A garden built on top of the earth surface instead of dug into the land.

  • Less bending over to plant, weed, harvest

    Typically less weeds and less compaction

    More defined spaces

  • More work gathering all the starting materials to fill/build the garden bed than starting in the ground.

  • Charles Dowding starting a no-dig

Deep Bed

Principles from raised bed and hügelkultur gardening methods are applied with an added trench system in-between beds. This method is done along slopes to prevent erosion and has shown highly beneficial results to farmers in Africa.

  • designed to minimise water runoff and maximise water retention.
    Each ridge has a ditch running alongside it (the ridge is created with earth excavated from the ditch.) If there is a slope, the ditch is uphill of the ridge, so it serves as a dam for water after heavy rains: each ditch has closed ends, to prevent water spilling out and to encourage it to soak downwards. The ridge is then stabilised by planting with Vetiver, a non-invasive but deep-rooted grass that stabilises the ridge, and which is widely used for this around the world.
    The deep beds are planted with crops. The staple crop of maize is typically interplanted with beans, pumpkin, kale, soya, ground nuts and other local crops.

  • Drought resiliency

    Typically less weeds

    More defined spaces

  • Requires land dedicated to irrigation inbetween beds

  • https://www.tiyeni.org/deep-bed-farming

lasagna

Layering different types of organic matter to prepare your garden bed, starting with cardboard.

  • adding layers of organic materials that will “cook down” over time, resulting in nutrient-rich soil that will help your plants thrive.

  • Increased Water Retention in the organic matter

    Typically less weeds

    More defined spaces

  • More work to gather a diversity of starting materials

  • University of Minnesota resources

    start by running your mower over the area you’d like to transform

    Once you’ve got a shape, cover the area with 5 to 8 sheets of newspaper -wet the newspaper as you go, so it won’t blow away. Layer organic matter

    It takes at least a month, usually two, to kill enough weeds and turf to allow you to dig straight down through the layers to put in new plants.

hugelkulture

literally mound bed or mound culture

  • piling logs, branches, plant waste, compost and additional soil directly on the ground. Mounds may also be made from alternating layers of wood, sod, compost, straw, and soil.

    The mound is left to rest for several months before planting

    Hügelkultur is said to replicate the natural process of decomposition that occurs on forest floors

    Place hügelkultur at a position of perpendicular to runoff direction.

  • Easy harvest

    Erosion and Runoff control

    Defined space

  • Gathering all the starting materials to fill/build the bed

    Lots of work to establish in advance

  • Creating a hugelkulture

    The Many Benefits of Hugelkultur

strawbale

A type of container gardening in a straw bale

  • Planting in a straw bale with a small amount of compost or soil in the root zone

  • Straw bale gardens require less soil, less water and hold heat. As the straw breaks down nutrients feed the plants. Combining a straw surround with a hugel interior, topped by lasagne layering is an excellent idea for an area with poor quality soil.

  • Gathering all the starting materials to fill/build the garden bed

    Doesn’t last multiple seasons typically

  • Strawbale Gardens

    Strings On Sides so as to not rot or accidentally be cut

Rain Garden /
Bio swales

Utilizing runoff for water retention and infiltrating the soil.

  • A garden built on top of the earth surface instead of dug into the land.

  • Less bending over to plant, weed, harvest

    Typically less weeds

    More defined spaces

  • Gathering all the starting materials to fill/build the garden bed

  • Charles Dowding

Traditional Row

square foot

  • A garden built on top of the earth surface instead of dug into the land.

  • Less bending over to plant, weed, harvest

    Typically less weeds

    More defined spaces

  • Gathering all the starting materials to fill/build the garden bed

  • Charles Dowding

square foot

containers

  • A garden built on top of the earth surface instead of dug into the land.

  • Less bending over to plant, weed, harvest

    Typically less weeds

    More defined spaces

  • Gathering all the starting materials to fill/build the garden bed

  • Charles Dowding

containers

  • A garden built on top of the earth surface instead of dug into the land.

  • Less bending over to plant, weed, harvest

    Typically less weeds

    More defined spaces

  • Gathering all the starting materials to fill/build the garden bed

  • Charles Dowding

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