Gardens of Diversity
Anyone can produce a plentiful harvest with a similarly small plot of raised beds growing a wide variety of simple food plants that are adapted to many conditions.
polycultures
In praise of promiscuous cultures: Part 2
Now imagine the pleasure offered by farms where families are free to roam fields filled not just with one crop, but dozens – from mushrooms and tubers to berries and small fruit trees, with larger nut trees towering above and edible vines in between. This is the true, incalculable value of promiscuous cultures.
In praise of promiscuous cultures
Throughout the European part of the Mediterranean – an area stretching from Greece through Italy, France and Spain, the coltura promiscua or coltura mista (translated as “promiscuous agriculture”, polyculture or mixed farming) landscapes predominated in many regions.
From the arable corner to the recaptured garden
So, to escape the arable corner, the forms of state coercion associated with it and the ecological problems it creates I argue that our best chance is by becoming our own arable farmers, or rather mixed-arable gardeners…
Leaf Cutters
Think of the presence of leaf cutter ants as being an indicator of an ecosystem out of balance, of being a cure for damaged soils.
My book – Edible Perennial Gardening!
I have been researching and growing perennial veggies since 2005 and blogging about how I do this for a couple of years. My aim has always been to be able to find out as much as I could and then to share it with as many people as possible. To this end I have also been writing a book about the veggies and the garden and am really happy to be able to say that this project is now in the final stages and the book will be published in November!