Greg Peterson discusses how to create your urban farm
Our Saturday forum with Greg Peterson, attracted quite a crowd. There are a lot of gardeners out there and I am sure that many of those attending the forum were inspired to try their gardening skills.
While Greg’s Urban Farm is on 1/3 acre, it is not necessary to turn you whole back yard into an edible landscape. He said that you can grow more food than you can eat in 100 square feet. The key is to know how to best utilize a space for growing fruit and vegetables.
Most important is to find the right place for your garden. For best results, the plot should face either East and get the morning sun, or South where you take advantage of the midday sun, but limiting exposure. The North side does not offer enough light and facing West, the crop is exposed to extreme heat for too long.
Once you have picked the right spot, the next task is soil preparation. Greg mentioned several ways to create a nutrient rich environment for your plants. The first option is “sheeting”, where you layer dried material (mulch) and organic manure about 18 to 36 inches high. Alternative ways are “digging”, which basically means you remove any grass and vegetation, add a layer of compost or manure and then turn the soil to a depth of eight inches. Preparing the soil is the foundation for healthy plant growth and a plentiful harvest. Greg also mentioned that people throw away between 60 and 80% of nutrients when they get rid of those fall leaves and grass clippings!
Once your soil is ready, the question is what to plant and when. Greg offers a great guide on his website.
To a question on pesticide use, Greg responded, “The more my yard is in balance, the less I have a problem with pests”. He also went on to explain how this balance can be achieved through the practice of permaculture. The word permaculture was created in the 1970′s by Bill Mollison and is a contraction of “permanent agriculture” or “permanent culture”. Greg defines it as the art and science of working with nature so that natural resources are renewed and eco-systems are enriched. This means, don’t think of the chicken as just “meat and eggs”, but also as pest control, fertilizer, etc..
Although there are many crops that thrive even in this challenging climate, tea is not one of them. So grow what works well and enjoy the “fruits” of your labors and avoid the common attitude which Greg summarized eloquently: “We are arrogant enough to think we can control nature and stupid enough to think it is our job”.
Join us for our next Souvia Saturdays Forum – Author Ken Weene introduces his book Widow’s Walk
