Garden design and layout Soil Health Water Management Crop protection Year around productive home garden

After choosing the garden site: Mark out the border to be cleared. Good starting site 4m x 4m (16m²). Clear the area down to bare ground. (rocks, grass, weeds and debris).

Garden design and layout Locate the highest point of the garden (slope). Plan the beds for double digging across the slope. (1m wide x 4 m long). Plan and dig swales. Swales are built along the contour lines of a slope. ( Same elevation using A-Frame). Dig a berm. Use the swale as a basis. (1m – 4m long beds).

Berms : are raised beds that can be used to direct water to swales. Swale : is a shallow trench dug along the land’s contour, with a berm on the downhill side.

Local soil amendments Manure (nitrogen, Phosphate, beneficial microbes). Wood ash (Calcium, potash, magnesium) Charcoal dust (Carbon) Decomposed organic material. Compost.

Making of compost Compost pile.

Double Digging Bio-intensive soil preparation.

Double digging Use soil amendments (local resource). Soil fertility and depth = higher yields from smaller areas. Allows closer plant spacing. Reduces moisture loss, weed germination. Breaks through the compact soil allowing healthy plant roots to go much deeper. Can be done using local tools.

Bio-intensive planting This technique uses sticks and string to plant seeds in “triangle spacing.” Plants should form an equilateral triangle. Plant seeds or seedlings where sticks have been placed. Once planted, water in seeds and mulch the garden well.

Cont.

Cont.

Cont.

Cont. When the leaf canopy closes, the soil will not be exposed to direct sunlight. This will help prevent weed growth and loss of soil moisture. A scaffold of sticks and string can support the growth of bushy plants and keep them from falling over.