Composting is one of the most unexpectedly satisfying things to do. Don’t even need to throw food in it (vermin bait). Just cut greens and carbon. As a bonus you can pee on it. You can also go to Starbucks and ask for their used coffee grounds, which they’ll happily prepare for you. Couple weeks and you have earthworms everywhere. Several more weeks and all those damn boxes from Amazon are nowhere to be found.
The bonus is that you start to go down a regenerative rabbit hole that’ll turn you into a mycorrhizal fungi maximalist.
While I welcome your enthusiasm I would urge anyone not to contaminate your soil with toxin laden printed paper (or its even toxin denser derivative of recycled packaging). At least if you're going to grow food on it you have a responsibility for the mouths fed with it.
With regards to the article: It's inconsistencies like these shown in the article, where there's a detailed list of sciency arguements about why no tilling makes sense but then the same Harvard PhD continues to cover her whole garden with toxic old newspapers which loses me.
Could be that I'm biased since I inherited a garden from similar lassez-fair style "gardeners" and had 20 year old trees collapsing without any storm due to their pest-infestation...
You can throw food in covered worm bins, or you can bury the food in your compost pile and have a farm cat that likes to sleep near the bin. Both work pretty well.
I regret not getting a tumbler for my compost, turning it in a 5x5x5 bin in a small backyard is challenging. I think that’s also why my compost loses activity in the colder months. I have a supplementary kitchen-sized heated tumbler compost bin on my deck for winter which does a great job but too small.
Gardens need infrastructure and they need time to evolve into a system that works and is productive.
Start by building compost bins. Use your mower (if you have a rotary one that bags) to mince up clippings from woodie plants (not actual bits of wood as that will kill the mower) and obviously to collect grass clippings. Start composting this down. Obtain a bag of good live compost or muck full of worms (you can see them) and use that to dope and infect your heap, loads of worm eggs will be in the muck and as the compost gets going the worm population will get going too.
Start your veg patch small and simple. If you have the space eight 3m * 1.2 m beds will be a big challenge to look after at first, but will provide more opportunities to grow things than you will be able to take advantage of (effectively). Remember, growing veg isn't just about preparing the soil, throwing seed on and waiting.
You will need to fence and net against pests. Pigeons will eat all brassicas in short order. Rabbits will eat most stuff, mice and rats as well. Good plants to get going with in the UK are: courgettes and other squashes (pumpkins need lots of room but can be a fun hobby plant), beans (broad, french and runners), peas, potatoes (blight is... a blight), celeriac and cellery, lettuce, broccoli (Calabrese), kale, beetroot, chard, carrots, corn, cabbage. You must net cabbage, broccoli and kale. You will also need to feed - organic seaweed feeds are good for this. Most importantly remember plants grow because of light and water and constant protection and pest management.
Once you are going and learn about the plants then get a green house and expand. The green house and cold frames are essential to get seedlings going - this is when you can move from paying more to grow than it costs to buy to saving money. You can also grow veg that only thrives under glass in a cooler climate. But, be warned.. commercial farmers are very clever and very efficient. You will always struggle to compete with them on a value basis. But it is very satisfying and the food often tastes better than shop bought.
> improved soil health, improved ecosystem health, better water retention, less erosion, more carbon sequestered in the soil.
Regarding carbon sequestration, I think it is worth pointing out that Freeman Dyson, in one of his conferences, mentioned no-till farming as one land management methods that could be used to absorb the carbon emitted in the atmosphere by human activities.
"The point of this calculation is the very favorable rate of exchange between carbon in the atmosphere and carbon in the soil. To stop the carbon in the atmosphere from increasing, we only need to grow the biomass in the soil by a hundredth of an inch per year. Good topsoil contains about ten percent biomass, [Schlesinger, 1977], so a hundredth of an inch of biomass growth means about a tenth of an inch of topsoil. Changes in farming practices such as no-till farming, avoiding the use of the plow, cause biomass to grow at least as fast as this. If we plant crops without plowing the soil, more of the biomass goes into roots which stay in the soil, and less returns to the atmosphere. If we use genetic engineering to put more biomass into roots, we can probably achieve much more rapid growth of topsoil. I conclude from this calculation that the problem of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a problem of land management, not a problem of meteorology. No computer model of atmosphere and ocean can hope to predict the way we shall manage our land."
engineering wise I can't see why it wouldn't be possible to selectively genetic-engineer some kind of plant or algae or something that sucks up tons and tons of carbon that you can then sequester manually by compressing it into, I don't know, artificial peat or something.
I have no idea why massive factory growing operations for produce aren't everywhere. Every city should have one by now, growing produce locally and shaving down the price of transport and waste to almost nothing.
I'm all for gardening - there's something therapeutic about seeing a plant grow and evolve over time. You can see something tangibly change over time as a result of your work, something quite rare in today's world where we spend our time on computers producing ephemeral things like files.
That said, I'm completely opposed to urban food gardening (including chickens) because the land you're growing in is likely poisoned by years of urban pollution. Whatever you grow in those areas is going to bring that bad stuff along with it, which means your backyard tomatoes probably wouldn't pass FDA approval.
Chickens are even worse, because they'll eat whatever's on the ground and that stuff gets into the eggs. So while it looks great on Instagram, your backyard eggs are probably full of rubber, asphalt, gasoline, plastics, and all the other stuff that's wafted into your property over the years.
So anyway, by all means garden and have fun doing it, but if you haven't had your urban soil tested and verified as safe, don't eat anything that comes out of it.
That depends on the area and there are methods to mitigate that.
One group out in New Jersey that has a community garden in heavily polluted land uses clean straw bales as the grow medium. Those only last for two or three years. But you can grow stuff.
Regenerative and permaculture methods includes soil remediation techniques for rebuilding soil. For heavily polluted land, Dr John Todd has some remarkable methods that can remediate even places such as superfund sites, though that might not be something to DIY. Dr Todd also has a quick method for testing that doesn’t involve a lab; not comprehensive, but will get you the observation you need.
Finally, as you see from other articles including the current front page of HN — leafy veggies have been found to have tire additives. Micro plastics are found in rain amd in animals in the wild. Our planet has been so broadly polluted, and our industrial agriculture will not necessarily be safer. For those with an interest in stewardship, you have to start somewhere.
Do you have any links that support these statements? Surely, some areas are contaminated, but claiming that urban land is "likely poisoned" and passes it on seems suspicious.
Come to think of it, I've never had my chicken feed tested. Rather than test every sqaure meter of my backyard periodically and also have every bag of feed tested, it seems more practical to do constant sampling of the eggs. Can you recommend a lab for me? How can I get an FDA inspection of my tomato? Do you have any data on the failure rate of such inspections?
> That said, I'm completely opposed to urban food gardening (including chickens) because the land you're growing in is likely poisoned by years of urban pollution. Whatever you grow in those areas is going to bring that bad stuff along with it, which means your backyard tomatoes probably wouldn't pass FDA approval.
Very much this. Those who live in very rainy areas like the PNW know all too well about all the rain gardens and other suburban filtration needed to keep the water from turning disgusting from surface oil and particulates coming off roads, shingles, etc.
Sometimes, that pollution can be beneficial. I knew of someone that lived in an area where there was once a battery factory. Their tomatoes--grown in the ground--where simply amazing. It turns out, their soil is pretty acidic due to that battery factory.
the amount of land and effort required to grow meaningful amount of calories is far beyond anything you can do in a city. if you own a parcel anywhere near any city in the western hemisphere, just selling it outright would yield more money than all the produce you could grow in ten lifetimes.
Careful, its important to avoid newspapers with colored inks, glossy finishes, or any coated papers, as these can contain harmful chemicals that might leach into the soil.
You want to lay cardboard over tall green stuff, then mulch that. The improvement in fertility compared with tilling and laying cardboard over soil is huge.
Sheet mulching is amazing for eliminating ivy and other invasive species as well.
It’s often better not to compost under a new plant because it encourages it not to spread its roots. Instead mulch with it and the rain and worms will bring the nutrients down.
A colleague of mine recently introduced to the idea of no-till gardening/agriculture and was very convincing about it but I started to have some doubts when he started claiming incredible yields yadi yada, too good to be true was my reaction.
I am thinking here must be the perfect place to get interesting opinions about it : So, is no-till useless, good or incredible ?
I once planted a few spinach plants. When they matured, I would go out almost every night and cut enough for a side dish for family dinner.
I didn't rate it good or incredible. I was surprised how well it kept growing back. I didn't bother doing a cost analysis, either.
If your goal is economics, it's dubious. If your goal is pleasure, it's subjective. If your goal is lifestyle, it's incredible at facilitating a particular lifestyle. Give it a small try and decide for yourself. Start as small as one square meter as an experiment. You have very little to lose.
I prefer mulched raised beds. They're easier to maintain for me and I get good results. I build them out of cedar fence slats to keep the cost down and start the first year with a Hügelkultur-inspired base. The mulching keeps weeds down (they're already low anyway) and helps retain moisture.
Even “organic” soil that you might use to fill containers is full of crap. I’ve filled beds with this from several brands and all of them had a significant amount of pieces that were clearly previously painted wood, chunks of metal, etc. Probably still better than what’s in the ground. I recall seeing beautiful black, organic rich, loose soil when planting things 25/30 years ago. I haven’t found anything remotely resembling that here in CA in the last few years.
> Tilling and plowing are almost synonymous with land cultivation, aren't they? Yet they actually destroy soil structure, create compaction, and kill the very soil biology that's the basis of fertility, like fungal networks and all those earthworms that make the soil nice and squishy.
I read it, missed this too, hmmm'd at your comment, but went back because usually these amateur communities are nerds enough that there's usually a reason behind this kind of thing. :)
"Hmmm" is a great reaction. It made me dig deeper and learn something.
[+] [-] laborcontract|1 year ago|reply
The bonus is that you start to go down a regenerative rabbit hole that’ll turn you into a mycorrhizal fungi maximalist.
[+] [-] woodpanel|1 year ago|reply
With regards to the article: It's inconsistencies like these shown in the article, where there's a detailed list of sciency arguements about why no tilling makes sense but then the same Harvard PhD continues to cover her whole garden with toxic old newspapers which loses me.
Could be that I'm biased since I inherited a garden from similar lassez-fair style "gardeners" and had 20 year old trees collapsing without any storm due to their pest-infestation...
[+] [-] CuriouslyC|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] fudged71|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] kuerbel|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] deutz_allis|1 year ago|reply
https://aerobin400.com/
[+] [-] sgt101|1 year ago|reply
Gardens need infrastructure and they need time to evolve into a system that works and is productive.
Start by building compost bins. Use your mower (if you have a rotary one that bags) to mince up clippings from woodie plants (not actual bits of wood as that will kill the mower) and obviously to collect grass clippings. Start composting this down. Obtain a bag of good live compost or muck full of worms (you can see them) and use that to dope and infect your heap, loads of worm eggs will be in the muck and as the compost gets going the worm population will get going too.
Start your veg patch small and simple. If you have the space eight 3m * 1.2 m beds will be a big challenge to look after at first, but will provide more opportunities to grow things than you will be able to take advantage of (effectively). Remember, growing veg isn't just about preparing the soil, throwing seed on and waiting.
You will need to fence and net against pests. Pigeons will eat all brassicas in short order. Rabbits will eat most stuff, mice and rats as well. Good plants to get going with in the UK are: courgettes and other squashes (pumpkins need lots of room but can be a fun hobby plant), beans (broad, french and runners), peas, potatoes (blight is... a blight), celeriac and cellery, lettuce, broccoli (Calabrese), kale, beetroot, chard, carrots, corn, cabbage. You must net cabbage, broccoli and kale. You will also need to feed - organic seaweed feeds are good for this. Most importantly remember plants grow because of light and water and constant protection and pest management.
Once you are going and learn about the plants then get a green house and expand. The green house and cold frames are essential to get seedlings going - this is when you can move from paying more to grow than it costs to buy to saving money. You can also grow veg that only thrives under glass in a cooler climate. But, be warned.. commercial farmers are very clever and very efficient. You will always struggle to compete with them on a value basis. But it is very satisfying and the food often tastes better than shop bought.
[+] [-] nothercastle|1 year ago|reply
Grass clippings are great but you will need to weed like crazy. Homemade compost is really hard
[+] [-] grondilu|1 year ago|reply
Regarding carbon sequestration, I think it is worth pointing out that Freeman Dyson, in one of his conferences, mentioned no-till farming as one land management methods that could be used to absorb the carbon emitted in the atmosphere by human activities.
"The point of this calculation is the very favorable rate of exchange between carbon in the atmosphere and carbon in the soil. To stop the carbon in the atmosphere from increasing, we only need to grow the biomass in the soil by a hundredth of an inch per year. Good topsoil contains about ten percent biomass, [Schlesinger, 1977], so a hundredth of an inch of biomass growth means about a tenth of an inch of topsoil. Changes in farming practices such as no-till farming, avoiding the use of the plow, cause biomass to grow at least as fast as this. If we plant crops without plowing the soil, more of the biomass goes into roots which stay in the soil, and less returns to the atmosphere. If we use genetic engineering to put more biomass into roots, we can probably achieve much more rapid growth of topsoil. I conclude from this calculation that the problem of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a problem of land management, not a problem of meteorology. No computer model of atmosphere and ocean can hope to predict the way we shall manage our land."
https://www.edge.org/conversation/freeman_dyson-heretical-th...
[+] [-] houseplant|1 year ago|reply
I have no idea why massive factory growing operations for produce aren't everywhere. Every city should have one by now, growing produce locally and shaving down the price of transport and waste to almost nothing.
[+] [-] idontknowtech|1 year ago|reply
That said, I'm completely opposed to urban food gardening (including chickens) because the land you're growing in is likely poisoned by years of urban pollution. Whatever you grow in those areas is going to bring that bad stuff along with it, which means your backyard tomatoes probably wouldn't pass FDA approval.
Chickens are even worse, because they'll eat whatever's on the ground and that stuff gets into the eggs. So while it looks great on Instagram, your backyard eggs are probably full of rubber, asphalt, gasoline, plastics, and all the other stuff that's wafted into your property over the years.
So anyway, by all means garden and have fun doing it, but if you haven't had your urban soil tested and verified as safe, don't eat anything that comes out of it.
[+] [-] hosh|1 year ago|reply
One group out in New Jersey that has a community garden in heavily polluted land uses clean straw bales as the grow medium. Those only last for two or three years. But you can grow stuff.
Regenerative and permaculture methods includes soil remediation techniques for rebuilding soil. For heavily polluted land, Dr John Todd has some remarkable methods that can remediate even places such as superfund sites, though that might not be something to DIY. Dr Todd also has a quick method for testing that doesn’t involve a lab; not comprehensive, but will get you the observation you need.
Finally, as you see from other articles including the current front page of HN — leafy veggies have been found to have tire additives. Micro plastics are found in rain amd in animals in the wild. Our planet has been so broadly polluted, and our industrial agriculture will not necessarily be safer. For those with an interest in stewardship, you have to start somewhere.
[+] [-] psychlops|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] freeopinion|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] anamexis|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] throwup238|1 year ago|reply
Very much this. Those who live in very rainy areas like the PNW know all too well about all the rain gardens and other suburban filtration needed to keep the water from turning disgusting from surface oil and particulates coming off roads, shingles, etc.
[+] [-] dylan604|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] BuckYeah|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] 123yawaworht456|1 year ago|reply
the amount of land and effort required to grow meaningful amount of calories is far beyond anything you can do in a city. if you own a parcel anywhere near any city in the western hemisphere, just selling it outright would yield more money than all the produce you could grow in ten lifetimes.
[+] [-] fuzztester|1 year ago|reply
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-dig_gardening
People were practicing it from years ago.
E.g.:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masanobu_Fukuoka
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Stout
Both Masanobu and Ruth are mentioned in the first link above, too.
[+] [-] jadbox|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] wumbo|1 year ago|reply
Till a new yard. It probably has chunks of concrete and other garbage from previous owners. It’s worth taking the garbage out of the ground.
Then smother the whole yard with cardboard. Then layer wood chips on that.
Dig out individual holes for plants and absolutely murder the rest of the ground with mulch.
In those holes, add compost, then plants.
With good layering, cardboard can even smother the bermuda grass menace.
[+] [-] CuriouslyC|1 year ago|reply
Sheet mulching is amazing for eliminating ivy and other invasive species as well.
[+] [-] IneffablePigeon|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] camillomiller|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] cassepipe|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] freeopinion|1 year ago|reply
I didn't rate it good or incredible. I was surprised how well it kept growing back. I didn't bother doing a cost analysis, either.
If your goal is economics, it's dubious. If your goal is pleasure, it's subjective. If your goal is lifestyle, it's incredible at facilitating a particular lifestyle. Give it a small try and decide for yourself. Start as small as one square meter as an experiment. You have very little to lose.
[+] [-] batch12|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] xnx|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] appplication|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] rl3|1 year ago|reply
https://www.permaculturenews.org/2016/03/14/is-newspaper-saf...
[+] [-] swayvil|1 year ago|reply
hmmm
[+] [-] yipbub|1 year ago|reply
I read it, missed this too, hmmm'd at your comment, but went back because usually these amateur communities are nerds enough that there's usually a reason behind this kind of thing. :)
"Hmmm" is a great reaction. It made me dig deeper and learn something.
[+] [-] yareal|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] aaron695|1 year ago|reply
[deleted]