Читать книгу The Allotment Book - Andi Clevely - Страница 18

Some find biodynamics slightly esoteric or metaphysical, but this gardening philosophy has had a strong following ever since the 1920s, when Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian philosopher and agricultural expert, first outlined his rules for rescuing soil fertility from over-intensive cropping and chemicals.

The approach is essentially holistic as well as organic, acknowledging the effects of natural rhythms and cycles on growth and following principles that restore the vitality as well as fertility lost when ground is cultivated and crops harvested. Biodynamics embraces organic and ecologically sound gardening methods, but it goes further than that: feeding the soil is not considered sufficient because the earth itself needs healing from past abuses.

Remedies for this include treating the land with special herbal tonics, and gardening in tune with all the influences that can possibly affect plant growth – these range from street lighting and water quality to planetary aspects and phases of the moon. Followers accept that some of these beliefs defy current scientific knowledge, but suggest that proof lies in the pudding – pragmatic trials seem to work, even if the reasons for the results are unknown.

Key elements when exploring this approach include making compost the biodynamic way, with special therapeutic preparations and a planting calendar, which uses the positions of the planets to find the ideal times for sowing or harvesting. It also involves becoming aware of the unique character of your plot, so that you gradually develop a full understanding of the land and an intuitive sense of what it needs to boost the vitality and abundance of its produce.

FOREST GARDENING A natural forest or wood has a layered structure that allows all kinds of plants to grow together and share resources such as light, water and fertility. Forest gardening imitates this by arranging edible plants in a series of tiers. The highest is a canopy of fruit trees like plums and apples, which are pruned to admit plenty of light to plants below. Under this is a shrub layer of shade-tolerant soft fruit bushes, such as gooseberries or redcurrants, surrounded by perennial herbs and vegetables at ground level; climbers filter through from the ground to the top tier.

Total productivity from the plot is high because plants of different habit and height can fit around each other to make the most of available resources. And the diversity of crops shares fertility efficiently by feeding at different levels; it also discourages specific pests and diseases from taking hold. Beneficial plants such as legumes and comfrey are included to supply minerals and nutrients to their neighbours; others are planted to attract both insect predators and pollinating insects.

The majority of plants are either perennial or self-seeding annuals, which makes digging almost unnecessary, although some cultivated patches can be integrated for growing extra crops like annual roots or runner beans to climb into the tree layer. A few open areas can be left for sun-loving vegetables and herbs. The whole garden is kept heavily mulched to control water loss and most weeds, so maintenance consists chiefly of clipping or pulling up invasive species or the odd weed.

PERMACULTURE This is an ethical design system that attempts to minimize our environmental impact by planning a sustainable and ecologically sound lifestyle, including the way in which we grow our food. Permaculture gardening draws together many ideas from other philosophies, such as no-dig practices (see page 36), the edible perennials of forest gardening, most of the established organic principles, and the ornamental aims of the French potager and the North American ‘edible landscape’ movement.