Compost and close planting

Soon, the real work of May resumes.  Weeding and planting. Planting and weeding.  Weeding is tedious work.  My world shrinks to a myopic routine as gloved hands move to the next weed.  And the next. And the next. 

Heavier work awaits me in the annual beds.  Here, I rake aside a layer of straw mulch to expose the soil.  Then I add an inch of compost.  I accomplish this annual ritual either fall or spring.  Compost plus organic soil amendments provide a rich growing environment.  With strong, healthy soil to sustain them, I can place large numbers of plants in very close quarters.  

 My annual garden resembles an old-style college dorm where students bunked in small rooms.  If a plant tag suggests 18” to 24” spacing, I reduce the gap to 6” to 8”. By the end of the season, my  close-planted zinnias will grow to six feet and produce hundreds of blooms.  

It is only after World War II  that industrial agriculture came into favor.  Farmers who are committed to sustainable and organic farm practices still maintain their commitment to the soil.

Over the course of 40,000 years, small farms throughout the world maintained and even increased, the vitality of their fields.  Instead of depleting the soil, then moving on to new sites, these growers worked the same small plot for generations.  How did they accomplished this amazing feat?  Retaining soil fertility was key.  Farmers in China, Greece, and early Europe cared for the land by preserving its balance.  Nutrients absorbed by plants were always returned to the soil.  Farmers gave back to the soil all building blocks used by their crops.  

Compost was indispensable.  Food crops were always followed by green compost crops.  Today we call them cover crops.  Early farmers also composted animal manure, including human waste, to spread on their field.  Modern sanitation ended the practice of collecting “night soil” from city households and introduced alternative means to dispose of human waste. 

In the 1850s, market gardeners near Paris added new twists to ancient systems of agriculture. On small plots, rarely larger than an acre, growers explored the possibilities of close planting to increase yields.  To meet the demands for produce in Paris, market gardeners also explored the use of glass cloches or bell jars to extend the season.  These mini-greenhouses sheltered plants from early and late frost, thus making lettuce available earlier in the spring and later in the fall.

There are two modern advocates of well-maintained soil and close planting. John Jeavons  advocates a system of mini-agriculture in his popular book How to Grow More Vegetables ... There are over a half a million copies in print world-wide. 

Mel Bartholomew, wrote the classic Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space, after an important insight.  Home gardeners aren't farmers!  They need a different system for planting and hand-tending small, productive plots.