The use of special preparations can significantly increase crop yields and reduce the cost of the product. However, most often we start a garden with a completely different goal - to grow vegetables and fruits without the use of any “chemicals”. It is also no secret that in developed economies such “clean” products are valued much more highly by customers.
To merge with nature or not
Today our article will be devoted to traditional (natural or organic) methods of cultivating crops, which are reminiscent of those used by farmers many centuries ago, when no one simply thought about the environment. Since then, the scientific world has proposed other methods of cultivating vegetables and fruits, and traditions gradually began to be forgotten.
Now they are more common in places where people either cannot buy chemical fertilizers, or civilization has not yet reached there. An alternative option will also be shown.
Supporters and opponents of the approach argue with each other until they are hoarse, each defending their own point of view. We won't take sides, we'll just give you the knowledge to help you decide for yourself what's best, effective, and smart for you.
Agree, novice gardeners are practically unfamiliar with most alternative methods, so for them their use is simply limited. Below we will talk about them, and you will have an idea about their rules and techniques.
Organic farming
This method of cultivating soils and crops is also called “natural,” which means that the main approaches of the method were observed in living nature. There is even a term - “nature-conforming farming”, when the soil should be cultivated only in accordance with natural principles.
Currently, the technique has become widely known and extremely popular, so we cannot ignore this topic. For example, the price of products in Europe grown using this technology is 3-5 times higher than using conventional technology.
This review will not discuss it in great detail, since this would require a whole book, but you will know its main points. This, in our opinion, is quite enough to understand the principle of the approach.
Let's look at it in more detail:
| Tillage |
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| Fertilizers |
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| Pesticide | The use of pesticides is prohibited. Everything is aimed at preventing the occurrence of pests and plant diseases. |
| Technology Assistants |
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Advice: if you have a problem with pests or sick plants, you can only use biological products or folk remedies.
The purpose and meaning of organic farming
If our ancestors did not think about the environmental friendliness of products in their time, our problem is urgent.
Therefore, below we will consider the main goals pursued by the agricultural technology of natural farming in the garden plot:
- Achieve natural vegetables and fruits, in which there will be no “chemistry”.
- Increase soil fertility. Proponents of traditional approaches to fertilization, in principle, also strive for this. However, ideologically, organic farming in a garden plot is somewhat different.
Advice: there is no need to strive to remake nature by extracting from it maximum result, but on the contrary, help her in every possible way.
As a result, soil fertility is restored thanks to agrotechnical techniques and natural remedies, including green manure, organic mulch and biological products.
- The most important thing for many is the simplification of agricultural labor. Almost every one of us knows that using traditional methods cultivating the land with your own hands involves quite hard physical work. Not everyone can master it, at the same time, organic farming on the site makes it possible to actually reduce time and effort by.
Traditional agricultural technology
It is still extremely rare to encounter natural farming; most often, conventional technology is used.
Let's consider its "advantages":
- the harvest increases, but this is only possible through the use of more pesticides, pesticides and plant growth regulators;
- consumers of products - regular customers from pharmacists, doctors, and the health care system, since not everyone tolerates such a harvest equally well. For many, the body is not able to cope with poisons on its own.
Negative consequences of traditional cultivation:
- toxins accumulate in the body, causing it to be poisoned, which causes its overall health to suffer;
- productivity decreases and taste qualities products;
- carcinogenic and toxic compounds accumulate in the soil;
- soil water, rivers, wells and wells are polluted;
- humus begins to mineralize and decrease in volume;
- the soil becomes over-compacted and its structure is destroyed;
- Frequent watering is required;
- pest and weed control is ongoing;
- labor costs and financial costs increase.
Alas, it will not be possible to get rid of it completely, especially in places where there is food hunger. In addition, the development and introduction of new chemicals is a multi-billion dollar business.
Mittlider method
Since we are trying to figure out what is best for your summer cottage, we cannot help but mention the crop growing system of Dr. SCN J. Mittlider, most often called “Mittlider’s narrow ridges.” The technology does not have any special secrets, so we will tell you about it in a nutshell.
Rules and principles
Special technologies are also provided for seed treatment and seedlings. The method can be used in and in open ground.
The purpose and meaning of the method
The inventor of the method himself is very familiar with agricultural work. Therefore, his main goal was to facilitate work on the land, making harvesting less difficult and burdensome.
The next task is to increase productivity. For this purpose the principle was developed balanced nutrition, allowing for small area When planting plants densely, achieve their rapid growth, as well as early and good fruiting.
Conclusion
The methods presented above have only one common indicator - reducing the labor intensity of agricultural work. Otherwise, the methods are diametrically opposed to each other. Both have supporters and opponents.
Use the method of your great-grandfathers or use modern agricultural technology - it’s up to you. The video in this article will help you find Additional information on this topic.
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The agricultural technology of such farming is aimed at respect for the earth, as a living organism, to improve fertility through the return of organic matter, green manure, mulching, crop rotation, as well as to obtain natural, environmentally friendly food products without using chemical fertilizers and plant protection products.
And organic farming technologists promise us larger yields with less labor input than in classical farming
But is everything as simple as leading experts and promoters of organic farming tell us?
Organic farming in the country
When we first decided to put organic farming into practice at our dacha, we were naive people, like everyone else, we needed that very safe food, and at the same time we had little free time, but a great desire to grow plants. Therefore, we dug through a lot of literature to find out what it is: organic farming in the country and where to start mastering it. We needed to understand and comprehend all this. And we immediately set about an exciting and good thing: organic farming from scratch.
We took into use 12 acres of land near Odessa, which no one had cultivated for several years. Of these, 2 acres were under trees and bushes, 1 acres were under strawberries, and the remaining 9 acres were densely covered with weeds, so it was necessary to develop virgin land. We have a noble goal ahead of us: we are implementing careful and loving relationship to the ground, which is called in the literature “Organic farming in the country.”
First, we cut the weeds, then we laid out the area, dividing it into paths and beds. The beds were surface treated (loosening) to a depth of no more than 5 cm, as recommended in the books. We sown seeds, planted seedlings and mulched.
The plantings were, as expected, thickened and planned taking into account the allelopathic properties of neighboring plants. A week later, the first shoots appeared, and then weeds appeared, which had to be pulled out manually, since Fokina’s flat cutter did not work on mulch. And so several times a season.
We spent a lot of time and effort, but there was no result. Of those planted, about 7% survived cultivated plants, which gave, to put it mildly, a modest harvest, or rather, there was almost none (not counting 5 carrots and 5 watermelons weighing 100 g each).
Nevertheless, we continued to work, as we fell in love with work on the land and in the fresh air. And the experience gained was very useful.
Today we practice organic farming in our dacha on two hectares of land, where we harvest tons of crops. We also maintain several forest nurseries. We work according to the “Organic agro-forestry” system.
And the question “how to grow?” is no longer relevant, now the question is “what to do with the harvest?”
Well, now we will tell you about everything in order, how in reality you need to start organic farming in your dacha from scratch, and not what is told in books or at seminars. In life, it turns out, it’s not quite the same as on the pages of books. But how does everything actually happen in organic farming?
Harvest of Alexey and Nadezhda Chernyavsky Myths of organic farming
1: “The earth cannot be stirred up.”
We called the process by which the earth does not turn, “wilding of the soil.” This means that there are so many insects, animals and weeds in it that they do not allow more than one cultivated plant to grow and bear fruit. So much for natural farming! In addition, if you have virgin soil on your plot, then you will have to plow it once, since virgin soil cannot be conquered manually. And after the first plowing, you can treat the soil superficially. Then there will be watermelons and corn.
Conclusion: a cultivated plant needs cultivated soil and appropriate care!
2: “Mulched plants do not need to be watered.”
After conducting many experiments, we came to the conclusion that mulch does retain moisture, but not for long, especially in dry places. Therefore, if you want to get a harvest by practicing organic farming in your country house, then you will have to water moisture-loving plants, even if they are mulched, you will just need to do this less often .
3: “All plants need to be mulched so that there is no bare soil left in the garden.”
In fact, not all plants like mulch. So, for corn, watermelons, melons, peanuts and chufa, mulch is unacceptable. These crops love “hot and clean soil.” In addition, corn, peanuts and chufa require hilling, which is very difficult to do if there is mulch on the ground.
Conclusion: when using organic farming in the country, it is certainly necessary to mulch, but selectively. Cover the soil only around those plants that really like it (tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, etc.)
4: “Organic farming for the lazy.”
Many people have heard the old proverb “You can’t catch a fish out of a pond without effort”; no one has yet canceled it. And for people for whom organic farming in the country has become a matter of life, they know exactly what this proverb is about. As we found out, If you want results, you have to work hard! Loosening the beds, planting seeds, extracting and laying mulch, digging and weeding weeds, hilling, planting, watering, collecting and processing crops, in the end, all this is work! If you give in to laziness, you won’t see a full harvest!
Conclusion: He who works, eats.
5: “Joint and dense plantings repel insect pests and attract insect predators » .
Fast, efficient, convenient and environmentally friendly, and therefore safe
Conclusion: You need to combine beds with crops, not crops in a bed.
6: “Biological plant protection products are better and safer than chemical ones.”
We do not use either one or the other. Today, humanity is already reaping the full benefits of using chemistry in agriculture(killed lands, mutant insects, dead bees, food poisoning and allergies in people, polluted waters of the world's oceans, etc.). And we still don’t know what fruits biological drugs will bring us, because it’s a matter of time. Remember, when chemical protective agents appeared on the market, people were very happy about it, it seemed to them that the problem had been solved. But they struggled with the consequences, but the cause - monoculture - remained. Today people rejoice in biological drugs! What will happen tomorrow?
Conclusion: by practicing organic farming in the country, we avoid the use of any drugs.
Chemical and biological means of protection have detrimental consequences for the ecology of the entire planet and every person. Nobody knows how it will all end, not even scientists!
7: “Do this and everything will be like ours”
Another sophisticated lie that gullible farmers are falling for. In the course of our numerous experiments and based on the experience gained, we came to the conclusion that nothing is the same in nature! And, repeating the experiment, it is unlikely that it will be possible to obtain exactly the same result. Even in the same bed, with the same agricultural technology, using the same farming, the same fertilizer, mulching, green manure, the same plants bear fruit differently.
There are different soils, different climates, microclimates, etc. Even the attitude and mood of the person working with the plant, using exclusively natural farming, plays a huge role and can affect the result! In general, you don’t need to expect results the same as in the pictures promoting organic farming in the country, and then if the result is inconsistent, disappointment will not discourage you from moving on!
Love your land, study its specifics and character, observe - and draw your conclusions with good thoughts. Don't believe it, check it. And then organic farming at your dacha will pay off, and you will definitely succeed!
Growing on your own personal plot first of all, environmentally friendly products are the dream and goal of many gardeners. And one of the ways to achieve it was organic farming in the country; practice has proven its effectiveness and increased the ranks of adherents and defenders of this method of organizing gardening and gardening work.
What it is
The ideas of organic farming are not an innovation that appeared at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Few people know that the basics of this method of working with land were developed at the end of the 19th century by agronomist and breeder I.E. Osinsky. But then the turbulent 20th century, with its shift toward intensive agriculture, made his ideas irrelevant. And yet, the method proposed by the scientist was not forgotten, and now, out of a fashionable passion for a non-standard approach to growing different crops, organic farming in the country is a practice that has become familiar to many gardeners.
The terms "organic" and "natural farming" are often used interchangeably. The difference between the natural and organic methods of cultivation is determined when we are talking about the result of the farmer’s activity - obtaining environmentally friendly products and selling them.
In order to position products as organic, it is necessary to obtain a certificate of compliance with the relevant standards, and not only for the vegetables or fruits themselves. The entire farm and the growing technologies it uses must be fully certified, as well as the packaging in which the products are packaged, and even the type of delivery to the consumer.
Organic Farming Basics
At the heart of the organic farming system is a fundamental thesis that defines the land as living system, an organism, influencing which a person can completely destroy the soil ecosystem formed over centuries. As a result, the earth will cease to bear fruit in the way that it is capable of doing so if not for human activity. What do we do as soon as we start working with the land?
Of course, we pick up a shovel and set off to dig, destroy weeds, and also try to dig deeper so that not a single root of harmful plants remains in the garden bed. Why are we doing this? But because everyone does it, did it before us and will do it after us! And if we knew more facts about how soil works, how would our behavior change?
Let's give a few examples. Example. “500 kg of vermicompost per year or a couple of KamAZ trucks of brought manure” During research, scientists found that in the soil of just one hundred square meters, untreated chemicals, there are approximately 200 kg of bacteria and microorganisms, approximately the same number of worms. And all these workers produce 500 kg of vermicompost in 1 year. We appear, obsessed with the idea of cleaning out the garden, digging it up with two shovels, with a tank for treating plants against pests at the ready.
In general, the result is clear: with this approach we will not get even 50 kg. vermicompost per year, because there will be no one to produce it. Nothing! We will bring new land, saturate it with manure and... dig it up again. Example. “Upside down” All microorganisms and bacteria are distributed in the soil in separate layers. Aerobic microorganisms live in the upper layer at a depth of no more than 10 cm. They require a constant supply of oxygen to survive. Thanks to the work of these bacteria, all organic substances are converted into minerals, which provide plant nutrition.
In the lower layer, 10 to 20 cm deep, there are anaerobic bacteria, for which oxygen and high temperature are destructive. Their task is to create humus, which is the basis of soil nutrition. And here again we appear at the dacha with a shovel. Digging and turning over the earth, happily cutting the inverted lump, slamming it a couple of times with this wonderful tool, wiping sweat from the forehead, we mix the layers, and anaerobic bacteria, having got to the top, die from excess oxygen and high temperature, and aerobic ones suffocate in the lower layer and cannot withstand the new temperature regime.
For those who love sports and extreme sports, we can suggest starting to walk on your hands in order to feel the difference in sensations after changing body position and get closer to understanding what happens to the earth after our impact on it.
We dug up the ground and were surprised that the weeds had not disappeared. Why? When digging, fresh weed seeds moved into the lower layers of the soil. They will be there until the next digging, and some of them will tolerate such “storage” in the cool lower soil layers just fine. And to the top we raised weed seeds from the lower layer, which, having access to light, begin to actively develop and grow. But we worked hard and were very tired!
Example. “Not a speck, not a blade of grass” Let’s imagine the following picture: an ideal vegetable garden, even beds “with a string”, no weeds, rows of well-groomed cultivated plants. It's good if this is the result manual labor and patience, rather than liberal treatment with chemicals that kill any weed. And here it is - the long-awaited warmth that everyone has been waiting for. With the onset of truly hot days, our plants become noticeably weaker and stop growing. It’s okay, we’ll water them generously and add fertilizer!
However, when watering, we notice that the water is poorly absorbed; literally, when it rolls off the bed, the top layer of soil acquires light shades and dust forms. Breaks and cracks appear on the paths. At the same time, in the forest, even with prolonged heat, most of the plants continue to actively develop, there is no dust or cracks. The ground is covered with a cushion of leaves, branches, pine needles, and it is impossible to find a single piece of bare soil in the forest. The difference is obvious.
What to do? Continue to dig, carry manure, heroically drag it around the site, overcome difficulties, pour water and treat your back, which took the blow. Or you can stop and think about how to make your life easier. If you stop digging and planting a garden for at least one year, you can see how the earth will begin to recover on its own without our help. This was once called: leaving the land “fallow.” Weeds actively grow on such soil. The earth begins to heal itself, since the weed is the cover of the top layer of soil and the future nutrient medium- after it rots in the winter.
But if you don’t want to stop gardening, you can start applying the principles of organic farming.
There are not many of them, but if you follow them, in a couple of years you can put the soil in order in your dacha and at the same time stop spending a huge amount of time and effort working with the soil. The “DO NOT DIG” principle To implement it you must:
- replace the shovel with a pitchfork, since processing with such a tool causes much less harm;
- purchase a flat cutter and learn how to use it, and if you wish, you can make it yourself ();
- lay out the beds and, if possible, install boxes of any design;
- Replace digging and tillage by loosening the top layer no deeper than 5 cm.
The “Carry out mulching” principle Mulch is a protective layer that performs several functions:
- protection against weathering of the top soil layer;
- maintaining optimal temperature in the soil, protecting it from overheating;
- control of weeds, since mulch suppresses their growth;
- formation optimal conditions for the vital activity of soil microorganisms;
- moisture retention, which will significantly reduce the need for watering;
- when overheated, the mulch layer is processed, turning into organic fertilizer.
Mown grass, weeded weeds (before they form seeds), straw, processed bark, pine needles, leaves, and sawdust can be used as mulch.
The principle of “Helping the earth, fertilizing with “green” green manure fertilizers” Growing green manure allows you to replace the application of manure and chemical fertilizers. They nourish the earth and heal it. These plants include: mustard, phacelia, buckwheat, oilseed radish, beans, lupine, vetch, oats, rye. Features of agricultural technology used in organic farming include:
- application of crop rotation principles and planting planning;
- mixed plantings, in which several types of different crops are planted in the beds, helping each other to develop, repel pests and form a harvest;
- the use of non-chemical methods of controlling diseases and pests;
- replacing chemical fertilizers with organic ones.
Agriculture according to Ovsinsky
In 1899, I. E. Ovsinsky published the book “The New System of Agriculture.” He analyzed the experience and results of farming using deep plowing with a plow turning over a ball of earth, and provided convincing evidence of the harm from this method of tillage. The book provides indicators of increased yields and soil fertility in cases where intervention in the soil structure is minimized. In addition, the scientist proved that the earth, if left alone for a year (not growing any crops), will recover on its own. Organic farming was subsequently built on these principles.
Kizima method
Those who start looking for information about the basics of natural farming will definitely find information about Galina Aleksandrovna Kizima. At 80 years old, she continues to farm independently, calling her plot “a garden for the lazy.” Of course, laziness here should be understood not as doing nothing, but as the ability to grow plants, saving own strength and without doing extra work.
Galina Aleksandrovna is a practitioner, and her proposals about the rules and technologies for growing different crops are not theorizing, but an assessment and demonstration of the actual results obtained.
Its technology is built on three basic principles: no digging, no weeding and no watering. By acting in this way, we not only save our energy, but also help the earth fulfill its purpose: to grow crops. Using Kizima’s books, you can study the principles of natural farming, or, as Galina Aleksandrovna calls it, the biodynamic method of farming, starting from the stage of preparing beds and ending with the cultivation of individual crops.
beds
Beds in organic farming are not just straight rows with beautiful edges. To organize them correctly, you need to work a little. Perhaps this stage of working with the soil will be the most labor-intensive, but incomparable with the efforts that have to be made for digging or plowing.
Firstly, it is necessary to mark out the area for the beds, calculating not only the width of the planting area itself, but also making the correct paths - row spacing. They should be wide. Of course, not everyone is ready to make such an “uneconomical” use of land, making paths 60-80 cm wide, and the beds themselves 45-50 cm wide. But still, increasing the space between plantings to at least 50 cm will allow the gardener to provide the plants with more light, and this will have a positive effect on general condition crops during the growing season and will increase the resulting yield.
Secondly, the beds must be prepared in advance: not on the eve of sowing the plant, but in the fall. There are several ways you can do this. Way. Immediately after harvesting, it is necessary to sow the ridges with green manure and not remove them from the surface until spring. By this time, they will either completely rot or remain as the first layer of mulch, although quite thin, it will have to be further increased after planting the plants. Way. Filling beds with organic matter is essentially the process of forming warm beds. To do this, furrows with a depth of at least 40 cm are dug, and this is the only case when you will have to pick up a shovel when setting up a garden. Next, branches, organic materials, fresh grass, and soil are laid in layers, after which the bed is covered with mulching cloth.
That’s it, now you don’t need to touch it until spring. In the first year of operation, we plant melons, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Further use beds using the principle of crop rotation. Such an organic bed can work effectively for 3-4 years. If organic matter is added in the spring, then soil is added to the planting holes so that the plants do not burn under the influence of temperatures that increase as a result of overheating of the organic layers.
Where to begin
To begin the transition from the classical method to growing plants according to the principles of organic farming in your garden plot, you need to study this technology. It is important to decide whether the gardener is ready to accept such a philosophy of working with the land, or whether he strongly doubts its effectiveness.
If in doubt, you can highlight small area for testing to understand how it all works in practice.
That is, carry out one or two seasons of agricultural work natural ways: stop digging, cover the ground with mulch, plant green manure, stop using chemicals or reduce their amount by at least half. Then all that remains is to compare the results and draw conclusions.
Practice
If a gardener decides to learn the basics of natural farming, he must understand that starting from scratch will not immediately achieve amazing success. The earth must regain its strength, so tangible results will be visible in the second year of using organic agricultural technology. It is also important to remember that using only one of the methods will not lead to the desired result. You can stop digging, but if you do not mulch the soil, treat the plants with chemicals and do not comply with crop rotation requirements, active positive changes will not occur. What does a farmer gain when he begins to maintain his garden in new ways and means:
- Labor costs for sowing and planting plants, weeding and loosening are reduced, while saving time and effort is significant.
- Water consumption is reduced, watering is required less frequently and is not as abundant as with classical agricultural technology.
- Plants get sick less, grow stronger, and increase productivity, so smaller quantities can be planted.
- The composition of the soil is improving, and even heavy clay soils become easier to process.
Minuses
Is organic farming technology ideal? Of course not. On large areas, it is difficult and quite expensive to comply with all the principles of natural farming. financially: for mulching you will have to purchase covering materials; replacing chemicals with biological ones will also be expensive. It is easier to carry out these tasks within a small plot of land, and, nevertheless, the gardener will also need to make certain investments in the purchase of tools, biological products, and mulching materials, if it is impossible to find their natural analogues.
The earth's ecosystem is changing, new viruses and diseases are appearing, which sometimes cannot be combated only with biological products. The earth does not have time to develop immunity against new pathogenic flora. Therefore, in some cases, gardeners either completely stop growing crops that are susceptible to diseases that need to be treated chemicals, or in extreme cases they resort to the use of chemistry. The same applies to pests that appear during the migration of plants from one region to another, especially when crops appear from abroad. As a rule, there are no natural control methods against them yet; in this case, the use of chemistry is also possible.
We used certain methods of natural farming on our own plot when we still lived in the city in our house. Then there were individual successes in certain crops. But it was not possible to achieve a full harvest, due to a lack of attention and, most importantly, as I understand now, due to a lack of integrity in understanding the issue of agriculture.
And only by starting to “apply the whole range of natural farming techniques” did we begin to get a more or less full-fledged harvest vegetable crops in your garden. I will repeat my thought: individual techniques work on their own, but full results can be obtained by applying the entire complex of developments.
We cultivate only the top 5-7 cm of the soil, i.e. we don’t dig the ground! Digging, as well as rotation of the layer during mechanical plowing, leads to mixing of soil layers. And then the aerobic (breathing) soil microorganisms of the upper layer are buried deep in the soil, and the deep anaerobic (non-breathing) “residents” are placed on top, this leads to the destruction of both. When digging, many worms are also “cut off”. So why dig if this destroys the main “miners” of the soil (microorganisms and worms), which form the fertile humus of the soil. Digging also violates the natural porous structure soil. There is only one answer: DON'T DIGGING! We cultivate the soil with a Fokin flat cutter and hoe. If desired, you can use a garden fork to “loose” dense areas without turning over the ground.
Cover the soil with mulch(a thick layer of organic matter), this allows you to retain valuable moisture in the soil in the summer, prevents the growth of “weeds”, acts as a fertilizer, promotes the activity of soil microorganisms, and also protects the soil from freezing in winter. As you can see, there are many “pluses”. The meaning is the following: in nature, the soil is always covered! For example, in a leafy forest, in a meadow plant residues. We do the same. All beds all year round We are covered with hay, wood chips, sawdust, cardboard, we use everything we have at hand!
We use green manure plants. Green manure - fast growing plants with a developed root system. We use it for structuring and deep loosening of the soil. Some of them enrich the soil with useful substances (legumes). Green manure tops are incorporated into the soil as fertilizer or used as mulch. For example, my mother talks with delight about her experience of planting mustard (green manure) in the garden, immediately after harvesting. He says that in the spring these beds, even without digging, have surprisingly loose and fertile soil.
Mulched beds go into winter in this form.
Crop rotation. Every season we change the place where crops are planted, i.e. we change the purpose of the beds. Why? Because plants, in the course of their life, produce substances that are poisonous for the same crop, i.e. this is how plants fight competitors of their own species.
Mixed plantings. We try to plant different crops together. We are moving away from monoculture, with all its disadvantages (competition, pests). Various plants have roots of different lengths, peak activity in different time, they need different nutrients. Therefore, they do not compete, but often contribute to the creation of favorable conditions for their “neighbor.” There are very successful classic combinations: onions with carrots; marigolds planted next to cabbage repel pest butterflies; phacelia mixed with potatoes reduces the population Colorado potato beetle etc.
We do not use any synthetic fertilizers, poisons, growth accelerators, etc. These additives disrupt the natural balance and are poisons for all living organisms, including humans.
The use of natural microorganisms and fertilizers. We liked using homemade fertilizer and making an infusion of herbs. It’s simple, fill a 50-liter barrel with water, put plant tops in there, more nettles, a little wormwood, any herbs you want... Place it in the sun. After a few days (readiness is determined by the pungent odor), the infusion of natural microorganisms and herbal extracts with nutrients is ready. It must be used additionally diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. By watering our beds with this solution, we noticed a noticeable increase in the plants; they began to look stronger and healthier.
What are the benefits of using these methods?
First, healthy living soil is formed: structured, with many soil channels. In the beds under mulch, the soil is loose, soft, moist, even on hot, dry days it is teeming with life, a huge number of microorganisms, insects and worms. This year we practically didn’t water our beds; it all came down to watering and fertilizing several times a season. From year to year the soil becomes more fertile and the layer of humus increases! And then the essence of farming is fully revealed (making land!)
Secondly, there is less work: no digging, no watering. We weed much less, because there are fewer weeds. And we have a different attitude towards weeds, they are more “employees” of the garden, more often they do not interfere, at least until they obviously begin to crush the “cultivated plant”. There are fewer pests, which means less hassle associated with them.
Thirdly, we get complete, healthy, tasty fruits that are well stored due to the absence of diseases in them.
As well as a decrease in acreage with a constant increase in the quantity and quality of the harvest!
We don’t destroy weeds, we control them. In moderation it does not interfere.
— We try to use stable, time-tested plant varieties. Zoned, folk selection and from trusted suppliers. We do not use hybrid seeds; we create our own seed fund.
— To cultivate virgin soil for future beds, we used a “chicken tractor.” In the summer, chickens live and graze on virgin soil in a mobile pen, eat vegetation, fertilize the soil, and partially loosen it. Then we move the chickens further, and on the prepared soil we loosen 5 cm, mulch and the bed is ready.
— Holzer recommends constructing natural reservoirs and water reservoirs on the site. Lake or pond. They will help improve the level groundwater in the area, humidity during the dry period, stabilize the temperature during short-term frosts. That is, reservoirs are created favorable conditions for the garden and vegetable garden. So last year we dug a pond and a lake on the estate.
— We create different microclimatic zones on the site. Protective structures were built from the excavated soil near the reservoirs. earthworks(ridges), 1.5 and 3 m high.
Now, on the terraces, slopes of ridges (especially the southern slope), and coastal zones, warm or humid, windless favorable conditions have been created for the growth of appropriate plants.
Season 2013
The first beds on the estate began to be planted in the fall of 2011, and in 2012 they continued to increase the area under crops. We have a large plot - 1.5 hectares. In the first year of development, the question arose: where is the best place to locate the vegetable garden? We need to find the zone of greatest vegetation. That is, the place where the vegetation is most lush, tall, strong grass. Vegetables will grow beautifully there too.
In the past gardening season of 2013, we set the task of providing ourselves with basic vegetable crops for the summer and root vegetables for the winter, in order to eliminate the purchase of vegetables as much as possible. We have prepared several new beds; we are making the beds stationary, with passages between them. The peculiarity of our site is that it is located on virgin soil, a former hayfield. There are gullies running through the estate that collect flood waters. Lowland, the place is quite wet, there are mature trees along the ravines on the site. The vegetable garden was located next to summer kitchen and home, in the area of permanent residence of people.
We have our own observations: in Bashkortostan last years hot and dry, with virtually no precipitation in the second half of summer. Therefore, beds with root crops located in partial shade (sun in the morning, shade in the afternoon) gave the best results, since they did not dry out in the heat.
In spring and autumn, planting continued on the estate fruit bushes and trees, planting hedges along the border of the site.
This year we tried to implement all the Natural Farming methods recommended above in a comprehensive manner. And it “worked” - the harvest was obtained and they worked with interest. We observed all stages of plant germination, since we live on the estate all the time.
All summer we ate cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, new potatoes, and carrots. For the winter we prepared pumpkin, turnips, potatoes, carrots, beets, radishes, and rutabaga. And we received all these gifts without much trouble.
The son demonstrates the summer harvest.
Our daily diet now includes dishes made from our own vegetables! We receive great pleasure from the gifts of the earth. And the most important thing is that the work is going on for the future, because the soil is becoming more and more fertile and ready to produce high yields.
Albert Ibatullin,
settlement of family estates (village) “Chik-Elga”,
Republic of Bashkortostan
Virgin soil processing. In the first year in advance (or in early spring, as soon as the snow has melted) cover with mulch up to 50 cm, we mainly use hay. In May, we rake the mulch to the side and hoe the top 5-7 cm and loosen it. If necessary, use a fork to “loose” dense areas. That's it, the soil is ready! We use mulch again in this bed.
Transplanting. We spread the mulch, make a hole, and plant a bush. We move the mulch tightly around the stem, in a thick layer of 20-30 cm. Watering is not necessary; as a rule, it is damp under the mulch. Feed with herbal infusion two or three times in June, then observe, if it is damp under the mulch, there is no need to water.
Planting seeds. The bed is already covered with mulch 15-20 cm thick. We spread the mulch in rows and make furrows. Press the mulch (hay) well between the rows. We sow. Even if the furrow dries out, the spaces between the rows under the mulch are moist.
Planting large seeds. Garlic, onion sets, beans, beans, peas, sunflower. We dig through the mulch and stick in a seed.
Potato. We plant under hay, directly on the surface of the ground, or even on a layer of mulch. Cover the top of the tubers with a thick layer, and as they sprout, add mulch again around the bushes.
Weeds. There are few weeds in the treated soil under the mulch, but you need to monitor them so that they do not grow too much. If you feel that they are starting to interfere with your plantings, trim them with a flat cutter or by hand and leave them right there as mulch.
Autumn tillage. After harvesting, we cover the beds again with mulch. If desired, you can first loosen the soil with a flat cutter.
Currently, the popularity of growing vegetables at home is growing rapidly. Many residents of large cities and megalopolises are starting to buy suburban areas to provide for yourself healthy foods food with minimal pesticide content. Such an activity does not require large investments and can be done by every average person. Therefore, every year the number of gardeners and gardeners is growing steadily.
About the technique
In order for your future activity to bring good results, you need to take care of it in advance. proper preparation soil composition. Important, so that the soil in the selected area was breathable and loose with a high content nutrients. In this case, you will be able to grow strong and fertile crops.
If you intend to treat the soil composition with chemicals, then such an action will not only saturate all food products with unsafe toxins, but will also begin to kill valuable microorganisms in the substrate, which is why the development of plants will not be complete.
An important condition for proper organic growing is comfortable lighting. For this reason, when choosing a suitable place for planting vegetable or fruit crops, give preference open areas, where daylight hours last at least six hours.
When preparing a garden bed for an upcoming activity, it is not necessary to dig up the soil. Instead, the soil must be carefully loosened using a fork. For cleaning rows from weeds and others unwanted plants you can use a flat cutter.
All preparatory work include leveling beds and the space between them in a ratio of 1:2:
- the optimal width of the bed is 40 centimeters;
- row spacing is 80 centimeters;
If you are using the same bed, digging up the soil is not necessary, because... As crops grow and develop, humus will begin to accumulate in the soil, which will give it looseness and moisture.
An important feature of the treatment is the mulching of row spacing. In this case, you will have to use:
- sawdust;
- humus;
- I will weed the grass;
- peat;
Organic farming in the country should begin with a small bed, the size of which is constantly increasing.
Where to begin
You need to start organically growing vegetable and fruit crops by choosing the right one. planting material. It is highly not recommended to take any seeds that catch your eye, because you will not have any guarantees of their quality. The selection of suitable specimens should be taken with special responsibility.
Do not forget, What individual species plants require complex care and increased care. In addition, they are highly susceptible to all sorts of diseases and pests, which are quite difficult to get rid of. Among such plants are tomatoes.
To reduce hassle When growing plants organically, it is necessary to give preference to those varieties of vegetable crops that boast strong immunity and resistance to pathogens of infections and other diseases.
Explore morphological features Specific plants can be found using instructional videos or instructions that come with a packet of seeds. For farming to be as successful as possible, it is necessary to provide planted green spaces a number of mandatory supplements:
When preparing a good substrate for farming in the country, it is not necessary to use fertilizers. When making large quantity fertilizers, there is a risk of the development of many pests, which is associated with an increase in the growth rate of the crop. Slow-growing individuals independently develop strong immunity and are able to withstand many dangers without additional intervention from the summer resident.
It is known that yields decrease when a crop is grown in the same place for several years. This is not strange, because in the place of constant planting, characteristic harmful microorganisms accumulate, which not only impair fruiting, but also pose a great danger to the plants themselves. To prevent this from happening, it is enough to change the planting location on a specific bed every year.
For such purposes, you can use a special diagram and table that mentions the order of planting plants in the beds. It is known that some green spaces are susceptible to the same diseases, so they cannot be planted in one place. To give you an idea, eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes and peppers are all vulnerable to the same problems. The same goes for watermelon, squash, cucumbers and pumpkin.
Caring for plants during organic farming in the country
If you intend to see the result of your work in the near future, garden crops quality care must be provided. Mulch is used as good protection. In addition, this procedure effectively fights weeds and pests. It is important that the mulch layer is within 2.5-5 centimeters.
Mulch based on organic materials, because it can be decomposed. It is known that weeds attract all kinds of pests, which, in turn, carry various diseases and infections. Weed plantations also reduce the content of nutrients and minerals in the soil, which negatively affects the growth and development of crops. For this reason, every gardener should know how to effective fight with weeds.
An important condition for successful organic farming– balanced watering. It must be carried out taking into account some subtleties:
- watering must be regular, otherwise the plant will not be able to develop well enough;
- Watering is carried out directly under the trunk of the plants, because wet leaves and other green parts strongly attract pests;
- Spraying and watering using the sprinkling method cannot be carried out. It is better to supply water with a hose, which is placed directly at the trunk;
In order for the crop to bloom fully and yield maximum, it is necessary to provide the plants with free access to a source of oxygen. This is also done using root fertilizing To make the procedure as successful as possible, it is better to plant plants at large distances from each other. It is not difficult to prevent the development of all kinds of fungal formations. It is enough to maintain a good air flow and regularly weed the bed.
If planted along the edges of the bed flowering plants, they will begin to attract useful “guests” who will not only protect the crop from pests, but will also become good pollinators.
Organic growing of vegetable and fruit plants will be successful if you combine it with planting marigolds, zinnias, nasturtiums, purple coneflowers and other flowers. Despite a number of difficulties that may arise, you must understand that the end result is worth all the effort.
Mulching the soil
Starting to grow plants in your garden is easy. The main thing is to correctly follow the basic recommendations and avoid irreparable mistakes. An important principle for the successful development of planted crops is to mulch the soil. This action implies providing reliable protection with the help of covering materials. Mulching is not allowed strong hypothermia of the soil and does not allow it to overheat under the influence of direct sun rays. In addition, it protects the soil from moisture evaporation and the rapid growth of weeds.
Under natural conditions, the earth is always covered with growing or dried grass, leaves and other organic deposits, so it practically does not dry out in the summer and does not succumb to intense frosts in winter. When using mulch, it is possible to provide favorable conditions similar to natural ones. Subsequently, the used layer rots and turns into humus, which increases soil fertility. Choice good materials must be responsible. It is better to give preference to various natural raw materials, including fallen leaves, mown straw, sawdust, pine needles, peat, sand and other devices. Only organic mulch can become humus, and the use of a small layer of sand improves soil fertility.
Do not refuse to use green manure - special plants that have a positive effect on the soil composition and can be a good alternative to organic and mineral fertilizing. They are characterized by high speed growth and ability to provide soil reliable protection from the harmful effects of direct sunlight and wind. In addition, such plants, as they grow, become food for beneficial living microorganisms, accumulating a number of certain substances. They also form channels in the soil through which moisture and air enter. It is better to plant green manure in temporarily empty areas, before and after planting the main garden crops.
While studying organic farming at the dacha from scratch, be sure to enrich the soil with microorganisms. In our latitudes, cold climatic conditions reduce the number of such inhabitants, so it is restored only in mid-summer. With a lack of such substances in the soil, the growth of cultivated plants and yield indicators rapidly deteriorate. To reliably enrich the soil, it is enough to use special products based on living microorganisms. Among them, proven over years and experience Many gardeners use compost, which helps quickly saturate the substrate with useful elements. In addition, the active substances from the compost allow plants to absorb mineral fertilizers more efficiently.
Many summer residents and gardeners are accustomed to fertilizing the soil organic fertilizers. For this reason, they often use organic mulch and water the plants with herbal infusions. During the process, you can leave potato tops on the beds and prepare compost from all plant waste.
If you want to engage in organic farming, you need to take into account such a feature as the influence of green spaces growing nearby. It is known that some plant species coexist freely with each other, while others cannot tolerate such “neighborhood” and negatively affect the soil and their neighbors.
For successful crop maintenance Crop rotation must be observed. It is known that not all plants are able to bear fruit annually in the same place without replanting.
Let's sum it up
Anyone can grow healthy vegetable and fruit crops in their dacha. To do this, you need to “roll up your sleeves” and start acting, despite any difficulties that may arise in the process.
Study the topic in as much detail as possible, watch training videos and take advice from professionals. This will definitely bear fruit.