Self-sufficient gardening - Growing vegetables in a shade garden

Today we harvested a few more vegetables from the garden.
We harvested potatoes (which were grown under only 2 hours of sunlight!), plenty of celery, plenty of cucumbers (in half-shade), and a few tomatoes (which are now slowing due to the lack of sunlight). The tomatoes in shade grow, but the fruits stay green and grow slowly. However, with just 3 hours sunlight, the plants gave a nice crop.

Our pumpkin plant is growing very long, it has several female flowers, let's hope that we can harvest in a couple of months a dozen of nice muskat de provence pumpkins!

I cut the zucchini. The plants were not cropping anymore, due to the lack of sunlight. I guess they are not adequate to shade gardens, and occupy much space. It's much better to grow the prolific cucumbers!! Each plant gave about 5-10 fruits.
We also have some beans growing and cropping (of exotic varieties).

Our jerusalem artichokes, chinese artichokes, yacon, skirret, taro, scorzonera, and tiger nuts, are still growing, and hopefully producing a nice crop of roots under. The yacon plant is huge, with giant leaves and nearly 2 meters high. I had to protect it from the wind.

We also have one plant of celeriac and a few new kohl-rabi. And our good king henry is growing fantastically well, with plenty of its spinach-like leaves for us to cook. The swiss-chard is another crop growing very well even under the shade of a tree.

The nice thing is, with so much mulching and shade, there is no need to water the garden for several days in a row.

The planning of our garden

CLICK IN THE FIGURE FOR SEEING IT IN HIGH RESOLUTION

Vegetables that grow well in our garden with little sunlight
Our garden stays between the city building in a half-shadow, humid place. There is plenty of trees and birds. At most, a few places receive about 4 hours of sunlight per day. Plenty of our vegetables seem to be growing well, such as the celery, lettuce, kohlrabi, rucula, broccoli, swiss chard, carrots, beets, and plenty of herbs. The potatoes are growing fast although slighty leggy. The tomatoes, squash and pumpkins are growing slower, since the place is quite cool. Inside house, in a southern window, they grow really fast! The peas are fruiting but are doing quite poor. Interestingly, the spinach is also very slow, but I guess it was due to the unseasonable warm weather.

A brilliant idea: surround garden edges with colorful flowers!
We have put plenty of flowers surrounding its edges, such as tagete, aquilegia, phlox and petunias. It was a wonderful idea to make an edge of fire-colours in one side with tagetes, and with white, blue, rose and purple colors, in the other side, with petunai, phlox, aquilegia and fuchsia!

Starting from seed: better start indoors and then transplant
The herbs grow really well. We have a few beans sprouting indoors (the mung bean is very slow outside). We also have plenty of celery and basil that started from seed (germinate slowly but it is so nice to see the tiny plants). One word of advice, the celery and kohlrabi seem better when seeded first in trays. The chinese artichokes and tiger nuts also failed to sprout. We have tiger nuts but we bought the plant. The jerusalem artichokes grow surprisingly fast and easily. They seem to require little water. The plastic protection, mulching and hair were excellent deterrents to the slugs and to prevent drying. Yesterday, we planted then sweet and black potatoes. What also failed to sprout were the quinoa and millet, we will try again. And the lentils and all legumes sprout best first indoord and then transplanted to a rich compost-soil afterwards. The problem is really since the weather is so dry (an entire month with no rain!), in places without mulching or compost, the tiny seedlings do poorly. Finnaly, sowing by the moon is a wise idea, if you want to avoid poorly growing seedlings.

Raised beds
Weeds is not a problem anymore. It was just in April they were vigorous. Now, a brief weeding is enough, considering the fact that our raised beds never gain any signficant amount of weeds! However, in the raised beds, the soil is richer but seems to dry faster, since it is elevated. This is a problem. There is some difference for a few cultures, but it is early to say, how better the crops fare in raised beds comparing to normal soil cultures. Mulching definitely helps, if we only add it after the crops are already 5cm high, to avoid the slug problem.

100 Square meters: enough for partial food self-sufficiency
Each side in the figure is about 10 per 10 m. We have plenty of lettuce, celery, rucula, potatoes and carrots. I guess the exciting part would be to see how much harvest will the root crops give (considering the alternatives we have selected: potatoes, yacon, tiger nuts, sweet potatoes, skirret, jerusalem artichokes...). We also have a dozen of tomato, cucumber and pumpkin plants, but definitely these are growing slower outside, but already have a few flower tips. It seems that this size (10 x 10 m, 100 square meters) is already enough for providing a substancial ammount of food for daily supply (except cereals, fruits and rice). With dozens of plants for each food, more than enough will be harvested in a few months, even in our garden with little sunlight hours.

In summary, we are very happy with the idea of growing our own food!
CLICK IN THE FIGURE FOR SEEING IT IN HIGH RESOLUTION

Eventual horta urbana (em escrita)

Como estámos no início de uma nova depressao económica, e se os anos trinta se repetissem, teremos que voltar à terra.
Este pode ser o possível projecto de uma horta urbana para sustentar uma família, usando agricultura biológica, sistemas de mulching (isto é, restos orgânicos para fazer cobertura do solo; pode-se usar restos de comida, composto, folhas, aparas de relva, palha e até cartao) e lagos artificiais (onde a água da chuva é recolhida) ou depressoes cavadas no solo (onde a água escorre e se acumula para criar um lencol de água subterraneo no local das culturas). Estrume pode ser aplicado para aumentar a fertilidade do solo. No entanto convém referir que o lavrar e movimentar do solo reduz a sua fertilidade, portanto convém evitar destruir a estrutura já nele existente, cavando por exemplo muito superficialmente, ou colocando sucessivamente camadas de mulching que formam depois novo solo (ver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-dig_gardening).

Penso que as variedades tradicionais (ainda dispersas por aí por muita gente mais idosa das aldeias) sao as mais adaptaveis (e até gostosas!), em vez da opcao de variedades à venda em supermercados. Já para nao falar evitar as sementes de variedades híbridas porque sao inferteis e nao permitem a recolha de sementes que permite perpetuar a espécie (a prática de guardar e armazenar sementes é altamente aconselhável!). Nem vou sequer entrar em consideracao com os transgénicos, esses representando um gravíssimo perigo (nao vou entrar em detalhes mas visto ter formacao universitária em biologia molecular poderei explicar isso em detalhe caso queiram)

Quanto a espécies de interesse, apontaria leguminosas como grao, feijao, feijoca (a planta dura mais que um ano!), e lentilhas (ocupam pouco espaco e produzem muita proteína).
Raízes como batata, cenoura e nabo (alternativas: pastinaca, batata doce, e existem ainda outros tubérculos mais raros: existem desde os climas mais tropicais até aos de climas mais frios), os espargos (perenes e muito resistentes)
Outras espécies: espinafres, beringelas no verao, uma escolha muito diversa de cereais (incluindo espécies resistentes como o amaranto, a quinoa, o sorgo, o centeio, o millet...)
E ainda há outras espécies perenes e comestíveis que irei escrever em breve.



Espaco de 30 x 30 m, pequeno talhao

Links de Auto-Suficiencia

Numa altura em que o futuro se avizinha gradualmente complicado, a auto-suficiencia e os modos de vida ecológicos tem ganho uma nova vida na Europa e um pouco pelo mundo.
Quer seja rural, ou na cidade, há muita coisa fácil que se pode fazer para ganhar mais auto-suficiencia, aquele regresso à boa vida, à vida sem pesos.

http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/chicken/self_sufficiency/index.php
http://www.downsizer.net/
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/
http://www.steppingoff.co.uk/
http://www.country-enterprise.co.uk/
http://www.viableselfsufficiency.co.uk/

http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/6243/diversity3.html
sobre identificacao e tipos de cogumelos: em breve

Biointensive (organic) agriculture

John Jeavons, one organic agricultor has designed years ago, a system of intensive biodynamic farming that produced yields of food around several-fold larger than conventional farms! We can feed ourselves in a much small space, nearly 40 per 40 square meter, and leave three quarters of similar land for wild nature and animals.

"This miniaturization of agriculture is not new. Small-scale sustainable agriculture has supported such widely dispersed civilizations as the Chinese 4,000 years ago, and the Mayans, South Americans, and Greeks 2,000 years ago.
Ecology Action has dedicated almost a quarter-century to rediscovering the scientific principles that underlie these traditional systems. The people in Biosphere II in Arizona have been using techniques based on those outlined by Ecology Action: they raised 80 percent of their food for two years within a "closed system." Their experience demonstrates that a complete year's diet for one person can be raised on the equivalent of 3,403 square feet!"

"This is an improvement over traditional Chinese practices, which required 5,000 to 7,200 square feet. In contrast, it takes commercial agriculture 22,000 to 42,000 square feet to grow all the food for one person for one year, while bringing in large inputs from other areas. At the same time, commercial agricultural practices are causing the loss of approximately six pounds of soil for each pound of food produced.
Biointensive mini-farming techniques make it possible to grow food using 99 percent less energy in all forms - human and mechanical, 66 percent to 88 percent less water, and 50 percent to 100 percent less fertilizer, compared to commercial agriculture. They also produce two to six times more food and build the soil."

Strawberries grown in a city balcony; tasty harvest!

HOW MUCH LAND DO WE NEED TO FEED OURSELVES, OVER A YEAR:

This is, 32 meters x 32 meters for a property to cleverly produce all our necessary food (1 person for a year!) or around 1000m2 (a quarter of an acre, a tenth of hectare).
In chinese practices 42 x42 meters is necessary for producing food for feeding a person over one year (around 1800m2 or half an acre). Conventional agriculture needs around one hectare, 10000m2 or 100m x 100m).



The Biointensive Method

"The basics of this whole-system approach can be summarized as follows:
Most life in nature occurs at the interface of soil, water, air and sun. Biointensive soil preparation practices create growing beds with more surface area to maximize the effect of nature's life processes. Double-dug beds, with soil loosened to a depth of 24 inches, aerate the soil, facilitate root growth, and improve water retention. The health and vigor of the soil are maintained through the use of compost. Close seeding spacing is used to protect the soil microorganisms, reduce water loss, and maximize yields. Companion planting facilitates the optimal use of nutrients, light and water, encourages beneficial insects and creates a vibrant mini-ecosystem within the garden. The use of open-pollinated seeds helps to preserve genetic diversity and enables gardeners to develop their own acclimatized cultivars.

A focus on the production of calories for the gardener and carbon for the soil ensures that both the gardener and the soil will be adequately fed and that the farm will be sustainable.
How can the soil's nutrient fertility be preserved with agriculture continuously removing nutrients as one crop is harvested after another? One answer is surprising. Each person's urine and manure contain approximately enough nutrients to produce enough food to feed that person. However, those nutrients are not enough when they are spread thinly over the one-half to one acre that it takes mechanized commercial agriculture to produce that person's food.
Biointensive mini-farms require much less area to produce the same yield of crops, so the nutrients contained in one person's wastes can be applied in a more concentrated way. This enables the nutrients to be fully effective, and high yields can result.

Because of this higher productivity, Biointensive practices could allow one-half to three-quarters of the world to be left in wild for the preservation of plant and animal diversity.
It has been said that Biointensive practices might make it possible to grow food for all the people in the US in just the area now used for lawns. This possibility could mean thriving agriculturally self-reliant cities with 'green belts' to produce all their food."

The same results are obtained in calculations from other people, by practical experience:
http://thesietch.org/mysietch/greenspree/2007/07/17/self-sufficiency/ 0.1-0.4 acre per person or 4-people family

That would be roughly 30-40 meters per 30-4o meters square land in a property.
We could grow about 10 main cultures in ten 10x10m squares, which would give our 30x30m big square

This is a one-acre square of land for most food self-sufficiency.

These garlic were grown in a city balcony and close to each other, in a small container

However when considering water catchment, compost and grey water treatment, solar and wind energy, wood for fuel, possibly goats for milk, one should have at least 3-5 acres, which is roughly 10 times the size for plant-based food self-sufficiency.

I think a square of quarter-acre for vegetable production (as suggested), plus another quarter-acre for an house and energy/water facilities, plus another two quarter-acres for one orchard and a wildlife forest garden and a goat place, that give a good one acre for self-sufficiency.


Please check our drawing for a self-sufficiency property:






One common mistake is expecting too much land for self-sufficiency.
Our tenth of our quarter-acre is enough for producing potatoes for a year for a couple.
Another mistake is to expect 100% self-sufficiency. Neither is desirable neither humanly possible. Some food is still very cheap. It is more desirable by promoting local shares of different self-sufficiency families to create the necessary abundance of food for everyone.

Please check these amazing links for further insight:

-http://thesietch.org/mysietch/greenspree/2007/07/17/self-sufficiency/ (calculation for food self-sufficiency)
-http://www.riot4austerity.org/blog/?p=4502 (fantastic assay)
-http://www.go-self-sufficient.com/findplace.htm (a personal story)
-http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080315123610AA1VlAu
-http://www.colouritgreen.co.uk/selfsufficiency.htm
-http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/community/self-sufficiency/302-how-much-land-needed-practice-self-sufficiency.html

*Feel free to share this information and text*

A solução para todos os problemas do mundo está num jardim

"The solution for all problems in the world in a garden"

Vídeo fantástico! Fantastic video!
Greening the desert:



Link http://youtube.com/watch?v=sohI6vnWZmk

Na realidade com um jardim podemos obter paz interior, paz relacional, abrigo, comida, medicina natural e grátis, inspiração e realização, água...

O praticante de permacultura desenhou um swale (cavou uma vala no deserto), ao longo de 5 hectares, e nas bordas mais altas, aplicou cobertura de solo (mulching) com espessura de 1.5 metros, de restos e "lixos" vegetais. Depois a água da rara chuva fica retida na vala e infiltra-se mais lentamente no solo. Nas bordas plantam-se dum lado mais exposto árvores fixadores de azoto/nitrogénio e de crescimento rápido (pioneering species) e do outro lado primeiro palmeiras, árvores de fruto tropicais como figos, romãs, goiabas (Psidium guajava), entre outros

Abril 2008, em Viena e já com plantinhas aqui!

Olá a todos,

Desde Marco que estou a viver em Viena com a minha companheira.

Saudades da varanda em Braga que creio estar a ser tratada pelo senhorio enquanto fico aqui até ao Verao.

No entanto, aqui já iniciei uma varanda verde (embora muito menor) dividida com o senhor dono da casa austriaco que por acaso também é policia como o senhorio de Braga! Vejam a coincidencia!
Semeei rúculas, rabanetes e agriao, e compramos um tomilho e um levístico, além dos pequenos tomateiros, pimenteiros e salsa frisada que já estavam nesta pequena nossa varanda.
O único inconveniente é a sua soberba exposicao a sul. Exige que reguemos as plantas todos os dias, mesmo quando o tempo aqui ainda é primaveril e ainda nao muito quente.

Rute: aproveito para te perguntar, quase leias este post, que tal foi o terreno que compraste, onde foi e como está a ser? Temos uma ideia semelhante também pro nosso futuro...

Alem disso temos lido algumas coisas de agricultura biodinamica e auto-suficiencia, misturados com os planos e sonhos do futuro. Existe em minha opiniao, um certo sentido de urgencia neste nosso reconectar (ja lá dizia o Rudolf Steiner), vem as crises da energia, da economia e dos precos da comida, e nao há nada como voltarmo-nos para a natureza, fazer alguma criatividade e cultivarmos parte da nossa comida e gastos mensais.

Uma ideia interessante que acho que se devia ter, era todos nós que fazemos estas coisas, guardarmos as sementes das nossas variedades para um dia quem sabe partilharmos entre todos.

Como fazer Pão, Iogurte, Leite de soja e Tofu em casa

Olá!
Este é um post à parte das coisinhas verdes, um pouco mais artesanal.

Esta semana decidi expressar a minha criatividade e além do iogurte natural, cuja receita vos presenteei num dos últimos posts, fiz também pela primeira vez o meu pão e leite de soja.

Ora, fazer pão caseiro é algo do outro mundo.
É algo intrinsicamente humano e da nossa civilização.
É um prazer pessoal e uma delícia provar um pão acabado de cozer. E deixa um incrível aroma a padaria no ar!
Inspirei-me num documentário que passou há uns meses na RTP2 que se chamava, creio, o pão das nossas gentes e mostrava como, quer os portugueses, quer outras culturas como o indianos,árabes, palestinos, africanos ou orientais, faziam o seu pão.

Basta comprar um pouco de fermento de padeiro vivo, e misturar 20g deste com três colheres de sopa de farinha de trigo integral e deixar num recipiente coberto por uma pano durante 1h, com um pouco de água ligeiramente quente (esta é a fase da activação do fermento que é vivo). No final a farinha deverá ter "crescido".
Depois, mistura-se 500g de farinha ao fermento e mistura-se bem com água quente, amassando e amassando até obter uma massa que não cole. Deixar coberta por um pano 1 a 4 horas.
De seguida, moldar as formas dos pães, deixar novamente coberto por um pano uns vinte minutos para crescer de novo e agora é só cozer durante uns 35min a 200ºC. Provar o pão quentinho, com manteiga, é uma delícia!

O leite de soja ainda mais fácil é de se fazer.
E poupa-se imenso dinheiro.
Basta demolhar durante a noite 120g de feijões de soja biológica, e depois triturar em um litro de água. Coar e ferver durante 20min, coar de novo e deixar arrefecer. O leite de soja mantém-se no frigorífico durante 3 dias. O coado antes da fervura chama-se okara e presumivelmente serve para engrossar bolos e sopas e é uma excelente fonte de fibra. O tofu obtém-se deixando o leite de soja coagular durante 20min com cloreto de magnésio ou nigari.

No fim de semana, colocarei aqui fotografias.

Conselhos ecológicos e Como fazer iogurte natural

- Guardar água das chuvas para regar as plantas, com várias bacias grandes que adquiri
- Lavar a louça numa pequena bacia poupa também imensa água
- Encher uma garrafa cheia de água e colocar no autoclismo!
- Fazer Sabão natural (http://consciencia-social.blogspot.com/2006/11/sabo-natural-em-casa.html e http://cantinhoverde.blogspot.com/2007/04/fazer-sabo-natural-make-natural-soap.html)
- Fazer Yogurte natural (aquecer leite a 85ºC, bem quente mas sem ferver; esterilizar uma thermos com água muito quente e depois deixar o leite aquecido a arrefecer lá dentro até cerca dos 45ºC, isto é quente, mas sem queimar ao toque; inocular um meio iogurte comercial natural para meio litro de leite e deixar durante a noite; no dia seguinte terás um delicioso Yogurte natural, quanto melhor o leite, mais cremoso e gostoso! ps: não morri ainda!)

Entretanto encomendei diversos e espantosos livros sobre temas "verde" pela amazon que deverei receber precisamente nas próximas semanas, depois conto as sugestões!

Growing your food in containers - how much for your self-sufficiency?

Suppose you have a 10m wide balcony
You grow your vegetables for your house-needs and ask:
How much is possible for your self-sufficiency?

1) First, our story (after our first year of harvests, a small-scale container experiment) growing food on your balcony
In 2007 we grew:
4 tomato plants (one per container), several containers of lettuce in spring and now in autumn, as well as radish, turnips, endive and rucula; 1 container with two peppers (few ones), 1 of potatoes (only for a week), 2 containers with peas, 2 with chickpeas, 2 with lentils (which were enough for 2 meals each, the usual for a week); only one container with strawberries which gave a very small but tasty crop, 4 brocculi, 2 eggplants which gave very small yields, some leeks and this was my humble first year experience. Some things had plenty of success and nice yields, other not so much but we were also not putting many expectations. This is more of a hobby and a soulful artistic activity for me.


2) Our plans for a realistic 1month self-sufficiency in a balcony (1 year growing) Edible container gardening
Clearly it depends on how much food you use, and on your diet
But we suppose a good uninterreupted harvest of veggies over a entire month, for a good supply (maybe lets say aprox more than half of your food comes from the garden)
I will try a small experience this year.
Grow in my 10x1m balcony vegetables for a month self-sufficiency (indeed the experiment is already running and greens coming to our meals!)
Unfortunely my lovely soul-mate and companion love is living abroad and will only follow this at distance ...
Helder I hope you fell also inspired by this!
And the same applies to many of you dear readers you come here for observing my funny nature-dedicated hobby!

I plan for the following:
6 containers of tomatoes, 2 with eggplants (half-month), 2 containers with peppers, 1 with a courgette and 1 bigger with potatoes, 2-3 containers with peas, 3 with lentils, 2 with broculli or cauliflower, 3 containers with turnips, 4 with lettuce and a few others with other salad greens, 2 with leeks, 2 with dozens of garlics, 2 full of radish, 3 of strawberries, 1 with kohi rabi and maybe adquire a few more berries (i am falling in love with their diversity)

... and maybe i am being overly optimistic!
But I remembered from the book conversations with god this important idea: Serve nature and Life, and you're serving the purpose of your life, and of yourself and all other beings

and this way we also aim at a more natural and soulfull way of living...


3) Lastly:

How many containers to grow for a one year self-sufficiency?
How many plants for true self-sufficiency? (Of course lets assume a continuous sowing and growing for a continuous supply over a year, which in some cases is not very easy, since some plants do not grow in cold weather such as tomatoes, and would need greenhouses. The key is clearly vegetable storage, which will spoken of on another day)


The total of containers for a year in underlined:
Tomatoes (sun facing walls, rich soil): 6 plants for summer epoch, meditteranean climates (and 18 others, for spring, autumn and winter, in greehouse or indoors), 24 in total, 1 plant per container
Eggplant (lots of heat and sun, rich soil): 4 plants for a epoch (16 in a year), 1 plant per container
Peppers (lots of heat and sun, rich soil): 24 containers of two plants, 2 per every month
Courgette (1-2 per big container): 12 big containers for a year?
Potatoes (2-3 plants per big container): 12 big containers for a year?
Fruit trees: not suitable for containers, try berries instead (3 containers with different berrie bushes should supply you with a good crop already)
Strawberries: at least 4 flat containers with some plants, for solely a spring-summer harvest
Garlics: 12 containers, each containing a dozen bulbs, should be enough
Leeks: 24 containers, each with a few plants, should be enough
Peas: 18 containers, sow 3 containers (4plants each) every two months
Lentils: lets assume, could be 6 containers (4plants each) for 2 months, that is a total of 18 for a year
Brocculi: these you can grow 2 plants per container for half month, grow 2 containers for month, 24 in total?
Cauliflower: never tried, but assume also 24 in total
Cabbages: does not grow well in containers, try 24 big containers for a year supply ?
Radish: sow 2 containers full of them every month, 24 in total
Lettuce: sow a dozen plants (4 containers), every month, 48 in total
Turnips: sow 3 containers every month, 36 in total (some for greens, some for bulbs)
Endive: 1 per month, 12 in total
Rucula: 1 per month, 12 in total, and as a note grow also some other very tasty less-known greens
Spinach: 2 per month, or 24 in total or maybe more
Beans, chick peas: not much experience with these; grow in big containers about 2 plants, and assume 5 containers are ok for a month, so some 50-60 containers should be ok!
Carrots: like parsnips (which even require more depth of soil), carrot is hard one for containers, try in deep containers (otherwise you will have only baby carrots, which nevertheless are very tasty), two containers is probably enough for a month, so assume 24 in total
Cereals: we have just harvest one container and gave the seeds to birds, lets assume 5 containers give not more than 2 week supply, 120 containers for a year? (lol)
Rice: ehehe, we tried but with no success!, but assume 50 drown containers and probably more for a year
Herbs (medicinal or aromatic): one container of proper size per each species is more than enough - these are the easiest to grow

Not counting with herbs or cereals, assume nearly 450 containers for your self-sufficiency! This should not disencounrage you, since this is equivalent to the space found on a small yard and is about only about 100 containers per epoch which perfectly fits on my 10m balcony.
Extrapolating, a small yard could in fact easily sustain true self-sufficiency for a person over a year, and possibly for a family, provide that soil was deeply cared and compost added every epoch. A row of 20-30 cereals should provide a supply for a year, but how am I to know about that since I have never attempted.

But as far as Permaculture is regarded, we should try the hardest we can to keep cooperation with nature, a equilibrium in the soil and with wild life and never commit the big mistake of our ancestors of over-explotation of soils and lands!

Love for all, Paulo