My Green Strategy

While trying to expand my gardens, there was one particular problem that started bothering me. Gardening should not be a series of back breaking tasks. As my gardens expanded, nature would take over very quickly. In order to keep up, my investment in labor became overwhelming. There was no way I could keep up with the weeds and bugs and such. Soon, the gardens would be a lost cause. I started understanding the strategies of mechanized farming. Instead of hand grooming this plant and that, it was obvious that the use of power equipment, organized rows and blocks, and various implements were required to reduce the time and effort needed to keep up.

But, what would happen if things with the world went south? Gas and oil prices are going to extremes and are never going down. Their use is ruining the environment. Everything we encounter in our culture is affected. Most of what we buy has to be shipped in, from tee shirts and toothpicks to food and note paper. How would I continue my mechanized gardening if gas simply was no longer available or acceptable?

My mechanized approach to gardening has certain pitfalls. My tractor, chipper/shredder, cultivator, etc. all need gas and relatively expensive maintenance. If gas is no longer available or acceptable, how could I run this equipment. Machinery can’t address individual problems areas very well. The soil can be only be conditioned in bulk to a general state of health and not tailored to individual needs required for a large variety of plantings. If not done correctly, my approach would gain me nothing.

Then it occurred to me what has been known for a long time. I needed a way to control my gardens in a certain harmony rather than a futile battle. Not only the control of weeds, bugs, and critters, but, the content of the soil, the growing conditions, and most importantly, in a way that could be done without relying on outside sources for things that are dependent on petroleum products. My strategy kills two birds with one stone. I’m actually making it easier on myself by going green.

I have decided to use raised beds gardens. These beds will be built using concrete block, two rows high, approximately 4’ wide by 8’ or 16’ long. This approach addresses most, if not all, of the aforementioned problems in the following ways.

By using raised bed gardens, I will use compost. This will control the growing medium. Natural soils contain seeds of any kind that will sprout whether I want them to or not. By using compost I help eliminate unwanted growth of other plants and bugs as well. Composting will help recycle materials I have ready access to. Conditions will be tailored to individual beds as needed. The conditioned soil is easy to work by hand. Saw dust is readily available and will be spread between beds to keep outside growth and soil erosion down. Once broken down, that material is cycled into the beds. Even if the sawdust doesn’t keep all unwanted growth out, it can be cultivated without chance of harming garden plants.

The block walls lend themselves to various protection devices. Hoops can be inserted into the top of the block, spanning the width, to support row crop covers or netting. Posts can be inserted to support fencing or a trellis. Even the holes in the blocks can be used to grow additional plants such as marigolds to repel deer, bug confusing herbs, and more.

Rain collection will provide irrigation. The beds can be individually addressed. Instead of broadcasting water everywhere, it will only go to the beds. This will also reduce the amount of equipment required to provide irrigation by using only small units for each bed if needed at all. The water requirements for each bed will be tailored to the crop. A small solar electric system will provide transfer to the beds. This will consist of a few PV panels and possibly a battery system, a small 12V pump, some containers for storage, and the piping to the beds. Since there is no permit required in my location for building a pond, one will be built sometime in the future. This will create a more effective storage area than could be implemented using containers.

The beauty of this system is that it can be as small or large as anyone would want to make it. It can be implemented in stages, one bed at a time. I will be less dependent on power equipment and petroleum products. Once implemented, the carbon footprint will remain low to almost zero. The concrete block, irrigation equipment, and even the solar equipment require petroleum products to manufacture. But, once produced, will not add ill effects to the environment. By composting and using physical protection, I will not have to use pesticides or herbicides. This will reduce my labor in the long run which increases the effectiveness of the system.

We can no longer sit back. We are finally being forced to be proactive. It is no longer a matter of if but rather when and how soon. This will be my way of reducing my negative effect on the world.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist......Zone out....(USA 5)