New Approach: How to Grow a Large Garden and Save Money

Self-isolation has brought its changes — city dwellers are increasingly heading to dachas and thinking about their own garden. We asked a permaculture specialist to explain whether it is possible to grow products on just six sotkas without harming the budget or the environment.

Photos in our article do not illustrate permaculture techniques. You can see visual examples here.

Tatyana Chistyakova is an expert. A specialist and student of the founder of permaculture, Sepp Holzer.

What is permaculture? It is a new approach to land use based on cooperation with nature. It allows growing products without biodegradable additives and chemicals, as well as weed-free plantations, and also helps maintain the water balance on Earth. One plot can yield vegetables for months ahead, and remaining space on the site can be used for a small pond.

The founder of the direction is Sepp Holzer, an Austrian farmer. Disappointed by traditional farming methods, he developed his own technique and created a farm with more than 50 hectares of gardens and 70 ponds. Now he travels the world with masterclasses.

Permaculture principles are applied on large farms, but you can easily implement them even on a dacha plot. In our conditions, this is especially relevant — this year in Russia the Law on Organic Agriculture came into force. In other words, gardening is the main trend of 2020.

How to Grow a Large Garden on 6 Sotkas?

Forget all known norms of garden management — remove chemicals and biodegradable additives, and forget where the beds were previously located. Permaculture works differently — now your garden will look different.

Restore the Water Balance on Your Territory

Gardeners often solve problems with flooding the plot, and then suffer from droughts and start drilling wells — don't do that. Use natural resources for irrigation.

On small plots, provide a small pond where rainwater will collect and moisten the soil. This is a natural reservoir created using techniques in low-lying areas of your plot. To make water flow into the pond, create a slope on the site. You can also collect rainwater from rooftops in barrels.

In early spring, the soil in the garden is already moistened and with mulching and proper bed placement, you provide nutrition to plants. Think of this as your small but important contribution to maintaining the ecosystem of our planet.

Determine the Slope of the Plot and Build Several High Beds

Lay small ditches from top to bottom across the free area of the garden. Put in any organic matter from last year’s compost, old rags, or dry branches. Add some stones and gravel.

Place the beds across the slope — this will retain moisture, meaning no passive watering for your garden. Also, you’ll prevent soil erosion.

Fertilize the Beds

Any organic waste is perfect for the base: autumn leaves and mown grass, rotting wooden planks. Then sprinkle the organic matter — just remove a 10 cm layer of soil from the adjacent plot and distribute it evenly over this fertilizer. You’ll get a high or hilly bed that is 1 to 1.5 meters tall.

Plant the Garden

The long side of the bed should run perpendicular to the water flow. The wide side can be 1 to 1.5 meters — you should feel comfortable walking around it and tending to it. The ideal warm bed should match your height so you can work with plants without bending over.

Plant all kinds of greens, bushy and root vegetables: beans, peas, lentils, corn, cabbage and potatoes — they can grow together. Salad and carrots fit easily between them. On slopes, place zucchini and pumpkins.

Some products will fruit earlier, others later. Such mixed plantings guarantee minimal care for each plant — they help each other.

Harvest the Crop

If you do everything right, you won’t need additional care for the garden, watering or fertilizing it. There will be no room for weeds if you take care of fertilization at the time of bed construction.

As organic matter decomposes, it releases heat that promotes plant growth. The same process of bacterial reproduction will cause insect reproduction, which aerates the soil so it doesn’t need to be tilled. A few such beds and you’ll have enough food not only for the summer-autumn period but also for winter.

Why This Saves Your Budget and Energy?

• Minimal Intervention. You won’t need to dig the soil, just treat the top layer with a cultivator or hoe.
• No Fertilizers Needed. They can be replaced with compost, soda solution, and ash, not active additives from stores.
• Fewer Beds. On high warm beds, you can grow several types of plants with different root systems at once.
• Can Be Grown Even on Clay Soil. It will take a year or two of natural fertilization, after which you’ll be able to grow a garden.
• Increases Useful Area. More plants will ripen on high beds.

Summing Up: What Does Permaculture Give Us?

• Rich, fertile soil and water balance.
• Bio-clean fruits and vegetables.
• No need to fight weeds.
• Reduced time spent on the plot.
• Lower financial costs.