From edible landscaping to biointensive gardening, Americans around the nation are discovering the financial beauty of creating practical solutions to our food woes. Beyond the dangers of GMO’s and industrial farming, a basic fact remains: food costs are skyrocketing. Savvy individuals are recognizing the value in growing their own food to ensure nutritious, organic, and cost-effective produce. A revolution is quietly gaining momentum in backyards across America that resists dangerous farming practices, nutritionally depleted produce and increasingly restrictive governmental control over our food supply.

Not all backyard garden farms are created equal

The biointensive style of gardening is a breed apart from standard practices. In 1966 Alan Chadwick, an English master horticulturist, synthesized the theory of biodynamics by Rudolph Steiner with the French intensive system. John Jeavons of Ecology Action in Stanford, California adopted Chadwick’s biointensive theory while subjecting it to careful observation, testing, and modification. Crop harvest, using Jeavons method, produces up to six times the average US yield.

Incredibly, the biointensive approach uses 99 percent less energy and one-third the water than conventional farming. Jeavons estimates that it would be possible for an average gardener to generate $10,000 per year from produce grown on a 1/10 acre plot. All without toxic chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

The secret to the tremendous crop yield of biointensive gardening stems from the soil preparation and plant placement. By digging the soil twice and incorporating rich compost, the earth becomes loose and nutrient dense which supports healthy plants along with deep root growth. This allows plants to thrive when grown tightly together. More compact spacing ensures the soil remains moist while hindering undesirable weeds. Companion planting is also an important element where plants help each other, such as placing beetle repelling tomatoes alongside cabbage.

Cultivate independence

By intelligently growing food locally with an innovative spirit, the bond to industrial farming is broken, money is saved, and an opportunity is at hand to generate extra income during an unstable economy.

According to Trends Journal:

“Part of the growth of microfarms is rooted in new, intensive growing technique that enable ordinary backyard gardeners to produce huge yields from small plots — not only feeding families, but also producing a second income while shaking off government controls and the agribusiness conglomerates that have dominated the food industry.”

With rising fuel prices, an additional 15 percent can be added to food cost due to shipping expenses. Consider a typical tomato in the US travels over 1,000 miles from farm to table. When consumers purchase fruit from Chile or lettuce from California while living in New York, not only are they paying more to cover transportation costs, but a shackle is created to politically and environmentally burdensome petroleum.

The time is ripe to take charge of our freedom. Become a steward of financial, environmental, and physical health by planting a revolutionary backyard micro eco-farm.

Sources for this article include:

“Biodynamic Gardening,” Mother Earth News editors, January/February 1980, Mother Earth News. Retrieved on June 6, 2012 from: http://www.motherearthnews.com

“French-intensive garden,” Sunset Magazine. Retrieved on June 6, 2012 from: http://www.sunset.com

“French intensive vegetable gardening,” L’Atelier Vert-Everything French Gardening, May 22, 2002. Retrieved on June 5, 2012 from: http://www.frenchgardening.com/aupotager.html?pid=3104884985285027

“A French Lesson in Intensive Planting,” Linnea Thornton, Learn2grow.com. Retrieved on June 6, 2012 from: http://www.learn2grow.com

“French Intensive Gardening,” by TheGardener, January 22, 2011, iHomeGarden. Retrieved on June 6, 2012 from: http://www.ihomegarden.org/french-intensive-gardening/

“Fortune in Food,” Trends Journal, Volume 19, No. 25 (2011). pp.29-30

About the author:
Carolanne believes if we want to see change in the world, we need to be the change. As a nutritionist, wellness coach and natural foods chef, she has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of green living for over 13 years. Through her website www.Thrive-Living.net she looks forward to connecting with other like-minded people who share a similar vision.

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