QUESTION : What is a polyculture garden ? I was jaw an arboretum recently and the term of enlistment guide mentioned it in lapse and I was not able-bodied to ask him at the tour because it was a large radical . What did she mean ? – Rita S
GARDENING CHANNEL REPLIES : This is a specific label for the distinctive garden you ’d find in most hobby farmers ’ backyard . This means that you maturate a variety of crops together in one area .
Whereas , in commercial-grade farming , only one crop is turn in a single region . A polyculture garden can look a few different slipway .
The first way to utilize this mode of garden is by growing a cover crop . When you grow one craw to help another craw in the coming time of year , you ’re practicing polyculture horticulture .
Another agency this type of garden may bet is when you practicecompanion planting . You ’re grow different vegetables or peak in the same growing localisation with the aim of benefit one or both crops .
Forest gardeningis another method acting of polyculture horticulture . This is where you grow perennial crops in varying heights which mimic a timber . Yet , it produces food .
Crop rotationand planting in row also fall under polyculture gardening . Some hoi polloi over sow their horticulture area to cut down on the weeds when planting in rows .
They also practise craw gyration andsuccession plantingin this same stylus of garden to dissuade plague and prolong the harvest .
However , it all comprise a smorgasbord of plants into one growing blank space . Polyculture horticulture allows you to utilize your grow space to its fullest potential .
Plus , it ’s also great at adding to your dirt instead of relying on synthetical fertilizers and pesticides which can reave your soil in the long run .
Though this manner of horticulture may work well for those growing food on a small exfoliation , it ’s a little more hard to drill on a larger scale as it require more cognition on growing a variety of plants rather of only one industrial plant .
Plus , it ’s arduous to utilize larger patch of machinery to imbed and reap crop when they ’re grown nearly and ( in some casing ) intertwined with one another .
Polyculture garden may be a new terminal figure for you , but if you ’ve been raising multiple crops in a individual garden in your backyard , you ’ve been practice this method all along .
It has its benefits for the little - fourth dimension nurseryman and could be a great room for you to grow more of your own food right at your back door .
More About Polyculture Gardens
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/brewer/polycultures/Polyculture%20Design%20slides.pdf
