The biointensive method It is a system of market gardening born in Paris in the distant 19th century and particularly interesting for those who care about an ecological but also productive culture. It is also used professionally and is also known as » vegetable garden “.
It is a method that, like organic farming, does not involve the use of synthetic chemicals, and also avoids the use of motorized machinery, maximizing productivity and respecting the environment.
In short, it is…
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Cultivate your garden in a pleasant and ergonomic way.
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Cultivate without the use of synthetic products.
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Cultivate while respecting the mechanisms of natural ecosystems.
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Practice natural and profitable agriculture.
Well: all this is possible! Let’s discover together how to cultivate in a bio-intensive way, focusing on very practical tips, to put them into practice immediately in the field.
Contents [Ocultar]
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What does the term bio-intensive mean?
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Garden design: walkways and pallets
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Optimize distances between floors
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Respect the ground and avoid the cutter
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Manual treatment of the bio-intensive garden
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Biointensive cultivation of vegetables
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Contents
What does the term bio-intensive mean?
It is a method of growing vegetables that goes beyond organic. Respectful of all forms of life, it establishes a symbiosis between plants, soil and the farmer. Thanks to modern tools, manual gardening is possible. Great opportunity!
This gives us the possibility of arrange the garden differently , providing ample space for seedling growth. The harvest can be intensified and thickened, creating a beautiful and very productive vegetable meadow. In Italy, as elsewhere, the biointensive, also called “orchard”, is convincing more and more professionals.
It is therefore a completely natural garden. For it to be as productive, we must not forget the basic principles of agriculture. Below we discover some good practices that will allow us to establish an efficient and productive biointensive garden without much effort. We will get to know certain tools, such as the grelinette and the weeder with an oscillating blade, which help us to speed up the work, while respecting the soil, but also the farmer’s back.
Garden design: walkways and pallets
We know that vegetables prefer soft, well-aerated soil. We gardeners devote time and energy to making the soil light with tillage. It is a sin to walk above our work…
It is precisely for this reason that in the bio-intensive garden there is an area dedicated only to walking and another only to cultivation. The cultivated area is called » palette “all pedestrian access” little street “. With love and sacrifice we fight to decompress the earth and this new organization allows us to no longer step on our work. From now on, our dear vegetables will always have a space entirely dedicated to them, a soft ground, where their roots can develop serenely. It is the roots themselves that now maintain the structure of the soil.
For your comfort, these paddles are 80 cm wide and as many as… As you wish . The narrow lanes are 40cm wide, creating a space where you can move freely. By alternating a pallet with a small aisle, it is possible to have the pallet itself enclosed between two aisles, which allows us to cultivate and harvest the fruits comfortably.
The width of 80 cm. it also corresponds to our inclination. In this way we can climb on the pallets, avoiding long and unnecessary walks around them. Squatting or kneeling we have access to the central part of each pallet, without exerting any pressure on our dear lumbar muscles. In this way, in addition to organizing the spaces and being more comfortable ourselves, we will save ourselves unnecessary efforts and annoying back pain. Not a bad deal, is it?
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But be careful, all this work should never be frustrated by walking on pallets, thus compacting the soil structure! Remember that each time we compress the soil, we release valuable oxygen, without which beneficial microorganisms die. These microorganisms are very important! They are the ones who feed the seedlings. Compact soil also hinders root development, while a plant with a well-developed root system requires less care and much less water.
Optimize distances between floors
By identifying where you can walk and where you can grow crops, we can bring our vegetables closer together. For example, you can plant 7 rows of carrots with a width of only 80 cm. If I’m a pro and buy the straight seeder, I can even plant 12 rows of carrots on the same trowel. Surprising! This is called producing a lot in a small space…
The same principle applies to all vegetables. Transplant 3 rows of lettuce, 4 if cut. 2 rows of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers or cucumbers. And again, 5 rows of beets, herbs or spinach. And so on…
The only thing I need to remember is how much space each plant needs to grow. When grown, the leaves of all seedlings form foliage which, by shading the ground, ensures that the sun does not dry out the surface, reducing the need for watering.
This shade also creates an ideal habitat for all beneficial insects and microorganisms. It’s basically edible mulch!
This type of close cultivation also has other advantages, such as preventing the germination of wild grasses. Do you know what that means? You hardly need to weed…
Respect the ground and avoid the cutter
Thus, in the bio-intensive garden, in addition to taking care of the vegetables, the farmer takes care of the soil. . Use tools that do not destroy the soil structure. It also facilitates the life of beneficial microorganisms and insects that live inside.
Make sure to use the cutter as little as possible. With each grinding operation, the fragile structure of the soil is destroyed, we do not lighten it. Test? Be careful with the first rains, the soil in the ground tends to harden again.
Have you ever noticed the beauty of a land that lies under the canopy of brambles and wild bushes? Try to pick it up. You will notice that it is darker, more fragrant and more alive than ground soil. The granules of the earth are round, as if they were holding a ground couscous .
The cutter does not create this beautiful structure but rather an amalgam of crushed compact earth, particles of earth that are difficult to break with the fingers. The one under the brambles can melt like butter.
Spontaneous question, where do you think it will be easier for plants to root healthily?
Manual treatment of the bio-intensive garden
They don’t say everything is quick and easy. Although creating healthy soil, our couscous requires more seasons, it’s not that complicated. Instead of grinding, you can use the » grelinette », a tool similar to a fork shovel but 80 cm wide, just like the trowel.
Once the soil is free of weeds, be sure to break it up with ghrelin instead of turning it over. This tool works like this: it lifts the soil without breaking it. He oxygenates it. After the passage with this tool, the first 5 cm of depth are refined creating an ideal seedbed. You can use the cutter, but also a simple rake. At the end we add 1 to 3 cm of fertilizer and There you go! It’s already done! We just have to plant or transplant our happy seedlings.
Remember, however, that compost should not be mixed with soil. If you look at how nature works, you will notice that no one is burying organic matter or humus. You will always find humus on the surface, never at the bottom. The task of the soil itself is to mix humus with the soil. If it’s already the case, why bother to do it too…