compost is created from the garden’s production which is
also distributed over the garden. These are reasons to
create an overarching fertility plan instead of a speci3c
crop plan.
Lessons Learned: During a drought in India years ago, several women grew food
using Biointensive methods. Their production was double that of others who used
single-dug row cropping practices. One woman got even higher yields than other
Biointensive gardeners by using her available water, fertilizer, and seed on one
growing area. Hoping for higher yields, the other had spread the same amount of
resources over 7 to 15 times the area. The woman with the best results got more total
production in one-seventh to one-fifteenth of the area. She had benefited by Alan
Chadwick’s observation, “Begin with one bed and tend it well! Then expand your
growing area.”Soil Testing
Ecology Action recommends that you test your soil for
major nutrients and trace minerals, as well as pH (the
acidity or alkalinity level of your soil), before choosing
fertilizers. A professional soil test performed by a
laboratory will provide you with the most complete
evaluation. They are an excellent tool for analyzing
de3ciencies, excesses, and the relative balance of all
nutrients in your garden’s soil. Soil tests are an
investment: they can save you a lot of money, since they
all guard against over-application of fertilizers; allow
you to account for nutrients already available in your soil