Posted on 05/05/2015 7:01:02 AM PDT by Gamecock
I had to look up what biointensive gardening was. Evidently I’ve been doing that for years. Because I live in SC and it’s nothing but sand here I grow in either raised beds or buried pots with the bottoms cut out. I dig at least a foot deep and replace the sand with black soil and compost. After that crop all the dirt is dug out and new compost put in and mixed with the soil taken out and replaced. I actually don’t rotate the crops, I rotate the soil. All shade tolerant crops are crown with taller crops in the same patch. Especially lettuce which doesn’t like the heat.
I have clay and I’ve been building up my soul by composting in place: Dump the daily kitchen scraps in a deep hole in the garden. I do this all year long whenever there is space. The close planting is a new thing for me. So far so good with lettuces and cole crops. Tomatoes will be interesting, though.
I don’t know what you think close is for tomatoes but mine are about a foot apart. I keep all the lower branches trimmed off. Anything below fruit or flowers is cut off and of course any of the suckers between the branches and the stem.
That’s close for me,but I don’t usually prune. This year I will. At planting, however, I always pinch off all but the top two stems and bury up to them. Then I pinch off as they grow to keep leaves off the ground. I’ve been hesitant about close planting tomatoes because we have blight issues each year. I have discovered neem oil which does stop it in its tracks.
Another easy way to stop the blight is washing with baking soda. I put a cup of baking soda in one of those Miracle Grow fertilizer sprayers and thoroughly wash the plants once a week. The pruning of the lower branches also helps but the main purpose for me is air flow and it allows more nutrients for fruit production.
Thanks, I’ll give that a try.
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