How to Grow More Vegetables

545 Pages·2012·10.93 MB·English

by  John Jeavons

Copyright © 1974, 1979, 1982, 1991, 1995, 2002, 2006, 2012 by
Ecology Action of the Midpeninsula
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an
imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House,
Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com
Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered
trademarks of Random House, Inc.
www.growbiointensive.org
www.bountifulgardens.org
www.commongroundinpaloalto.org
See also: www.johnjeavons.info
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jeavons, John.
How to grow more vegetables : (and fruits, nuts, berries, grains, and
other crops) than you ever thought possible on less land than you can
imagine / John Jeavons. — 8th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Vegetable gardening. 2. Organic gardening. I. Title.
SB324.3.J43 2012
635—dc23
2011040066
eISBN: 978-1-60774-190-9
Illustrations by Pedro J. Gonzalez, Ann Miya, Susan Stanley, Sue Ellen
Parkinson, Betsy Jeavons Bruneau, and Dan Miller
Photos on this page and this page by Cynthia Raiser Jeavons
Cover photograph (pumpkin) and spine photograph courtesy of Bountiful
Gardens
Cover photograph (red chard) © iStockphoto.com/swalls
Cover photograph (soil) © iStockphoto.com/AdShooter
Cover photograph (red boots) © iStockphoto.com/cjp
v3.1

CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
by Alice Waters
FOREWORD
Ecology Action and the Common
PREFACE
Ground Project
by the Ecology Action Staff
Building Soil, Building the
INTRODUCTION
Future
History and Philosophy of the GROW
BIOINTENSIVE Method • How to Use This Book
1 Deep Soil Creation and
Maintenance
Getting Started—Correct Tools • Laying Out Your
Beds • Types of Deep Soil Preparation • General
Double-Digging Procedure • Considerations for
Initial Dig with Very Poor Soils • Prepared Beds
2 Sustainability
Sustainable Soil Fertility • The Loss of Soil Nutrients
and Humus • Initially Adding Nutrients and Humus to
the Soil • 100% Sustainability Impossible • The
Need for Up to 99% Sustainability • Ecology
Action’s Pursuit of Sustainability • How to Design for
Your Soil’s Fertility
3 The Use of Compost and Soil
Fertility
A “Natural” System • Compost Functions • The
Process • Soil and Other Materials in the Compost
Pile • Locating the Pile • Size and Timing • Building
the Pile • Watering the Pile • Compost Curing and
Application Rates • Composting Methods
Compared • Materials to Use Minimally or Not at All
• Benefits of Compost in the Soil • Building a
Compost Pile Step-By-Step • All Compost Is Not
Equal
4 Fertilization
Soil Testing • Taking a Soil Sample • pH •
Recommended Sources of Nutrients • Adding
Fertilizers and Compost • More Sustainable
Fertilization
5 Open-Pollinated Seeds, Seed
Propagation, Close Spacing, and
Seed Saving
Seed Planting • Seedling Flats • Flat Soil • Some
Causes of Poor Germination • Pricking Out
Seedlings • Transplanting • Spotting • Planting by
the Phases of the Moon • Watering • Shadenetting •
Mini-Greenhouses • Key Water Factors • Weeding •
Planting in Season
6 Companion Planting
Health • Rotations • Nourishing the Soil • Physical
Complementarity • Weed, Insect, and Animal
Relationships
7 An Interrelated Food-Raising
System: Creating and Caring for a
Balanced Natural Ecosystem with
Insect Life
Natural Predators • Other Initiatives
8 Master Charts and Planning
Letter Codes • Vegetable and Garden Crops •
Calorie, Grain, Protein Source, and Vegetable Oil
Crops • Compost, Carbon, Organic Matter, Fodder,
and Cover Crops • Energy, Fiber, Paper, and Other
Crops • Tree and Cane Crops • Flower Spacing
Chart • Herb Spacing Chart • Planning Sheet
9 Sample Garden Plans
Appendices
Tools
APPENDIX 1
The Efficacy of the GROW
APPENDIX 2
BIOINTENSIVE Method in
Increasing Sustainable Yields and
Building Soils
Ecology Action Publications
APPENDIX 3
Organizations
APPENDIX 4
Memberships and Ordering
APPENDIX 5
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR