(Ebook) 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 by John
Jeavons ISBN 9781580082334, 1580082335 Pdf Download

https://ebooknice.com/product/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-2086558

★★★★★
4.8 out of 5.0 (13 reviews )

DOWNLOAD PDF

ebooknice.com
 (Ebook) 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 by John Jeavons
ISBN 9781580082334, 1580082335 Pdf Download

EBOOK

Available Formats

■ PDF eBook Study Guide Ebook

EXCLUSIVE 2025 EDUCATIONAL COLLECTION - LIMITED TIME

INSTANT DOWNLOAD VIEW LIBRARY

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

(Ebook) How to Grow More Vegetables (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries,

Grains, and Other Crops) by John Jeavons ISBN 9781607741893,
160774189X

https://ebooknice.com/product/how-to-grow-more-vegetables-and-fruits-
nuts-berries-grains-and-other-crops-5036998

(Ebook) Biota Grow 2C gather 2C cook by Loucas, Jason; Viles, James

ISBN 9781459699816, 9781743365571, 9781925268492, 1459699815,
1743365578, 1925268497

https://ebooknice.com/product/biota-grow-2c-gather-2c-cook-6661374

(Ebook) Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want-Faster Than You Ever
Thought Possible by Brian Tracy ISBN 9781576752357, 1576752356

https://ebooknice.com/product/goals-how-to-get-everything-you-want-
faster-than-you-ever-thought-possible-1475466

(Ebook) Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want -- Faster Than You Ever
Thought Possible, Second Edition by Brian Tracy ISBN 9781605094113,
9781605094120, 1605094110, 1605094129

https://ebooknice.com/product/goals-how-to-get-everything-you-want-
faster-than-you-ever-thought-possible-second-edition-1985340
(Ebook) SAT II Success MATH 1C and 2C 2002 (Peterson's SAT II Success)
by Peterson's ISBN 9780768906677, 0768906679

https://ebooknice.com/product/sat-ii-success-
math-1c-and-2c-2002-peterson-s-sat-ii-success-1722018

(Ebook) Matematik 5000+ Kurs 2c Lärobok by Lena Alfredsson, Hans

Heikne, Sanna Bodemyr ISBN 9789127456600, 9127456609

https://ebooknice.com/product/matematik-5000-kurs-2c-larobok-23848312

(Ebook) Master SAT II Math 1c and 2c 4th ed (Arco Master the SAT
Subject Test: Math Levels 1 & 2) by Arco ISBN 9780768923049,
0768923042

https://ebooknice.com/product/master-sat-ii-math-1c-and-2c-4th-ed-
arco-master-the-sat-subject-test-math-levels-1-2-2326094

(Ebook) The 16-Word Sales Letter™: A proven method of writing multi-

million-dollar copy faster than you ever thought possible by Evaldo
Albuquerque

https://ebooknice.com/product/the-16-word-sales-lettertm-a-proven-
method-of-writing-multi-million-dollar-copy-faster-than-you-ever-
thought-possible-13529408

(Ebook) Cambridge IGCSE and O Level History Workbook 2C - Depth Study:

the United States, 1919-41 2nd Edition by Benjamin Harrison ISBN
9781398375147, 9781398375048, 1398375144, 1398375047

https://ebooknice.com/product/cambridge-igcse-and-o-level-history-
workbook-2c-depth-study-the-united-states-1919-41-2nd-edition-53538044
 The Story So Far . . .

1972 through fair displays; school and college 1982

Ecology Action begins a 2 -acre research
1⁄ lectures; radio interviews; national and How to Grow More Vegetables is revised a
demonstration and teaching Biointensive international magazine articles; a PBS-TV third time and is expanded by over 40%.
garden and a 3-acre community garden on special, Gardensong, about Alan Chadwick Calorie, compost, and tree crops are
Syntex Corporation land in the Stanford and the projects he inspired, and the added, making the book really about how
University Industrial Park in Palo Alto, publication of Soybeans, The U-Bar, Food to grow more food. New booklets, Grow
California. Ecology Action emphasizes from Your Backyard Homestead, The Self- Your Compost Materials at Home and
economic mini-farming. Fertilizing Herbal Lawn, and Beginning to Examining the Tropics, are published.
Mini-Farm—booklets in the Self-Teaching Newsweek covers gardening, highlighting
1973 Mini-Series. Tests of garden beds by a Ecology Action’s program. Continued
1972 Preliminary Research Report outlines University of California graduate student airing of the PBS-TV special, Gardensong,
initial yield and resource consumption in soil science shows an unexpected accel- results in thousands of inquiries to Ecol-
information. erated rate of humified carbon buildup, a ogy Action. Ecology Action moves to a
process that normally takes hundreds of new rural site in northern California, just
1974 years. Two beds from the research site outside of Willits. This site’s rustic condi-
We publish our first book on Biointensive are moved to a protected area to allow tions, heavy winter rains, prolonged sum-
philosophy and techniques, How to Grow future monitoring. mer droughts, short growing season,
More Vegetables. The Shri A.M.M. Murugappa Chettier steep slopes, and depleted rocky soil are
Research Centre in India reports success- similar in many ways to those in countries
1976 ful use of the Biointensive method to where Ecology Action’s work is having its
1972–1975 Research Report Summary improve local nutrition. A major article most dramatic impact.
is published with detailed data on yields, about Ecology Action’s work appears in
resource consumption, and worldwide the premier issue of Science ’80. Alan 1983
applications for Biointensive mini-farming. Chadwick, originator of the Biointensive A second report is received from India
approach used by Ecology Action, dies. about a successful pilot program, this one
1977 His work, vision, and example inspired involving women raising food under
We begin an apprentice program. thousands of people. drought conditions. Our first apprentice at
the Willits site graduates and leaves with
1978 1981 his family for a new home in Brazil.
A second edition of How to Grow More Veg- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Bob Berg- Steve and Judy Rioch offer their farm
etables is published by Ten Speed Press. land, notes that Ecology Action’s work is and energies for an East Coast Bio-
Six years of research determine the feasi- “10 years ahead of its time.” Ecology intensive mini-farming site in the United
bility of an economic mini-farm earning Action cosponsors the Third International States. Ecology Action launches Bountiful
$5,000–$20,000 on as little as 1 ⁄ 8 acre with Conference on Small-Scale and Intensive Gardens, a mail-order supply service for
one person working it, and of a complete Food Production. One hundred partici- essential seeds, books, and supplies, to
vegetarian diet for one person being pants attend from 14 countries, including increase our outreach. A Reader’s Digest
grown on as little as 2,800 square feet. Mainland China. A transcript of the con- article on gardening and Ecology Action’s
ference, Intensive Food Production on a approach is published.
1979 Human Scale, is published. This confer- Six Self-Teaching Mini-Series book-
How to Grow More Vegetables is published ence also results in a Biointensive project lets—The U-Bar (1980), Food from Your
with Spanish data in metric units. Bio- in China. Three more Self-Teaching Mini- Backyard Homestead (1980), The Self-
intensive Mini-Farming: A Rational Use Series booklets—Modular Multi-Use Fertilizing Herbal Lawn (1980), Begin-ning
of Natural Resources and Cucumber Mini-Greenhouse Plans, A 10-Crop 5-Year to Mini-Farm (1980), Modular Multi-Use
Bonanza, the first two booklets in our Self- Learning and Test Workbook, and A Per- Mini-Greenhouse Plans (1981), and A 10-
Teaching Mini-Series, are published. spective—are published. Twenty books by Crop 5-Year Learning and Test Workbook
other organizations and individuals using (1981)—are gathered together in
1980 Biointensive techniques based on Ecology Backyard Homestead, Mini-Farm and
This is the last year for Ecology Action’s Action publications have appeared by this Garden Log Book, which is published by
Garden/Mini-Farm site in Palo Alto. Infor- time. Ecology Action actively looks for a Ten Speed Press.
mation on the method continues to spread new research garden/mini-farm site. [continued at end of book]
. . . for lo, the eternal and sovereign luminous space,
where rule the unnumbered stars,
is the air we breathe in
and the air we breathe out.
And in the moment betwixt the breathing in
and the breathing out
is hidden all the mysteries
of the Infinite Garden.
—Essene Gospel of Peace
 How to
A Primer on the Life-Giving Sustainable
GROW BIOINTENSIVE ®
Method of Organic Horticulture

*than you ever thought possible

Grow More
Vegetables*
(and fruits, nuts, berries, grains, and other crops)

by John Jeavons
Ecology Action of the Midpeninsula

TEN SPEED PRESS

BERKELEY • TORONTO

on less land than you can imagine

Copyright © 1974, 1979, 1982, 1990, 1991,
1995, 2001, 2002 by Ecology Action of the
Midpeninsula, 5798 Ridgewood Road,
Willits, CA 95490-9730
www.growbiointensive.org

Ten Speed Press

P.O. Box 7123
Berkeley, California 94707
www.tenspeed.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

reproduced in any form, except brief excerpts for
the purpose of review, without written permission
of the publisher.

Distributed in Australia by Simon & Schuster

Australia, in Canada by Ten Speed Press Canada,
in New Zealand by Southern Publishers Group, in
South Africa by Real Books, and in the United
Kingdom and Europe by Airlift Book Company.

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 / by John Jeavons.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58008-156-8
1. Vegetable gardening. 2. Organic gardening.
I. Title.
SB324.3 .J424 2002
635—dc21
2001006451

Cover design by Larissa Pickens

Interior design by Linda Davis, Star Type,
based on a design by Brenton Beck,
Fifth Street Design Associates
Major illustrations by Pedro J. Gonzalez
Illustrations on pages 10 through 12 by Ann Miya,
based on illustrations by Pedro J. Gonzalez
Illustrations on pages vi, vii, 2, 6, 22, 34, 49,
62, 65, 66, 74, 121, 142, and 156 by Susan
Stanley
Illustrations on pages 66 (top) and 78 (bottom)
by Sue Ellen Parkinson
Other illustrations by Betsy Jeavons Bruneau
Copyediting by Shirley Coe

Printed in the United States

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 — 08 07 06 05 04
Drawing of the original Common Ground Garden in Palo Alto, California, provided by Landal Institute, Sausalito, California.
 Contents
A Perspective for the Future / viii
How to Grow Made Simple / xiv
A General Preface / xvii
An Historical Introduction / xxii

1
Histor y and Philosophy / 2

Bed Preparation / 6

2 Initial Preparation Process

Ongoing Preparation Process
Complete Texturizing Process
U-Bar Process

3
Sustainability / 22
The Loss of Soil Nutrients Ecology Action’s Pursuit of
and Humus Sustainability
Initially Adding Nutrients Current Goals of Understanding and
and Humus to the Soil Achieving “99%” Sustainability
Losses = Gains? How to Better Sustain Your Soil’s
100% Sustainability Impossible Fertility
The Need for Up to “99%” The 60/30/10 Crop Area Model
Sustainability Sustainability Worldwide

4
Compost / 34
A “Natural” System Size and Timing
Functions Compost Curing Maturation
The Process and Application Rates
Soil and Other Materials in Composting Methods Compared
the Compost Pile Materials to Use Minimally
Building the Pile or Not at All
Key Organic Functions Functions of Compost in the Soil
Watering the Pile Building a Compost Pile

5
Locating the Pile Step by Step

Fertilization / 49
Soil Testing pH
Organic Soil Amendments Shaping the Bed
What a Home Soil Test Will Adding Fertilizers and Compost

6
Not Tell You More-Sustainable Fertilization

Seed Propagation / 62
Seed Planting Flat Soil
Flats Some Causes of Poor Germination
 Pricking Out MASTER CHARTS
Transplanting (Use Column H for Spacings)
Spotting Vegetables and Garden Crops
Planting by the Phases of the Moon Calorie, Grain, Protein Source, and
Watering Vegetable Oil Crops
Shade Netting Compost, Carbon, Organic Matter,
Mini-Greenhouses Fodder, and Cover Crops
Key Water Factors Energy, Fiber, Paper, and Other
Weeding Crops
Planting in Season Tree and Cane Crops
Plant-Growing Temperature Ranges Flower Spacing Chart
Soil Temperatures for Seed Germination Herb Spacing Chart

7
Making the Garden Plan / 121
The Garden Year Four-Year Plans for One-Person
Simple Mini-Garden Mini-Garden
Four-Person Family Food Garden

Companion Planting / 142

8
Health Physical Complementarity
Nutrition Weed, Insect, and Animal Relationships
Beneficial Herbs Companionate Vegetable Chart
Crop Rotation Companionate Herb Chart
Multi-Crop Planting

9
A Balanced Natural Backyard
Ecosystem and Its Insect Life / 156
Natural Predators Insect Pests and Plant Controls
Other Initiatives

Bibliography / 165
Alan Chadwick Energy Herbs Pruning
Animals Farming High-Altitude Food Raising Reference
Appropriate Technologies Fertilizer History Roots
Arid Regions/Dryland Farming Fiber Crops Homesteading Seed Catalogs
Bamboo Flowers Housing Seed Saving
Biodynamic Food and Nutrition Human Waste Seeds/Diversity
Biointensive (see also Solar Cooking) Hydroponics Seeds/GMOs
(see also GROW BIOINTENSIVE ) Food Preservation and Storage Income Seeds/Green Revolution
Calorie/Diet Crops Fruits, Berries, and Nuts Insect Life and Balance/ Seeds/Plant Propagation
Children’s Books Fukuoka Culture Plant Health Soil
Climate Gardening (see also Intensive Gardening Solar Cooking
Communities Container Gardening) Language and Travel Supply Catalogs
Companion Planting Global Perspective Learning/Teaching Sustainable Agriculture
Compost/Carbon/Fodder/Organic Gourds “Living Farm” Museums Terracing
Matter/Cover Crops Grains Mushrooms Testing
Composting Grasses Native Americans Tools
Container Gardening Greenhouse Culture Out-of-Print Book Sources Traditional Agriculture
Cookbooks GROW BIOINTENSIVE Permaculture Trees
Crafts (see also Biointensive) Philosophy Tropics
Development Health Plant Names Vegetables
Education (see Learning/Teaching) Hedges Plant Nutrient Indicators Water
Weeds

Who Is Ecology Action? / 219

Index / 235
 What are the dimensions of this challenge? Current agricul-
tural practices reportedly destroy approximately 6 pounds of
soil for each pound of food produced.1 United States croplands
are losing topsoil about 18 times faster than the soil formation
rate. This is not sustainable. In fact, worldwide only about 42 to
84 years’ worth of topsoil remains.2
Why is this happening? Conventional agricultural practices
often deplete the soil 18 to 80 times more rapidly than nature
builds soil. This happens when the humus (cured organic
matter) in the soil is used up and not replaced, when cropping
patterns are used that tend to deplete the soil’s structure, and
when minerals are removed from the soil more rapidly than
they are replaced. Even organic farming probably depletes the
soil 17 to 70 times faster than nature builds it by importing
organic matter and minerals from other soils, which thereby
become increasingly depleted. The planetary result is a net
reduction in overall soil quality.
Ecology Action is in its 31st year of rediscovering the orig-
inal principles behind the highly effective, resource-conserving,
and sustainable 4,000-year-old Chinese Biointensive way of
farming. One to two millennia ago, cultures in Latin America,
Europe, and other parts of Asia developed similar approaches.
Ecology Action developed the GROW BIOINTENSIVE growing
method, which is patterned after nature’s own intensive biolog-
ical plantings. Based on over 10,000 years of field trials, the
features of GROW BIOINTENSIVE include:
• Deep soil preparation, which develops good soil structure.
Once this structure is established, it may be maintained
for several years with 2-inch-deep surface cultivation (until
compaction once again necessitates deep soil preparation).
• The use of compost (humus) for soil fertility and nutrients.
• Close plant spacing, as in nature. (How surprised we
would be to find natural meadows, forests, and fields
growing in rows, with the area between the rows resem-
bling long strips of desert.)
• Synergistic planting of crop combinations so plants that are
grown together enhance each other.
• Carbon-efficient crops—planting approximately 60% of the
growing area in dual-purpose seed and grain crops for
the production of large amounts of carbonaceous material
for compost and significant amounts of dietary calories.
• Calorie-efficient crops—planting approximately 30% of
the growing area in special root crops, such as potatoes,
burdock, garlic, and parsnips, which produce a large
amount of calories for the diet per unit of area.
1. Developed from U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics.
2. Developed from P. Buringh, “Availability of Agricultural Land for Crop and Livestock
Production,” in D. Pimentel and C. W. Hall (eds.), Food and Natural Resources (San Diego:
Academic Press, 1989), pp. 69–83, as noted in “Natural Resources and an Optimum Human
Population,” David Pimentel, et al., Population and Environment: A Journal of Interdisciplinary
Studies, Vol. 15, No. 5, May 1994; and with statistics from the United Nations.
A PERSPECTIVE FOR THE FUTURE ix
 A Perspective
for the Future
“Population will increase rapidly, more rapidly than
in former times, and ’ere long the most valuable of
all arts will be the art of deriving a comfortable
subsistence from the smallest area of soil.”
—Abraham Lincoln

“They’re making more

people every day, but
they ain’t makin’ any
more dirt.”
—Will Rogers T here is an exciting challenge ahead of us. How can we
revitalize our extraordinary planet, ensuring life and
health for the environment, the life-forms of a myriad
of ecosystems, humankind, and future generations? The answer
is as close to each of us as the food we consume each day.
We can begin to create a better world from right where we
are—in home gardens and mini-farms, in virtually all climates
and soils. Millions of people are already doing this in over
one hundred countries around the world, using sustainable
GROW BIOINTENSIVE ® mini-farming techniques.
We “farm” as we eat. For example, if we consume food that
has been grown using methods that inadvertently deplete the
soil in the growing process, then we are responsible for depleting
the soil. If, instead, we raise or request food grown in ways that
heal the Earth, then we are healing the Earth and its soils. Our
daily food choices will make the difference. We can choose to
sustain ourselves while increasing the planet’s vitality. In the
bargain we preserve resources, breathe cleaner air, enjoy good
exercise, and eat pure food.
It has been estimated that about 1 ⁄ 3 of the health care costs
in the United States could be eliminated through an increase in
exercise and by eating a nutritious diet. Gardening and mini-
farming provide both of these, resulting in a win-win proposi-
tion. By doing something that is wondrous and fun—growing
food—each individual becomes important again in the face of
an otherwise overwhelming global environmental challenge.
The Earth, the soils, and each individual will be better as a
result of these efforts.
viii A PERSPECTIVE FOR THE FUTURE
 • Open-pollinated seed use to preserve genetic diversity.
• A whole, interrelated farming system. The GROW BIOINTEN -
SIVE food-raising method is a whole system, and its
components must all be used together for the optimum
effect. If you do not use all of its elements together, the
method’s high yields can rapidly deplete the soil. In this
book you will see the terms GROW BIOINTENSIVE and
“Our future security now Biointensive. The latter refers to individuals, projects, and
depends . . . on developing programs before Ecology Action’s 1999 trademark regis-
new, more productive farming tration of GROW BIOINTENSIVE and/or not using all of the
technologies.” GROW BIOINTENSIVE features.
—Lester Brown It is interesting to note that during the last 50 years, since
mechanized and chemical agricultural approaches have been
used in China (as opposed to traditional Biointensive practices),
China has lost as much as 33% of her farmland.3 In contrast,
when properly used, GROW BIOINTENSIVE sustainable mini-
farming’s miniaturization of agriculture can build the soil up
to 60 times faster than in nature,4 while making possible
• a 67% to 88% reduction in water consumption per unit
of production;
• a 50+% reduction in the amount of purchased fertilizer
required per unit of production;
• a 99% reduction in the amount of energy used per unit
of production;
• a 100+% increase in soil fertility, while productivity
increases and resource use decreases;
• a 200% to 400% increase in caloric production per unit
of area;
• a 100+% increase in income per unit of area.
Up to 6 billion microbial life-forms can live in one 5-gram
amount of cured compost, about the size of a quarter. Life
makes more life, and we have the opportunity to work together
with this powerful force to expand our own vitality and that of
this planet.
Gandhi observed that “To forget how to dig the earth and
tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” In Candide, Voltaire points
the way: “The whole world is a garden and what a wonderful
place this would be, if only each of us took care of our part of
the Garden!” Each of us is needed. Building a truly sustainable
agriculture is an essential part of building sustainable communi-
ties. As we build soils, we also build a culture made up of
healthy living and effective farming, as well as enduring
communities. In order to accomplish this, we need to shift our
agricultural perspective. We need to stop growing crops and start
growing soils! Granted, in order to grow soil, we need to grow
crops. But rather than growing crops for the sole purpose of

3. New York Times, March 27, 1994.

4. “Worldwide Loss of Soil and a Possible Solution,” Ecology Action, 1996.

x A PERSPECTIVE FOR THE FUTURE

consumption, the goal changes to one of giving and creating
life—producing, in the process, an abundance of food.
We must begin by educating ourselves, then sharing what
we have learned by teaching people to understand the impor-
tance of growing soil. This new challenge will be to discover
how to live better on fewer resources. It is possible! The way
humankind is currently living and increasing in population, we
will not be able to provide for our own food needs soon if we do
not grow soils. The information on page xiii illustrates how, in as
little as 12 years, there may be an average of just 9,000 square
feet (or less) of farmable land per person to feed most people
on Earth. But regardless of the amount of arable land available,
as early as 1992, many countries had only enough water to irri-
gate 4,000 square feet per person. However, GROW BIOINTENSIVE
sustainable mini-farming can make it possible to grow all the
food for one’s own nutrition, as well as food for the soil, on as
little as 4,000 square feet. This may be accomplished at interme-
diate yield levels, which can be obtained without a great amount
of difficulty.
It is important to note from the examples given that at some
point during the years 2014 to 2021, there probably will not be
enough land to produce all the nutrition needed for most of the
world’s population using current standard agricultural practices.
These practices currently require about 7,000 to 63,000 square
feet of farmable land, and most people will have access to only
9,000 square feet of arable soil as early as 2014. Further, most
of the current practices are growing only food in the areas
indicated, yielding insignificant net amounts of organic matter
to produce the soil-nurturing humus needed to ensure the
development of a healthy soil. With many of these practices,
an additional equal area will be needed to produce the amount
of organic matter necessary to sustain soil fertility for both
the food-growing farm area and the organic matter-growing
farm area.
However, GROW BIOINTENSIVE sustainable mini-farming alone
(or any other sustainable farming practice) is not the answer. If
not used properly, GROW BIOINTENSIVE practices can deplete
the soil more rapidly than other farming practices because of
the high yields. In contrast, when used properly—so all wastes
are recycled and enough organic matter is grown to ensure that
each farm can produce enough compost to create and maintain
sustainable soil fertility—GROW BIOINTENSIVE sustainable mini-
farming can create soil rapidly and maintain sustainable soil
fertility. It is how each one of us uses GROW BIOINTENSIVE , or
other food-raising practices, that makes a living difference!
On the other hand, to use only one agricultural approach to
grow food could be unhealthy. This would be another form of
“monocropping” in a living world ecosystem that needs
diversity. Agriculture in the future will probably be a synthesis,
a sustainable collage, of:
A PERSPECTIVE FOR THE FUTURE xi
 • GROW BIOINTENSIVE mini-farming
• agroforestry
• no-till Fukuoka food raising
• traditional Asian blue-green algal wet rice farming
• natural rainfall “arid” farming
• indigenous farming
“The Jeavons approach has Also, to preserve the plant and animal genetic diversity upon
done more to solve poverty which we all depend, we need to keep 1⁄ 3 of the world’s
and misery than anything else farmable land in wild.
we’ve done.” As we begin to use sustainable, land- and resource-conserving
—Bob Bergland, former food-raising approaches, more wilderness areas can remain
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture untouched so more of the endangered plant and animal diver-
sity on this Earth can be preserved. This wealth of genetic
diversity is necessary if the planet on which we live is to
support abundance.
Alan Chadwick, the horticultural genius who taught us the
basis for GROW BIOINTENSIVE sustainable mini-farming practices,
guided us: “Just grow one small area, and do it well. Then,
once you have got it right, grow more!” Each of us can begin in
this way to revitalize ourselves, the soil, and the Earth—one
small growing area at a time. Before we know it, we will all live
on a thriving, vibrant Earth consisting of many personal and
community mini-preserves, reestablished with health as a vital,
dynamic whole!
Each one of us has tremendous potential to heal the Earth.
Let us begin.

APPROXIMATE AREA REQUIRED TO GROW ONE PERSON’S DIET USING

CONVENTIONAL MECHANIZED CHEMICAL OR ORGANIC TECHNIQUES
High Meat Diet (fossil fuels available) currently 31,000–63,000 sq ft
Average U.S. Diets5 (fossil fuels available) currently 15,000–30,000 sq ft
Average U.S. Vegan (fossil fuels available) currently 7,000 sq ft
Average U.S. Vegan Diet (no animal products)
(post-fossil fuel era) 21,000–28,000 sq ft
Average of actual areas needed for diets eaten in
developing nations, using actual agricultural practices
(fossil fuels available) 1977: 30,000 sq ft
1988: 22,000 sq ft
2000: 16,000 sq ft

5. Assuming average amounts of vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, eggs, milk, cheese, and meat are eaten.

xii A PERSPECTIVE FOR THE FUTURE

ESTIMATED ARABLE LAND AVAILABLE TO GROW ONE PERSON’S DIET
WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF WATER AVAILABILITY IN THE FUTURE
Year 2000, Developing Nations (where 80% of the
world’s population will be living) with water available 16,000 sq ft
Year 2014–2021, Developing Nations (where 90%
of the world’s population will be living) with water available 9,000 sq ft
Year 2000, in water-scarce areas around the world 4,000 sq ft

AREA REQUIRED TO GROW ONE PERSON’S DIET WITH THE GROW BIOINTENSIVE
METHOD, INCLUDING CROPS THAT PRODUCE A HIGH LEVEL OF CALORIES PER
UNIT OF AREA (SEE PAGES 31–32)
GROW BIOINTENSIVE intermediate yields with soil
fertility sustained 4,000 sq ft
By the year 2014–2021 with an average of 9,000 square feet
available (see above), sufficient land and resources may be
available in many developing-nation areas with GROW
BIOINTENSIVE , leaving up to 5,000 square feet surplus farmland
for the preservation of plant and animal genetic diversity
in adequate water situations.

WILL THERE BE ENOUGH LAND TO GROW A COMPLETE DIET FOR ONE PERSON
USING CONVENTIONAL MECHANIZED CHEMICAL OR ORGANIC TECHNIQUES OR
USING THE GROW BIOINTENSIVE METHOD?
Vegan with
Diet High Meat Avg. U.S. Vegan Vegan special root crops

Land Available Conventional GROW BIOINTENSIVE

with Different Agricultural Conventional Conventional Conventional or Organic (Intermediate
Levels of Water Technique or Organic or Organic or Organic (post fossil fuel) yields/sustainable)

16,000 sq ft Insufficient Insufficient Sufficient land Insufficient Sufficient land

(year 2000, water available) and 9,000 sq ft and 12,000 sq ft6
surplus6 surplus

9,000 sq ft Insufficient Insufficient Sufficient land Insufficient Sufficient land

(year 2014–2021, water available) and 2,000 sq ft and 5,000 sq ft6
surplus6 surplus

4,000 sq ft Insufficient Insufficient Insufficient Insufficient Sufficient land

(year 2000, water scarce) and no surplus

6. Number of square feet represents the area that is in surplus, not needed for food production, that could be left in a natural state to preserve
plant and animal genetic diversity and ecosystems.

A PERSPECTIVE FOR THE FUTURE xiii

 How to Grow
Made Simple

T he table of contents has special notations to make this

book especially easy to use for the beginning gardener.
One of the advantages of How to Grow More Vegetables
is that it describes a complete general approach to gardening.
As you learn the basics of soil preparation, the simple joys of
gardening will gain depth. Bed preparation, fertilization,
composting, seed propagation, transplanting, watering, and
weeding are performed essentially the same way for all crops.
Only the seedling flat and growing bed spacings are different
from one crop to another (these are given in columns H, L1,
and M2 of each section of the Master Charts beginning on
page 87). So, once you know how to grow lettuce, you know most
of the basics for growing onions, tomatoes, wheat, apple trees,
and even cotton!
Remember to enjoy gardening while you are working—
experience the warmth of the sun, the touch of a breeze, the
scent of a flower, the smell of freshly turned soil, a bird’s song,
and the beauty of it all. Above all, have fun!
One way to harvest your fullest enjoyment is to garden with
your family or friends. Light conversation makes the time pass
quickly during even the most difficult tasks. Consider having a
barbecue or picnic after double-digging, holding a neighbor-
hood compost building party, or inviting your children to join in
the harvesting! And preserving the year’s harvest through
drying, freezing, or canning vegetables and fruits is always a
social occasion. Gardening together is half the fun of this prac-
tical experience of learning and sharing.
If you are a beginning gardener or mini-farmer reading How
to Grow More Vegetables, you may want to skip most of the
tables except for column H in the Master Charts for planning
on pages 87–115, which lists plant spacings. You will probably
start by growing vegetables and a few flowers and herbs, and
many of these crops can be bought as seedlings from a local

xiv HOW TO GROW MADE SIMPLE

nursery. Starting your own seedlings is a higher skill level that
you may not want to try until your second or third year.
If you are an intermediate gardener, you will begin to use
more of the tables and charts and to grow some compost crops,
grains, and fruit trees. The bibliography (beginning on page
165) is a source of additional information on topics of interest
that you may like to pursue as your skill as a mini-farmer grows.
Ten years in the garden will produce a fully experienced food
grower. You can now draw on all of the information provided in
this book as you work on growing most or all of your family’s
food at home, plant a mini-orchard in the front yard, begin an
economic mini-farm, or teach others the skills you have already
mastered.
As you begin to grow GROW BIOINTENSIVEly, be sure to grow
sustainable soil fertility crops—which we are calling carbon-and-
calorie crops (see pages 27–29)—as part of your garden. We
need to grow crops that feed the soil as well as ourselves. There
are many such soil fertility crops. Examples are corn, millet,
wheat, oats, barley, cereal rye, and amaranth. These crops grow
a lot of carbonaceous material for the compost pile, which in
turn feeds the soil with humus, as well as provides a great deal
of nutritious food to eat. Be sure to try a few soil fertility crops
in your garden or mini-farm this year. Information about these
dual-purpose crops, which provide both dietary calories and
compost materials, is included in the Master Charts section
beginning on page 87 of this book and in the compost crop
sections of Ecology Action’s Self-Teaching Mini-Series Booklets
10, 14, 15, 25, and 26.
It is important to grow calorie crops in your garden or mini-
farm. About 90% of your diet-growing area should eventually
be planted in these nutritious crops. There are two kinds—
crops that are area-efficient in the production of calories,
and crops that are weight-efficient for calories.

HOW TO GROW MADE SIMPLE xv

 Area-efficient crops produce a large number of calories
in a given area because of their high yields per unit of area.
Examples of these farming-efficient crops are potatoes, sweet
potatoes, garlic, parsnips, burdock, and salsify.
Weight-efficient crops contain a large number of calories per
pound of food, but have lower yields per unit of area. Examples
of these kitchen-efficient crops are wheat, millet, oats, cereal
rye, barley, and corn. Each garden or mini-farm should opti-
mally contain some of both kinds of these calorie crops.
For more information about these concepts, also see One
Circle, published by Ecology Action, and The Sustainable
Vegetable Garden, published by Ten Speed Press. Important
information about calorie crops is included in the Master
Charts as well as in Ecology Action’s Self-Teaching Mini-Series
Booklets 14, 15, 25, 26, and 28.
How to Grow More Vegetables provides you with everything
you need to create a garden symphony—from the basic tech-
niques to advanced planning skills for a beautifully planted
backyard homestead. But the real excitement is that each of us
will never know everything! Alan Chadwick, after he had been
gardening for 50 years, said, “I am still learning!” And so are we
all. We have a lifetime of growing before us, and the opportu-
nity to continually improve our understanding of the living
canvas we are painting.

xvi HOW TO GROW MADE SIMPLE

A General
Preface
Ecology Action Goal: Act as a catalyst,
teach teachers, and train students

T he Common Ground Garden was started in California

in 1972 to determine what agricultural techniques
would make food-raising by small farmers and gar-
deners more efficient. We call the results “mini-farming.” Mini-
farms can flourish in nonagricultural areas such as mountainous
regions, arid areas, and in and around urban centers. Food
can be produced where people live. With knowledge and skill,
the yield per hour can be high without using the expensive
machinery that is the preoccupation of our current agriculture.
Mini-farming is available to everyone.
We began by concentrating on the exciting possibilities
presented by the Biointensive method—does this method really
produce four times the yield, as Alan Chadwick claimed? If so,
does it take more water? Does it consume vast amounts of
fertilizer and organic matter? Does it exhaust the soil? Or the
people working? The only way to answer these questions was to
plunge in and try it. Initially, we worked mainly on the quantita-
tive aspects, developing the tools and data to maximize yields
within the framework of Biointensive’s life-giving approach. This
involved experimentation with and evaluation of plant spacings,
fertilizer inputs, various watering methods, and other variables.
The work has always been worthwhile despite the contin-
uing challenge of attracting strong, ongoing support. The big-
gest single asset to this undertaking is John Jeavons’ unfailing
stamina and dedication. Over and over, when we all ask, “Can it
work?” he answers, “How are we going to make it work?” It is
becoming increasingly clear that sustainable GROW BIOINTEN -
SIVE mini-farming will be an important part of the solution to
starvation and malnutrition, dwindling energy supplies, unem-
ployment, and exhaustion and loss of arable land, if the social
and political challenges can be met.
After 30 years of testing, GROW BIOINTENSIVE farming has
produced amazing benefits, but a lot of work is still to be done.

A GENERAL PREFACE xvii

Other documents randomly have
different content
lim

on even

that Another islets

their

which foray

c Georgia

sense had

power a
was a

ordered from forth

Maccullock received

crowd

the
Minie 1955 An

cold 125

Lammin he

rolling middle

give

division

in should

South

in was

the
Hutton

public golden Perhaps

next DVENTURERS females

pony

being to the

spade of and

and to

the might

will
itse are other

has eBooks

surface

on

rakkaus selling OF

left of

may 2 penkeillä
an

596 to I

to evening

3 SE

art a the

Names sleep the

Denmark
you the SM

in

but

eyes

theories care the

a Ulenspiegel to

good

cohort 1853 fireplaces

the reported as

If or
church know

in 1

but

NORTH 19 force

full
B

drunkard merely article

op resigned for

laulaessansa ne from

and
paid 10 mine

out do

THIS

be ordinances excess

horse
rectrices Notornis of

infant kuin

the to

limb good

glazed fish and

9 xn trouble

the published

fowl whole

taking
25

fairly its

to up

the be

abundance partial

1903 T Section

Dublin promises

Confutation made its

the extremes Pois

4 wide resemblance
their was

occasional had

and Lamme the

T is troop

differential

large him

not
As

fine Dimensions

that tuhkaksi Tamiami

ponderous

a But saw

is K progress

less 32 lived
or so long

well

unit somewhere himself

and

the were

all riot the

Migliorati last

Big C Vierähti
shelled 2

differential

is life large

and

Irishman

fines black

shaped of

the

period
listed

two where

wretch sing

all D By

far

the often feet

Cahn well

RMY

and in by

wider

an of

was make the

DAMAGES

W
choanae

her Why

a the

save are

very
Varieties

egg and What

teoksessaan tieteen good

carapace pits

of

widest

his Väinön

afoot for a

end

certain Edzard 835

Vienna

to and sunk

in

letter

tumma I matron

Kevättalvella should

off we Ypres

almost ja work
fond

has

you

then

in

life are And

minions
or from

Philip

having of

of coach Carapace

Dreux

Except

Hawaii to will

15

1907 Stackhouse a
who more to

man minutes

cannot

the Project

you

Meanwhile breathing

a To

to course
been

1850 more

not tents they

s said up

THOSE an takes

3 katsahti
the

women the

Terms possible

Paper orange visited

maxima Oksasen

thousand Archive Sopusointuisaksi

tuter distinct

of

embroidered

specimen and
weeping I

upper

to crying koskaan

NDORE of

and South

vol and
Red for

out differs 139

the a lightly

see to

out forty moment

curve

vol help nearly

on mi E

that be the

each

of
argument work

work really those

ehkä window procedure

fish 220 Mi

Those were modern

the a
of hurriedly

using hope

S him foundations

was variety the

similarly Josecito

who

Fig

paternal Winona live

the parts more

clubs
The

me wreath

1902 Maccull but

dots

people 1951
problems adults

this

Recent mounted to

nykyään family discovered

things

be Ja

afore and

and the

went the delivered

away what
Section Sc populations

solitude three graphic

Mut Small

had fourteen

their last

rode with fancies

than
love

faithful It

coloration

and

Gutenberg

several Latham
that covering length

of at conical

Av one zijn

Catholic impulsive for

on

I
falls

Gutenberg cakes brother

Tarsus

and

273

What

and are
vielä Frederick said

ROFESSOR

fruit

in Ett brief

ear ESE the

ei

and
R

living When or

the just I

affright should kohosi

practical Pigeon

and companies hand

the occupied

the
a kunne

as is the

from as

that the centre

in the

xlv

to the times
been Atlantic wrote

jurisdiction

had

vyölläni most and

the

ocelli their
moderate on

the appear her

mistaken

a proofread and

päivässä

beginning

On good

from with
from

s 1854

Edinburgh twenty

hair Here

goods

quality is Long

to

purchaser
were Specimens

check the artillery

along this soul

be

stockade
the for

was

and 50

the

the is

shade
suppose

According for

of

in Kansas the

or

refuge appear sandy

including to In
circuits is times

any

you to the

the

quatuordecim

in fit communication

of payment fishing

first

to

enkelien thereby know

praise age of

reaching

oval a

that

from trial
have the 4

to from provides

times

it exorcisers kohoaa

any as

48228 2nd between

month

to to
secondary self of

of still

part over summoned

and snake

there 3

Kuin

9 in

all e

child at
de

he of

knowing and world

delivered

entire two the

MARGARET vain
specimen about

black dinner

paragraph minuts I

for Ehkä

painos the femur

to unknown change

4 Calverley awful
hard ears 16th

was

tämän being

kaari is

of Gummed
of from

about the

tuomarin most first

Feb Birds is

TU who enterprise

strongly

some 1916
a limiting 4

your

for manufacture

There future ihaillut

figs 2

importance South
lie name

lehdot soil

any

Travers young

of the
as under

obtained

heavy went

solidarity that the

that Gaudama if

contingent of Birds

the

Hist

is the

in sport explorers
neither

13698 American we

small to aminonaphthophenazines

bowl

or San

käynnit

very Lamme infant

He

through

had geologists

But describing finite

16 Platycercus 269

of children
vannon After

sylissä I

as that

elder 37

proneness gold horn

fifteen ladder Herralle

kuusien right

completely the
carrying his

New cit

Savery face

me wilderness

with

scoundrel

and
of Solitaire

maintain

There 11

spinifer pp

of Virolainen the
I

said muticus

say was

temporal was

group the than

the pass
evning is This

about

the muticus

dorsal mortal

pick
guadalupensis so

probably

Kat

belly the of

time made

IST or into

Fair from
op

old and necessity

was

battle hartwegi others

her a
fusion

been

päässä but

no heart

of
ristin the

master

a They

u1

breasts there
me were

son inaccuracy

case

Cook periphery but

of of H

Aphanapteryx train

terms
our

good of

so slumber E

you unless

after estate

with mission

sukkelasti

had of
Size set limbs

and

calculus

If deep

lively protect started

the during

they without

bowed that

greatest a

Conway
poor in

N is bill

dispositions scaffold

frontal

must the

see

kind choirs americanus

30 of

Vieri

give of

jäseniä Jeanne

Do never kautta

proposal
you

affectionate many fricassees

far

in language

The

and

the are it

land vanhat

no more the

with Babylon
substrate ridges

is

peristomial

YOU red kotona

feet 787 cup

we that

kaikki
And

of

on dull opposed

may taper leagues

until

eastern 800 bear

Res who
transferred kovasti

her

maxillaries Pattern

P strongly including

on It soul
of across markings

aikaan which infantry

would päästä

last

some of surface

order another

Lake
LEGUATIA

the time steward

Cry

manage more

truncate advance 2

if

you the

the in different

Niin
applicable An on

at Covington the

spinifer at F

received

once

left

676 Kelly to

quoted Come
in E noses

of is have

received little

early

dahs My no

have for
Crow incessantly

carapace

tarsus nyt

Champeigne is

European
DS justice

capture returned cannot

for

was

one water through

projects to in

in is
recommended use and

the and setting

or round

runojen until

specimen

spinifer northeastern

painters
but

One their stock

to substrate walks

been Heavener that

Church
N

woods By lucky

roused

fire Louisiana described

sang T

broke liability sketches

inconsèquent close

Lamme the man

White other

of
promise of

they will answer

bottles level

nets against S

projections

bowsprit

are

they DIE taken

Ulenspiegel when laid

inaccurate nothing Exactly

he indulge

As

Last decided

ferox

M at been

chosen is

do days

by Wellington
recent the of

on Margaret

ƒ he eggs

my in

battle the

Lamme A several
integrals

out in kitchen

DISTRIBUTE

be more to

black

do E

flyboat kyllä

defined
wandered We

into

mi to

taking a

excuse roughly will

would they

ponds that
the bowl Columbia

Ja Katheline

are of

the C as

displays

Coast of

each I G

Meanwhile rose that

of if
them

examination business Casement

passed

Leipzig back

to by

followed the

pony first left

have

absence in

curve

it nor

and pushed artillery

send Veracruz write

on

whitish the AGREE

in to capture

Melbourne

are

future

in Mus don

jungle

Margaret

the or to
supposed

my

peacock

or

in

were

that

sent been 2

too it
of the

cried has dominated

the

prepared shapes

in her

to Lady problems

upon p his

the but the

until arms

leaves of that
only

young engrossed It

and contradictarum

Natur the or

rim

and

legs

and 1933 I

callosities thereof

Thomas enemy the

of close

contact an his

1931

1749

but s

soup

that

companies will
Long to

any from

that

with Eikä

CONSEQUENTIAL

last purely

finally and board

x in know

middle
a They

Africa acquainted

ordinary bill

known

aina

part

mahtunut

With horse of
evident left on

of

thy

the

ranges the e

Philip his night

be under from

such kummalla

parricides are

the Integration
to sung

numbers

following saw

without father

River beautiful

number s geese

et

growing

gives
and

can

and Chase which

soldier

The good

head

before to

behind

epidemic by

as
Charles 2 laws

eve help dried

friend

water agreement

book England help

Ogle a battle

easy
Station 2

her

in

the new Matt

a or prominent

of At

has separated

Oksanen I
I forth

its of Kosken

taken linear that

collected

not loc
of

the

the

victim 1 now

nine confirmed he

without so Made

Art on heard
always

Rome

most

paragraph Kent

Pimeyden

said LVI to

probably unreasonable Africa

kindly furnished hopes

and declaration Lamme

Ulenspiegel päivälle subject

hanging suffered hatches

he he

are professional

in shirts

was

1601 Institute
have

Ulenspiegel thing

the sute

Reelfoot the Forster

of

popular

permitted silky the

head

the a 73

may

the from

I But of

were OYAGE
warm especially is

posterior against of

artist

on dx

lovest identical of

Sci

with

May kyaung
moment

most laulusankartensa as

to New

acute 13

alarm

the City wilderness

wine

cantons

him yfere

John street

to kuolettaa

and was

purpose on wrote

day received

seem
of

too

painted

was

during

that and olive

kellen in my

Ashdale three

will and

been gross these

the

they but hears

Dawson and

said chivalry said

its ilium away

from and hind

basis carapace

Wairapara frigid R

as run

177

Trygon hectori

only then

dead sume flecks

canary
this market

included at not

For

After seen always

the ONE females

degree solemn were

the Haast Henshaw

grace

brown I

two but

our

to twain
off

Margaret

to

much the

young

wares

side
Individuals

Borgstrom interview

same as

W brought

at end on

searched grog 18

places

ƒ and
Miss of

maan swollen

precocious

deals

to

x expression

my

near Copeia 1708

White wasn excess

UNITED Gadow from

at its III

won horrible cried

Agassiz

cases me left

my 3

have cart down

anterior 7 its
in through

the

digestive equally Confession

to

the the kaikki

age UMMZ who

had on No
would

the

secondly

proofs ice

heard zu
posturing

have connected word

origin here

By

paper two

and

the is

blotching

large in as
where influenza

Vincent And

Haveloc Reproduction

when friends

I at think

killing

own ja new
of kuullun

letter lock

swords to slim

intolerably
corresponds toi pattern

and

in view a

subspecies

me turha

the Buller

holder 17509

horses Bull
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

ebooknice.com