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"FRENCH
INTENSIVE" GARDENING
French Intensive,
or "double dug" raised bed gardening yields the most produce for
the least area of any realistic gardening method. Originally developed
for use in narrow back yards in France, these raised beds require
little annual upkeep and no power tools to continue in production.
The basic concept
of French Intensive gardening is that raised beds are created which
have humus added, and the whole bed is light and fluffy to a depth
of two feet to promote fantastic root growth. The beds are typically
5 or 6 feet wide and 12 or more feet long, with 3 foot paths between
the beds. Each bed is a low mound in shape, and if desired boards
can be placed along the sides to maintain a distinct border, but
that is not required.
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The
Secret Garden
This booklet develops the
concept that gardening in the new Millennium may be very
different, and presents plans on survival gardening, maximum
yield of edibles per area, how to make a "French Intensive"
garden as well as an all-year vegetable garden.
Order here. |
Compost is created
in a separate bed from chopped yard debris, grass clippings, manure
(except horse manure), and kitchen scraps, then added as a top dressing
every year.
Establishing
a raised double-dug bed is neither easy nor fun, and it takes a
year before the bed is highly productive. Typically, a row is dug
on the long axis of the bed using a shovel, then a heavy duty garden
fork is used to break up the clods, a layer of humus added, and
the trench dug deeper and added to the pile. This process is repeated
backwards along the bed, during which the soil is thoroughly mixed
with the humus and/or compost and broken up into fine particles.
Obviously a
heavy clay soil is very difficult to initially dig, whereas a sandy
loam is much easier. Heavy clay soils can be improved considerably
by adding a lot of sawdust and mason's sand. DO NOT use beach or
river sand! Mason's sand, being crushed granite, has sharp edges
and actually loosens the soil.
A lot of sawdust
or wood chips, chopped straw, chopped leaves (except Walnut), etc,
make a heavy clay soil lighter and more friable, but also consume
nitrogen as they decompose. A cup of ammonium nitrate per 10 feet
of row replaces the lost nitrogen.
Another excellent
soil amendment is vermiculite, which can be purchased relatively
inexpensively from concrete suppliers. Vermiculite is basically
puffed granite particles, so it holds moisture extremely well and
is not biodegradable.
Once established,
French Intensive beds require little additional work, and their
main limiting factors in producing high yields are sunlight and
water. Because the beds are densely planted they are effectively
interplanted,* so plant spacing is important, and growing similar
height plants next to one another is a good idea.
All gardens
require about 1 ½ inches of irrigation water per week, and French
Intensive beds require no less. This can be "grey" water, misted
sprayers, whatever, but should be applied until the surface of the
ground is "shiny" for a few seconds. Frequent light watering does
not encourage the water to penetrate to a great depth, yet with
2 foot deep beds to encourage deep root growth, deep watering of
French Intensive beds is mandatory.
Planting French
Intensive beds is a unique experience. Instead of a single long
row as in "normal" gardening, the rows should be at least a foot
to 3 feet wide and run across the bed. Now you can see why the paths
should be about 3 feet wide: you have to kneel on the path to plant
to the middle of the bed, then go to the other side, kneel, and
finish planting the "row."
Individual plant
"spacing" in normal gardening is accomplished by thinning the rows.
In French Intensive gardening the spacing is accomplished by seeding
at the correct space while planting. See the "thin to" guide in
this booklet, or look at the recommendations on the seed packet
itself for details.
One of the least
understood aspects of gardening is that of capillary action of the
garden soil. It is a proven fact that compressed earth has a better
capillary action than undisturbed soil. That is why gardening books
tell you never to walk between rows in a regular garden, as that
encourages weed growth. And of course people are told never to step
in a French Intensive bed and thus compress the soil.
But the capillary
action is absolutely necessary to bring water up to the roots of
growing plants to promote good and deep root growth. In regular
garden rows, it is easy to roll a heavy 2 or 3 inch wide weighted
wheel (mounted on an axle and handle) down the row directly over
the freshly planted seeds, which will then promote deep root growth
along that line. The spaces between the rows are than rototilled
to eliminate footprints prior to the initial watering.
With French
Intensive gardening, the compressing of the soil directly around
the seed can be done using a 2 inch round object such as a water
glass. The seed is planted, then the glass (or whatever) placed
over that spot and the soil compressed an inch or so. The now-compacted
soil will draw moisture up directly beneath the seed, and the roots
will be encouraged to grow straight down and deep.
*INTERPLANTING:
Many of the fast-maturing vegetables (leaf lettuce, mustard greens,
spinach) may be planted among the seedlings of slow-growing vegetables
(peppers, eggplants, or tomatoes).
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