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No-dig Gardening
No-dig gardening is a non-cultivation method used by some organic gardeners. This technique recognizes that micro- and macro-biotic organisms constitute a "food web" community in the soil, necessary for the healthy cycling of nutrients and prevention of problematic organisms and diseases. The plants transfer a portion of the carbon energy they produce to the soil, and microbes that benefit from this energy in turn convert available organic substances in the soil to the mineral components the plants need to thrive. History The origins of no-dig gardening are unclear, and may be based on pre-industrial or nineteenth-century farming techniques. Masanobu Fukuoka started his pioneering research work in this domain in 1938, and began publishing in the 1970s his Fukuokan philosophy of " do-nothing farming" or natural farming, which is now acknowledged by some as the tap root of the permaculture movement. Two pioneers of the method in the twentieth century included F. C. King, Head Ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organic Gardener
The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to organic gardening and farming: Organic farming – alternative agricultural system that relies on fertilizers of organic origin such as compost, manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting. Biological pest control, mixed cropping and the fostering of insect predators are encouraged. Organic standards, in general, are intended to enable the use of naturally occurring compounds while restricting or strongly limiting the use of manufactured substances. Organic farming and gardening systems and approaches * Biodynamic farming * Biodynamic gardening * Climate-friendly gardening * Forest gardening * History of organic farming * Korean natural farming * Organic farming * Organic gardening (Organic horticulture) * Organic lawn management * Permaculture * Square foot gardening * Synergistic gardening * System of Rice Inte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. This practice reduces the reliance of crops on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, along with the probability of developing resistant pests and weeds. Growing the same crop in the same place for many years in a row, known as monocropping, gradually depletes the soil of certain nutrients and promotes the proliferation of specialized pest and weed populations adapted to that crop system. Without balancing nutrient use and diversifying pest and weed communities, the productivity of monocultures is highly dependent on external inputs that may be harmful to the soil's fertility. Conversely, a well-designed crop rotation can reduce the need for Fertilizer, synthetic fertilizers and herbicides by better using ecosystem services from a diverse set of crops. Additionally, crop rotations can improve soil structure and Soil organic matter, organic m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadfork
The broadfork, also called a U-fork or grelinette, is a garden tool used to manually break up densely packed soil, including hardpan, to improve aeration and drainage. Broadforks are used as part of a no-till or reduced-till seedbed preparation process because they preserve the soil structure and avoid the resurfacing of weed seeds. It consists of five or so metal tines, approximately eight inches long, spaced a few inches apart on a horizontal bar, with two handles extending upwards to chest or shoulder level that form a large U-shape. The operator steps up on the crossbar, using full bodyweight to drive the tines into the ground, then steps backward while pulling backwards on the handles, causing the tines to lever upwards through the soil. This action leaves the soil layers intact, rather than inverting or mixing them, preserving the topsoil structure. A broadfork can be used in a garden, or practically for one to two acres (4,000 to 8,000 m2). For larger areas, a tractor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aquaponics
Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish, snails or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically grown plants. Plants are grown in hydroponics systems, with their roots immersed in the nutrient-rich effluent water. This enables them to filter out the ammonia that is toxic to the aquatic animals, or its metabolites. After the water has passed through the hydroponic subsystem, it is cleaned and oxygenated, and can return to the aquaculture vessels. The size, complexity, and types of foods grown in an aquaponic system can vary as much as any system found in either distinct farming discipline. The main fish grown in aquaponics are tilapia, koi, goldfish, carp, catfish, barramundi, and different types of ornamental fish. The main plants produced include lettuce, pak choi, kale, basil, mint, watercress, tomatoes, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Mollison
Bruce Charles "Bill" Mollison (4 May 1928 – 24 September 2016) was an Australian researcher, author, scientist, teacher and biologist. In 1981, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award "for developing and promoting the theory and practice of permaculture". Permaculture (from "permanent agriculture")Tortorello, Michael (27 July 2011) is an integrated system of ecological and environmental design which Mollison co-developed with David Holmgren and which they envisioned together as a perennial and sustainable form of agriculture. In 1974, Mollison began his collaboration with Holmgren and in 1978 they published their book ''Permaculture One'', which introduced this design system to the general public. Mollison is also the developer of the herb spiral, a herb-growing structure that allows herbs with different growing requirements to coexist in a small space. Mollison founded The Permaculture Institute in Tasmania and created the education system to train others under the um ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waitara, New South Wales
Waitara is a suburb in the Upper North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 19 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Hornsby Shire. History Waitara is a word in the Māori language that means ''hail, pure water'' or ''hail, wide steps''. (There is also a town in New Zealand named " Waitara".)''The Book of Sydney Suburbs'', Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia , page 262 The suburb takes its name from the Waitara River in New Zealand, where Australian troops fought as Imperial volunteers during the New Zealand Wars. European settlement Myles McRae once owned land in Southern Sydney, near Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD and is part of the St George, New South Wales, St George area. Hurstville is the administrative cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, peaking at over 200,000 copies in 2006, although circulation of the daily ''Herald'' had declined to 100,073 copies on average by September 2019. The ''Herald''s publications include a daily paper; the ''Weekend Herald'', a weekly Saturday paper; and the ''Herald on Sunday'', which has 365,000 readers nationwide. The ''Herald on Sunday'' is the most widely read Sunday paper in New Zealand. The paper's website, nzherald.co.nz, is viewed 2.2 million times a week and was named Voyager Media Awards' News Website of the Year in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. In 2023, the ''Weekend Herald'' was awarded Weekly Newspaper of the Year and the publication's mobile application was the News App of the Year. Its main circulation area is the Auckland R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheet Mulching
In permaculture, sheet mulching is an agricultural no-dig gardening technique that attempts to mimic the natural soil-building process in forests. When deployed properly and in combination with other permaculture principles, it can generate healthy, productive, and low maintenance ecosystems. Sheet mulching, also known as compost , composting in place, mimics nature by breaking down organic material from the topmost layers down. The simplest form of sheet mulching consists of applying a bottom layer of decomposable material, such as cardboard or newspapers, to the ground to kill existing vegetation and suppress weeds. Then, a top layer of organic mulch is applied. More elaborate sheet mulching involves more layers. Sheet mulching is used to transform a variety of surfaces into a fertile soil that can be planted. Sheet mulching can be applied to a lawn, a dirt lot full of perennial weeds, an area with poor soil, or even pavement or a rooftop. Technique A model for sheet mulchi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fungi
A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one of the kingdom (biology)#Six kingdoms (1998), traditional eukaryotic kingdoms, along with Animalia, Plantae, and either Protista or Protozoa and Chromista. A characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists is chitin in their cell walls. Fungi, like animals, are heterotrophs; they acquire their food by absorbing dissolved molecules, typically by secreting digestive enzymes into their environment. Fungi do not photosynthesize. Growth is their means of motility, mobility, except for spores (a few of which are flagellated), which may travel through the air or water. Fungi are the principal decomposers in ecological systems. These and other differences place fungi in a single group of related o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Dowding
Charles Dowding (born 1959) is an English horticulturalist and author who has pioneered modern no dig and organic soil management in the UK since 1983. Life and work Dowding spent his childhood on a dairy farm in Somerset. He graduated from his degree in geography at Cambridge University in 1980, having been influenced by environmental writers such as Rachel Carson. "How does your garden grow" ''Guardian'' 4 November 2015 In the 1980s he worked for a hotel in the .Quarto Books b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil Drainage
A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, U.S. and Canada), highway drain, surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from impervious surfaces such as paved streets, car parks, parking lots, footpaths, sidewalks, and roofs. Storm drains vary in design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems. Drains receive water from street gutters on most motorways, freeways and other busy roads, as well as towns in areas with heavy rainfall that leads to flooding, and coastal towns with regular storms. Even rain gutters from houses and buildings can connect to the storm drain. Since many storm drainage systems are gravity sewers that drain untreated storm water into rivers or streams, any hazardous substances poured into the drains will contaminate the destination bodies of water. Storm drains sometimes cannot manage the quantity of rain that falls in heavy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spent Mushroom Compost
Spent mushroom compost is the residual compost waste generated by the mushroom production industry. Background It is readily available (bagged, at nursery suppliers), and its formulation generally consists of a combination of wheat straw, dried blood, horse manure and ground chalk, composted together. It is an excellent source of humus, although much of its nitrogen content will have been used up by the composting and growing mushrooms. It remains, however, a good source of general nutrients (1-2% N, 0.2% P, 1.3% K plus a full range of trace elements), as well as a useful soil conditioner. However, due to its chalk content, it may be alkaline, and should not be used on acid-loving plants, nor should it be applied too frequently, as it will overly raise the soil's pH levels. Mushroom compost may also contain pesticide residues, particularly organochlorides used against the fungus gnat. If the compost pile was stored outside, it may contain grubs or other insects attracted to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
