Category Archives: Polyculture

A polyculture is a deliberate combination of different plants grown together in a way that enhances the performance of them all.

Sustainable Grains Update October 2012

In my Sustainable Grains design I referred to the fact that I was waiting for books to arrive to allow me to continue my research into Small Scale Grain Growing. I am gradually working my way through an abundance of information, but there is plenty to be encouraged about. This includes observations of the continuous production of wheat in the same fields, with interplanted legumes, and measurements of grain yields with legume interplants as part of a formal experiment. Both of these were recorded by Sir Albert Howard in India.

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Polyculture Update and Small Scale Grain Harvested

Well today was a busy day, with the first harvest of grain from my Bonfils Polyculture. It wasn’t all great news, but this is the first example of small scale grain growing, and grain harvested using the Bonfils method, and a good start to my polyculture experiments.

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Polyculture Update July 2012

The weather has affected me in a similar way to many growers around the country, but has not ‘wrecked’ the polyculture experiment completely. Autumn sown onions are ready to lift, along with garlic planted at the same time. I felt that it was a little early, but a check back through old blog posts suggests that this is a similar time to last year. Some of the sunflowers in the polyculture have been wrecked by slugs, but most are OK. Pictures below. The worst damage has been to the grain, much of which has been blown over. Again, pictures below.

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Polyculture Update May 2012

Alright, alright, it’s been a while since my last post, but it’s hectic. I thought that I would post a few pictures of my polyculture experiment, to show you how things are progressing, which on the whole, is well.

As you can see from the picture below, the Bonfils grain growing has been awesome.

Small scale grain growing

Rye and Spelt

As you look at the picture, the spelt is on your left, and the rye is on your right. The rye is already flowering, and continuing to grow. In this picture the rye is already above my head, and the spelt has put on another 6 inches of growth in the last week, since this picture was taken.

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Compost, Green Manure, and Intercropping

It’s been a little while since my last post, and for most of that time I have been contemplating the detail of my vegetable/grain polyculture, how the crops will be rotated, and how I will incorporate compost, green manures, and intercrops into the system. I waited, in the hope that I could post the finished article, but have to admit, that I still have a bit of thinking to do.

The problem has been trying to get the PERFECT system, whereas I may have to compromise on perfection, and settle for just pretty good. It hasn’t helped that I’ve learnt more during the process, which has added some complexity.

What I hope to do is explain what I’m aiming for, why I’m doing it, and outline where I am now. What follows is for my larger vegetable growing area.

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