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Joel Kramer
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- Del Mar, CA
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Started this discussion. Last reply by amanda Jan 17.
Joel Kramer's Groups
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Backyard Kitchen Herba...
131 members
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Wildlife-Friendly Food
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California Gardeners
39 members
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Urban Farmers - Cape Town
10 members
Joel Kramer's Page
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Comment Wall (4 comments)
- At 7:53am on May 31, 2009,
Anh Collins said…
- Wanna chat with me on cam?, come see me here You'll enjoy it. I promise!!!! realamateurwebcams.info
- At 8:23pm on May 9, 2009,
Wayne Burleson said…
- Joel, Here is part of an article that will give you some more information
You can use my Email rutbuster@montana.net if you like
Anyway here some reading that may interest you:
Take care
Extending the harvest season, however, is not Burleson's primary goal. Instead, he promotes a simple formula for growing "fast food" in very limited space.
"A garden means work," Burleson said. "I don't like to call it a garden. I like to call it fast food."
The technique he uses involves no digging, no fertilizer and no tilling. Compared to conventional gardening, he said, the system requires 80 percent less land, 90 percent less water, 95 percent less seed and 98 percent less work - but produces 100 percent of the crops.
"It's so simple everybody can do it," he said. "You can learn about it in about an hour, and you can build one in about an hour."
Burleson, a former Forest Service employee, likes to think outside the box. Now a consultant and author, he hands out business cards describing his expertise as "how to regenerate land, people and profit." Not one to waste space, he uses the back of his business card to list a series of questions to ask oneself when making decisions.
He was inspired by a trip to South Africa this past spring, when he and wife, Connie, traveled as part of the Farmer-to-Farmer Program sponsored by Florida A&M University. The Burlesons' task was to assist locals with technology and best-management practices. But the suggestions they offered were routinely rejected by the shanty-town residents.
"When you go to Africa, they end up teaching you," he said.
The Burlesons soon learned that the residents not only lacked money and space, but they faced a constant security problem. With poverty high and theft common, locals saw little point in increasing production if there was no way to protect their bounty, he said.
That's when the cogs in his head began turning. Burleson measured the size of the doorways into the shanty-town homes and on the flight back home he sketched a picture of a cart.
"They could put wheels on their gardens so they could fit through their doors," he said. "That way, they could wheel them inside and make them secure."
But the novel idea presented a secondary problem: How to grow food in a cart-sized space?
Back in Absarokee, Burleson's research led him to Mel Bartholomew's Web site, www.squarefootgardening.com. Bartholomew, a civil engineer and nationally recognized innovator, had devised a plan for tiny, productive gardens based on a grid system. Each square foot garden is divided into equal 1-foot squares, with each square designated for a different crop.
"He (Mel) says, if you don't grid it, you won't be disciplined," Burleson said. "And he says 1 cup of water per square."
All told, Burleson's 4-foot-by-4-foot minigardens - built using 2-by-6 boards, and lined on the bottom with weed cloth - can yield up to 100 pounds of produce, he said.
"Put the box by the house, so you're walking by it all the time," he suggests.
The secret to success, however, is not so much the size of the garden as the loose, dark, soil that supports it. By combining equal parts peat moss, coarse vermiculite and mixed compost, Burleson creates a fertile mixture that can produce a bounty of potatoes, full-size cabbages, a variety of lettuces and just about any type of garden produce. At only 4 inches deep - that's the depth of soil Bartholomew advises - even carrots, beets and radishes flourish.
According to Burleson, the compost is the "magic" ingredient of the soil. Created from a variety of organic matter, it is the one component that provides nutrients for plant growth.
It's easy to keep a bucket for vegetable kitchen waste by the back door, he said. To cut down on flies and odor, he drops a second bucket into the first.
Outside, he dumps the contents of the bucket into a heap with grass clippings, manure, straw and other vegetable waste. Turned frequently, it will heat to 150 degrees in its core. That's the sign of active bacteria breaking down the natural constituents, he said.
As Burleson perfects his soils and his garden, he continued tinkering on what he refers to as his "goofy invention" - a heated bucket garden on wheels, enclosed under a thermostatically controlled glass lid. As the temperature rises, the lid automatically opens. As the temperature falls, not only does the lid close, but the wheeled garden can be rolled into the garage.
"It had three feet of snow on it in October," he said. "And I missed a hailstorm, a windstorm and the animals couldn't get into it because I moved it inside."
The square-foot garden concept translates well to all ages and abilities, he said. Small tabletop plots can be made for nursing-home residents and even the wheelchair bound. The minigardens are also a great way to reconnect children to the source of their food.
"Teach your kids to plant, grow, harvest, cook and eat right out of the garden," he said, smiling at his double-play on the word "right."
But why is Burleson talking gardens in November?
Now is the perfect time to start making "fast food" soil, he said. And if you plan your layout and build your boxes now, you'll be eating gourmet lettuce when most of the neighbors are just planting their seeds.
Burleson recently compiled his ideas into a manual that was taken to Tanzania, and he and Connie have been invited to share their expertise at an orphanage in Ethiopia. But he's also eager to spread the word locally.
"This method is way too simple. It eliminates expensive transportation, and it's naturally organic," he said, then pauses to smile. "And I find myself eating better, too."
- At 8:08am on May 9, 2009,
Wayne Burleson said…
- Nice to hear from SA folks. Love it there but we only stayed for 3 weeks.
Our test garden is growing in 100% homemade compost and growing so fast it looks like a jungle here in cold Montana USA where it still freezes almost every night.
We are doing this for a return trip to Africa and teach other a better way to grow their own food.
- At 12:18pm on April 10, 2009,
Penelope said…
- California or Africa?
Profile Information
- Where do you live and garden?
- Cape Town, SA
- How long have you been growing food?
- 1-3 years
- Dream garden travel destination:
- Teotihuacan
- Favorite foods:
- Black beans
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HOW TO - ADD A LINK
Several people have experienced difficulty putting working links into comments and blogs etc and I know it is clumsy.... so here is how you do it.....
First type the text you want to appear.... ie IAN'S PAGE
Then go back and highlight the link text.
Then hit the hyperlink button...a pictogram of a chain link.
Your browser may intervene and request permission to allow temporary scripting or some similar message. Allow it and go back and highlight the text again
… ContinueCreated by Ian Jun 7, 2009 at 7:28pm. Last updated by Ian Jun 8.
Forum Policy
Hi, I'm starting to put together a few guidlines on using the discussion forum on here.
I would be happy to hear any comments you may have. This is very much a work in progress so plese feel free to ask me to add anything you think is needed.
I don't want to make our community hide bound by rules and regulations but I think that, as the community has grown, some explanation of what is expected is needed.
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You can refer any que
… ContinueCreated by Ian May 23, 2009 at 1:55am. Last updated by Ian May 25.
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Hi following recent discussion I have put climate maps of the USA, Australia and Europe on here for reference..
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Created by Ian Sep 12, 2008 at 6:20pm. Last updated by Ian Apr 14.
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Hi Everyone, I've started to collect together recipes from various posts on the site and put them all together here.
If you have a recipe you want to add on here, just post it on the site and leave a comment on my page telling me where it is and I'll go and fetch it back here.
They are organised in Contributor Order but I'm open to better suggestions!
BEVA'S RECIPES
… ContinueCreated by Ian Jun 2, 2008 at 9:54am. Last updated by Ian Apr 13.
US STATES ABBREVIATIONS
US STATE ABBREVIATIONS
AK - Alaska AL - Alabama AR - Arkansas
AZ - Arizona CA - California CO - Colorado
CT - Connecticut DC - Dist of Columbia * DE - Delaware
FL - Florida GA - Georgia GU
Created by Ian Jan 27, 2009 at 4:27pm. Last updated by Ian Jan 27.
HOW TO - MAKE COMPOST
Recently there was an excellent discussion about composting. I’ve pulled together all the various comments here. You can also watch KGI's video on composting here.
KATE’S ADVICE
I used to have a tumbler that we made from a wine-barrel but
1 you have to fill it up all at once
2. it seemed mostly
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Welcome to Notes.
To view notes that are in the system hit the "all notes" button above.
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A Note about Notes
I have just written this note so that I can see what we can achieve by using this new feature.
If you read this and have any suggestions then please leave a comment on my page or email me.
Ian
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