Bioshelter Market Garden by Darrell Frey

Author:Darrell Frey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: GAR016000
ISBN: 9781550924572
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Published: 2011-01-31T16:00:00+00:00

Groundcovers and Lawns

Permaculture design seeks to mimic natural process, both to create fertility and to add diversity to a landscape. In nature, soil is protected with a covering of mulch, sod or other dense plant growth. Soil drainage, fertility, pH and amount of sunlight all affect the type of cover.

Under a canopy of trees, leaves and other organic materials accumulate in a mulch layer. The resulting leaf mold protects the soil from erosion, excess drying and temperature extremes. All the while, the mulch feeds the soil and the community it houses. In the home landscape, we mimic this process by planting grass and mulching plants with wood chips, bark mulch and leaf mold from composted yard waste.

On borders and banks and in foundations plantings, plants can replace grass and mulch. Perennial groundcovers for this purpose include useful plants like chamomile, sweet woodruff, oregano, thyme, and lemon balm, and ornamentals such as periwinkle, pachysandra and English ivy. On the north side of a building and under trees and shrubs, wild woodland plants do well. These include ferns, wild ginger, trillium, sweet woodruff, bloodroot, bleeding hearts, Virginia bluebells and others. Currants, gooseberries, and numerous other woodland shrubs do well in shaded borders. Wild plants should be purchased as nursery-grown plants or rescued from development projects, but not transplanted from the wild. Most prefer an annual mulch of leaf mold.

Doorstep Kitchen Garden

A doorstep garden can add ultimate freshness to a kitchen. Transforming the patio and adjoining yard into a living, breathing spice rack can transform a ho-hum cook into a world-class chef. Exploring new dimensions of flavor and aroma is a journey that can begin at your doorstep.

The doorstep kitchen garden adds life to a patio, enriching the landscape with scent and color. Contrasting greens of culinary herbs, mingled with multicolored chard and flaming red hot peppers beneath trellised orange Sungold cherry tomatoes, provide a savory setting to inspire culinary excellence. When designing a kitchen garden, placement is important. Keep planters away from the grill. At the same time, the closer the plants are to the patio, the more you will use them. By interplanting herbs and vegetables in pots and beds, a broad palette will be at hand and ready for the cutting board. Each plant can be grown in as little as 1 or 2 square feet of space. These plants like rich, balanced soil and a lot of compost. Most will thrive in a sheltered location with lots of sun. A raised bed system makes harvest easier. Perennials and annuals alike can be mulched with shredded bark if the fertility of the soil is high. Weekly application of liquid seaweed and fish emulsion will ensure productivity. A simple footpath through the doorstep garden is enough to provide access to the freshest ingredients.

The kitchen garden begins with the culinary herbs. Potted, in planters or in beds, a great variety of herbs can be grown around the patio and kitchen doorstep. Fresh sprigs of thyme — German, creeping or lemon — are easily stripped from the stem and sprinkled on roasting root vegetables.

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