80-20 Gardening

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Lucky C
Posts: 755
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2016 6:09 am

80-20 Gardening

Post by Lucky C »

What are some ideas for getting 80% of the produce you could be getting, while putting in 20% of the effort of a typical person who is really into gardening? What are some topics Tim Ferriss would write about if he wrote The Four Hour Gardener?

I'm just getting started this year and it's hard for me to judge what is "good enough" to get decent results vs. what is absolutely essential: Is a certain rule or tip the difference between a big yield and a bigger yield, or the difference between life and death of the plant?

I've seen a few recipes for supposedly the perfect soil mix, but what's the minimum that I need to add to my sub-par soil to get a decent crop?

If a plant "needs" six hours of sun, how much less do you get out of if it only sees five?

If a plant wants a pH of 6.0 - 7.0, what happens if the soil is 5.5 or 5.0?

Eventually, years from now, I want to have a nice permaculture garden, but it's hard getting started when you don't have much to work with and don't want to truck in loads of expensive soil!

cmonkey
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Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: 80-20 Gardening

Post by cmonkey »

For a brand new garden, if I could only do one thing, it would be to cover every inch of bare soil with 4-6 inches of some sort of organic mulch. Compost is the best. Grass clippings and leaf mould work well around veggies (after they are 6+ inches) and wood chips work well around perennials. The mulch will suppress weeds and improve the structure/moisture retentiveness of the soil no matter if its clay or sand. This will handle 80% of the work of gardening (weeding and watering).

I am doing this this year and haven't spent more than an hour weeding and haven't water once.

You might also check out Patrick at One Yard Revolution. He is my favorite youtube gardener. He has some "myth buster" videos where he talks about practices that are deemed "essential" which really are just bunk.

Lucky C wrote:
Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:09 pm
If a plant "needs" six hours of sun, how much less do you get out of if it only sees five?

If a plant wants a pH of 6.0 - 7.0, what happens if the soil is 5.5 or 5.0?
For these, it depends on the plant. Most plants will be fine with slightly acidic soil, but any lower than 5.5 and they can't take up the right nutrients. Essentially the nutrients are locked up and unavailable. So the more nutrient dependent the plant, the more it's affected. Same with sunlight, but one hour more of shade won't have any impact. You'd have to half the sunlight to really affect it. You can grow tomatoes in shade, they just take forever and will likely never ripen.

George the original one
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Re: 80-20 Gardening

Post by George the original one »

Start small and expand as you gain skills. Trying to work the biggest area you can without experience usually results in "never again".

Temperatures have an impact. Where I live on the Oregon coast, summertime nights drop to 40F and heat-lovers like peppers & tomatoes & melons won't mature without a greenhouse. On the other hand, I can grow peas all summer long, where I understand most of the east coast gets a short spring season.

Finished compost & fertilizer (manure). Finished compost is the sponge controlling moisture, loosening compacted soil, and fertilizer is the fuel for the plants. Unfinished compost can draw undesireable insects & fungi into your garden, so keep the compost pile some distance from the garden.

Be willing to experiment & let plants die.

JasonR
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Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 12:00 am

Re: 80-20 Gardening

Post by JasonR »

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Last edited by JasonR on Fri Mar 15, 2019 12:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Campitor
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Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2015 11:49 am

Re: 80-20 Gardening

Post by Campitor »

What are some ideas for getting 80% of the produce you could be getting, while putting in 20% of the effort of a typical person who is really into gardening? What are some topics Tim Ferriss would write about if he wrote The Four Hour Gardener?
First you need to ask the right questions in order to build a decent plan for your garden before worrying about any 80/20 rule:
  • What vegetables do I like to eat?
  • What is the best environment to grow them in, i.e., temperature, acidity, duration of sunlight, length of growing season?
  • Are all the vegetables in my list compatible in regards to soil requirements, climate range, and/or competing root/leaf systems, i.e, will the corn I'm growing shade out my tomatoes or will my lettuce wilt under the conditions required to grow peppers?
  • How much do I need to grow for my needs?
  • Do I live in area that has sufficient water resources (natural or man made) at an economy of price that allows me to grow what I want in the volume that I want? Growing salad vegetables in Arizona requires different investments/techniques than Northeastern US.
  • How much pest control (I prefer organic) am I prepared to undertake to minimize my losses to insects/rodents/birds?
I'm just getting started this year and it's hard for me to judge what is "good enough" to get decent results vs. what is absolutely essential: Is a certain rule or tip the difference between a big yield and a bigger yield, or the difference between life and death of the plant?
Since soil suitability can be different from yard to yard acre to acre - your best bet is to have your soil tested for acidity and nutrient density; most states provide this service for free or for a small fee. If you have poor soil, build a raised bed and grow a green manure crop if your soil is subpar and keep amending it with compost you're creating from your own food waste/grass clippings/leaf raking. Don't make the raised bed or your gardening strip too wide that you have to step into your plant bed to weed/harvest/prune - this compresses the soil which is bad for the plant roots.
I've seen a few recipes for supposedly the perfect soil mix, but what's the minimum that I need to add to my sub-par soil to get a decent crop?
This is the wrong question to ask - the nutrients in your soil affect taste, color, and more importantly the nutrient content of your vegetables - do you want to grow vegetables with average nutrient density that may get diluted when stored/cooked and taste so-so or do you want to grow vegetables with a robust nutrient content that will withstand nutrient leaching during storage/cooking and taste great?
If a plant "needs" six hours of sun, how much less do you get out of if it only sees five?

Your plants will do fine as long as they are within the required average sunlight range.
If a plant wants a pH of 6.0 - 7.0, what happens if the soil is 5.5 or 5.0?

Taste, size, and nutrient uptake is affected.
Eventually, years from now, I want to have a nice permaculture garden, but it's hard getting started when you don't have much to work with and don't want to truck in loads of expensive soil!
You don't have to truck in soil if you are willing to build raised beds and fill them with compost. Depending on the size of your yard, you can create compost from your own kitchen's bio waste and possibly scrounging grass clippings, leaves, and discarded vegetables from your neighbors. Initially your raised garden will serve as your compost bin - in 1 season all that waste will turn into moist and loose soil that will retain moisture very well while also having good drainage.

Some useful links if you're interested:

7Wannabe5
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Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: 80-20 Gardening

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

I agree with everything suggested above. Two further ideas I might proffer would be to seriously consider the harvesting, processing and preserving end of the system and location, location and location. More production than you have the wherewithal or druthers to process/preserve effectively can be as much of a problem as too little production/effort. Planting zucchini takes very little time compared to the effort you will have to make at the gym to burn off all those loaves of zucchini bread you felt compelled to bake :(

enigmaT120
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Location: Falls City, OR

Re: 80-20 Gardening

Post by enigmaT120 »

Zucchini bread would be a lot better if you substituted grated apples for the squash.... Sheesh, even grated beets or turnips.

7Wannabe5
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Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: 80-20 Gardening

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

@enigmaT120:

I don't know about the turnip quick bread, and if I had apples I would be baking a pie. Beets could work, maybe throw in some citrus or some chocolate. What I actually have too much of now is kale. What I have too little of is blueberries. The curly variety of kale is very good in ginger-sesame stir-fry with flour sticks. I only had enough blueberries to eat out of hand while weeding (chop-dropping.)

I am still somewhat distressed/depressed about eviction from my garden-site camper, but most everything seems to be doing remarkably well with little tending.

vexed87
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Location: Yorkshire, UK

Re: 80-20 Gardening

Post by vexed87 »

Permaculturist's emphasise planting perennials. Most people don't realise that many annual varieties we consume are also available in perennial form. Naturally they involve less labour, seen as though there is no need to save or plant seeds, dig beds etc, they just come back year after year. Think apples, pears, peaches and plums, cherries, strawberries, asparagus, there are even varieties of onions, brassicas, roots and salads.

I think it's likely that early horticultural human's preferred annuals because of the reduced time to maturation/yield was an important factor. If you are going hungry, you can't wait two years for your asparagus stalks. However these days food is plentiful, it makes sense to plant a more long term veg/fruit garden, and have a smaller section dedicated to annuals that you enjoy, because you can get your veggies at the store while you wait a few years for your plants/trees to produce a crop. This strategy depends on you staying put, and having the time an inclination to stick with gardening though.

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