We have started work on the synergistic garden, which is based on Emilia Hazelip‘s principles (which in turn are based on Fukuoka‘s principles of no dig, no fertiliser/pesticide/herbicide, direct sowing using clay seed balls). The mandala shaped garden was initially ploughed last year by horse, sheet mulched, planted directly with squash plants and undersown with clover and phacelia. It was then double dug, the centre was marked and the beds measured out and made. Raised trapezoid shaped beds give it visibility and increased drainage ( good for clay soil). They will be kept mulched at all times and interplanted as much as possible with compatible plants, being aware of guilds, whose different root systems will support different mycorrhizal systems and help provide a complex ecology which together with the predators in the pond and wild flower area will balance the slugs (which of course increase through mulching). Minimum to no crop rotation.
schumacher apprentice adventures 