Why grow Bio-intensively?
Traditional gardens are often planted in long rows, with lots of space between each row. But what about those of us with little growing space, those of us living in cities that want to grow good food at home? What about those people that are no longer satisfied with food that travels hundreds, even thousands of kilometers, to arrive at out grocers counter? What do we do to rid our tables of tasteless vegetables that ripen in the back of trucks and offer us no real understanding of where our food is coming from? Bio-intensive gardening allows you to avoid all the wasted garden space, and focus on making every available inch of your garden productive. Obviously when growing in a small, urban garden, space can feel limiting. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be! Growing bio-intensively allows you to grow and enjoy far more healthy, fresh veggies than you may think, without wasting space.
Bio-intensive growing is an important alternative to commercial agriculture for so many reasons. Right now, commercial agriculture practices require up to 80% of the earth’s available water. These practices deplete the soil that we depend on to grow food. Some statistics show that up 95% of the world’s seed varieties have been lost to mono-cropping, the use of hybrid seeds and seed patenting. Globally, the number of farmers has decreased dramatically and along with them have gone the farming skills once passed down through generations. Sustainable farming practices have all but been lost to conventional agricultural production that is completely dependent on non-renewable resources, a fact that has been shown to not only increase the cost of foods, but is known to be a leading cause of lost land and income opportunities for rural communities around the world. The more food we can grow responsibly and organically in cities around the world, the less dependent we will be on a food system that is destroying the environment and depriving millions of impoverished communities around the globe.
Let’s talk about what you can do to make your small plot garden grow to its fullest potential!
Our Approach:
In order to ensure that we provide you with an edible garden suited to you and your family, we like to begin by asking you to complete a survey so that we are better able to design a combination of customized services and products to get you growing this year. Once we begin to understand your vision, we will meet with you and identify the unique characteristics in your yard that will allow you to maximize your garden’s yields and provide you with as many healthy vegetables as you can eat!
You will have your own planting and harvesting schedule and together we will decide on the level of support you would like from us as your garden’s bounty grows. Based on the total viable growing area of your yard and the level of infrastructure you would like to see added to your garden, we can determine the investment required and design a contract. We will even provide you with an approximate value of your garden’s yields based on current farmers markets prices–and that doesn’t even take into account the value of the pleasure you will get watching your garden grow and enjoying its produce right at your table!
Benefits:
We all know that it’s time to make changes in our daily lives to ensure the health of ourselves and the planet. Growing your own food not only allows you to feel good knowing that you are acting responsibly to reduce your carbon footprint, but it also allows you and your family to begin to reclaim your connect to the food you eat and the to air, water and soil that brings you delicious, fresh, and healthy produce. By growing food in your own backyard your whole understanding of food will change. Family dinners will become a event in and of itself as you start thinking about foods that are in season and are able to experiment with new and interesting ways of preparing the beautiful vegetables growing right in your own backyard.
We want nothing more than to see you and your family enjoy the pleasures of good food. We will even connect you to neighbours growing their own food, and before you know it, you will see a community of like-minded people spring up all around. As you watch your food grow you can take away a sense of accomplishment and pride, after all, it will be you that has made the choice to transform your yard into an edible garden!