posted 11 years ago
Hi,
I am trying to create food beds that I can put pigs in a pig tractor in, to dig up as required (esp for winter and early spring when there is no extra fruit. This is to save time harvesting ourselves, and also to establish new garden beds from pasture (dig up a few times over a few years in order to get rid of the seed bed). I am looking at growing a mix of jerusalem artichokes, beets/mangels, swedes, radishes, carrots etc. I am also planning that I would rotate the goats (and maybe cattle) over it before harvest as well in order to eat down the tops.
I am wondering if anyone has done this and also incorporated growing grains in the bonfil-fokuoka method. The main problem i see is that if you put the root plants in the first summer with the wheat, then they will be ready too quickly, and if you put it in with the wheat the second spring/summer, then the grain will over-crowd the smaller root crops (beets, mangels, swedes, carrots), and the green leaves of the root crops may hold in the moisture and encourage the crop to mold.
Do you think the following will work or are there are any other suggestions:
- SUMMER AFTER MIDSUMMER - plant grain and field peas
- WINTER - slash-harvest field peas and grain tops for stock or let the animals graze them down.
- SPRING/SUMMER Plant jerusalem artichokes and/or sunflowers between the grain, as they would grow above the grain. If the grain is spaced a bit, then it might also be possible to plant a single row of peanuts between the rows of grain to add a higher-protein content to the food.
When the grain is harvested, then put in the faster growing root crops (beetroot, white radishes etc) for the pigs to harvest in late autumn/winter.