Learn A “Shady” Trick To Increase Garden Yields
A Gardener Reveals His Solution to Optimizing Unused Margins
Have you ever wondered what to do with those shady areas in your garden? If you have crops there, you know from experience, that the yield is lower than on the sunny patches.
You will be happy to learn that there is a way to put those shady margins to good use. You can easily transform your garden in such a way so that no area remains unused. If you’re curious how to do that, read the article and learn all the solutions and good practices. You will even learn how to rearrange your garden so you contribute to the eco-system.
Making your home garden productive is an in-depth and gradual process. ……..
Assessing where the best sun is and where different microclimates lie can begin to help define use areas. As each exposure and conditions create a different microclimate, you may have three to four distinct areas at your home, each with their own strengths and setbacks — even in a small urban lot. Best to work with the forces of nature to create plant groupings that reflect the microclimate of each area.
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As for a commercial example, if you were to try to grow two acres of carrots on a parcel of land, but only 3/4 of that land is in full sun, you may have trouble with carrot yields in the shadier area. Would it not make more sense to work with the lay-of-the-land and plant something more shade-loving in that shadier area?
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As for the rest of the property, work with marginal or shady areas by assessing plants that don’t mind the shade. Many greens and culinary herbs originate in meadows and forest under-stories where the light is dappled. Because they do not have the pressure to produce fruiting bodies, greens are able to stay healthy in less than full sun.
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One simple addition that I love is to plant hearty annuals in the basins at the base of each fruit tree. Particularly when using drip irrigation, there is already a water source at each fruit tree. In this way, the secondary understory crop is acting as a green mulch for the fruit tree, reducing weeds as well as slowing evapotranspiration.
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My solution for these marginal margins is to plant native plants and drought-tolerant Mediterranean species………
As for the natives, they can provide insectary zones adjacent to your crops, which will ensure that your food crops get regularly pollinated. Think of these native flower zones as apartment complexes for beneficial insects. It is my great joy to return to a garden I have designed and see resident bee populations able to stay in the vicinity due to year-round pollen on-site.
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Source: Read the full article in Mother Earth News
Image Source: From an article in Money Crashers
