CREATE SUSTAINABLE SHIELDS
INGREDIENTS
INTRODUCTION
- Nets
- Mulches
- Cover crops plants
Cover Crops
Think of cover crops like nature’s cozy blanket for your garden! They’re plants we grow not to eat, but to help our soil and other plants. These superhero plants fight off weeds, stop soil from washing away, and even make the soil healthier! For example, clover makes the soil rich in nutrients and attracts helpful bees, while radishes break up tough soil so plants can grow better.
We plant cover crops between our main crops, like tomatoes, to keep the soil healthy and protected when there’s nothing growing.Then, when it’s time to plant something new, we can chop up the cover crops and use them as natural fertilizer or let them grow into flowers that bees love!
Protective Nets
Just like how we put on sunscreen to protect our skin from the sun, we use protective nets to shield our plants from pesky bugs and other critters. These nets act like a force field, keeping bugs away so our plants can grow big and strong without getting eaten up! It’s like having a superhero cape for our veggies!
Mulches
Water is super important for our plants, especially in the city where it’s often hard to find. By covering the soil with organic mulches such as straw, shredded leaves, grass clippings, compost, aged manure, wood chips, vermicompost, or inorganic ones such as gravel or larger stones, you create a protective layer that acts as a protective blanket.
Mulching can be done at any time, before or after planting, but keep in mind that a lot of seeds will struggle to grow through a deep mulch layer. You may want to wait for seeds to grow after seeding before adding a deep mulch layer, or pre-seed and wait for plants to grow before introducing them in a mulched bed.
NOTES
Some examples of cover crops
Clover: Fixes nitrogen, adds organic matter, attracts pollinators.
Buckwheat: Quick-growing, suppresses weeds, attracts beneficial insects.
Rye: Builds soil structure, suppresses weeds, scavenges excess nutrients.
Vetch: Fixes nitrogen, adds biomass, improves soil fertility. Radish: Breaks up compacted soil, suppresses nematodes, increases soil aeration.
Fava beans: Fixes nitrogen, adds organic matter, improves soil structure.
NOTES
Mulches benefits
Organic mulches
- minimize water evaporation
- create an environment where rainwater is retained for longer periods ensuring the soil retains moisture for longer duration and a smaller need of watering frequency
- combat water and wind erosion
- suppress weed growth
- regulate soil temperature by protecting it from overheating
- add nutrients to the soil as it breaks down offering source of carbon, which in turn will help the soil store more water.
Inorganic mulches
- do not break down in the soil but will therefor stay on the surface for a longer time, reducing the need to add more.
PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES
Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services: Think of cover crops and mulches like using nature’s recycling system. Instead of throwing things away, we use stuff like old leaves and plants to make our soil better. This helps our garden stay healthy and saves water, like using a refillable water bottle instead of buying new ones all the time.
Obtain a yield: By using cover crops, nets, and mulches, we get awesome rewards! Our soil becomes supercharged with nutrients, we don’t need to water as much, and our plants grow bigger and tastier. It’s like getting a gold star for taking care of our garden!
Use Small and Slow Solutions: We don’t need to rush things in our garden. By slowly adding cover crops, nets, and mulches, we make our garden stronger over time. It’s like building a LEGO set one piece at a time. We’re making our garden awesome, bit by bit, and it gets better and better as we go along!
