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Download the Permagardening for the Family Chapter
The Permagardening for the Family chapter of the Facilitators Manual provides the detailed instructions (and support materials) you need to implement the mobilization meeting. Download the chapter here.
Summary
Goal Using provided seeds and tools, farmers will meet their family’s priority subsistence needs by nursing, planting and maintaining at least 6 types of nutritious vegetables, including 3 not previously planted. Learning Objectives- Motivate interest in growing new types of nutritious vegetables.
- Understand considerations for nursery and garden site selection.
- Learn best practices for growing a variety of nutritious vegetables, including land preparation, spacing, nursing, and planting methods.
- Understand how companion planting and triangular spacing can increase yield and reduce pests and moisture loss.
- Learn basic garden care including soil amending, mulching, watering and natural pest control.
- Chapter 5: Seedling Propagation (Soils section)
- Chapter 13: Permagardening
- Ask lead farmer what vegetables his/her family would like to plant during Module 4.
- Prepare lead farmer to give smart answers to nutrition-related questions in the Opener activity.
- Ask lead farmer to prepare nursery site, including double digging the beds.
- Purchase the vegetable seeds that will be used for the training event.
- Ensure lead farmer begins nursing vegetables in seedling beds 4-6 weeks before workshop.
- Identify three literate farmers to read the nutrition story in the opener activity. Go over the story with the “actors” in advance if the farmers are not literate.
- Review the module instructions and corresponding permagardening sections of the Trees for the Future Forest Garden Technical Manual.
- Vegetable seeds
- 5 hoes or picks
- 5 shovels
- 1 wheelbarrow of finished compost
- 1 bucket of charcoal powder
- 1 bucket of wood ash
- 3 watering cans
- 5 buckets
- String
- Flip chart
- Markers
- diagram of garden setup/design, triangular spacing
Agenda
Opener: Nutrition story (30 mins)- Volunteers read/act out story
- Debrief nutrition lessons learned from story
- Discuss nutrition needs of the lead farmer’s family
- Discuss garden site selection criteria for lead farmer’s Forest Garden design
- Make a plan for the lead farmer’s permagarden
- Instruct large group on how to prepare nursery site and nurse vegetable seeds
- Farmers form small groups, collect vegetable seeds or seedlings, and discuss planting methods
- Small groups prepare beds for their assigned vegetable
- Small groups start planting/transplanting the first section of their bed
- Call all groups together for first Learn-and-Teach
- Continue Learn-and-Teach
- Debrief Learn-and-Teach and discuss permagardening best practices
- Design your permagarden
- Follow-up
What you need to know
Whether you intend to sit the FG Pro certification exam, or lead Seedling Propagation module extension activities, you must be able to answer the following questions to succeed.Soil types, amendments, compost & mulch
Soil Type
- Why is soil quality important?
- What are the different types of soil?
- What are the drawbacks of clay for nursing trees?
- What are the drawbacks of sand for nursing trees?
- Why is loamy soil best for nursing trees? What is the fourth important medium for healthy soils? What is humus and where does it come from?
Simple Soil Test
Soil Amendments and their Benefits
Permagerdening: Year round vegetable garden
Site Selection & Planning
Constructing a Permagarden
- What are key steps in constructing a Permagarden site?
- What is double digging? How do you perform double digging for permagardens? Why is double-digging critical for permagarden beds?
- What amendments should you add to the soil in your nursery beds? In what proportions?
- What do you do after double digging the beds?
- What are advantages and disadvantages of raised and sunken garden beds?
Vegetable Propagation
The Germinate and Transplant Method
- How do you prepare the germination bed? How do you protect the germination bed? From goats? From pests/ants? From the sun?
- How do you plant seeds in the germination bed? What is the spacing between seeds in the germination bed?
- What are some reasons seeds do not germinate?
- How do you care for plants in the germination beds? How often do you weed? When do you thin?
Transplanting
- How do you transplant your vegetable seedling from germination beds to permagarden beds?
- What are some tips or precautions to keep in mind when transplanting seedlings?
Direct Seeding
- What are benefits of direct seeding, what are its drawbacks? What types of vegetables benefit from direct seeding?
- What are three benefits of using the germinate and transplant method over direct seeding?
Triangular Spacing of Seeds and Transplants
- How do you maximize the number of plants you can grow in a bed without planting them too closely?
- Is it best to line up plants evenly in rows or to stagger them like triangles? What benefits do you get from triangular spacing?
- Why is it critical to get the spacing between plants right when using triangular spacing?
- What technique can you use to dig holes in the correct triangular pattern?
Convenient Spacing Tools
Maintaining Your Permagarden
Maximizing Productivity in your Permagarden
- What are some strategies for intercropping crop types so that you can harvest throughout the year?
- What are some advantages of intercropping?
- How does crop rotation minimize pests and disease?
- What are the four main types of vegetables? Which types do not take as many nutrients from the soil? Which types give back nutrients to the soil? Which types need the most nutrients from the soil?
- In what order should you rotate different types of vegetables?
- What is cover cropping? What are its benefits in the rainy season? What are its benefits in the cold season?
- What are companion plants?