{"id":12426,"date":"2023-12-10T21:28:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-10T20:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/discutafel.nl\/?p=12426"},"modified":"2023-12-10T21:28:56","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T20:28:56","slug":"kew-gardens-kitchen-garden-sustainable-production-on-historical-grounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discutafel.nl\/en\/kew-gardens-kitchen-garden-sustainable-production-on-historical-grounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Kew Gardens Kitchen Garden: sustainable production on historical grounds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Late spring and summer is the perfect time to stroll through the Kitchen Garden at Kew Gardens. It explores sustainable production processes and has been created on the site of the original Georgian kitchen garden.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable production processes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Key words at Kew Gardens Kitchen Garden are both crop rotation and polyculture, companion planting, zero use of chemicals, and no dig method. These are all methods that aim to tackle biodiversity loss, food security, climate change and the cost-of-living crisis. All in all, they use permaculture <\/a>ideas here. The entire garden is a living productive laboratory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Kew
December 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Kitchen
July 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Crop rotation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The staff at the Kew\u2019s Kitchen Garden operates an annual crop rotation. This means they plant families in different beds each year.
Rotating crops creates a moving target for pests and diseases that attack each crop and helps to prevent nutrient depletion in the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Beta
Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris), December 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Tetragonia
New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides), December 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Polyculture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although crop rotation is the buzz word at Kew\u2019s Kitchen Garden, staff combines this approach with polyculture, which is the practice of growing more than one crop species together. Just like in nature!
Polyculture serves multiple functions in the ecology of agriculture, including controlling insect pests, plant diseases, and weeds. Polyculture can contribute to sustainable agriculture as it does not rely on pesticides, requires less tillage, and increases local biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Brassicas
Brassicas, December 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Dwarf
Dwarf French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), July 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Companion planting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To encourage the natural ecosystem, at Kew\u2019s Kitchen Garden they plant ‘beneficial’ and ‘sacrificial’ flowers and herbs to support the crops. This helps gardeners avoid having to use chemicals.
Beneficial plants, like marigolds (Calendula) attract useful insects to the beds. Sacrificial plants, or ‘trap crops’, give the target pest an alternate feast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No dig method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The horticulturists of the Kitchen Garden use a ‘no dig’ method. Using this approach, you feed the soil from above, as happens naturally with falling leaves, etc. You leave the work to the worms and other creatures to carry the nutrients down into the lower ground. This layer of organic matter also suppresses weeds, and protects beneficial bacteria and helpful creatures that live just below the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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