John Jeavons - How to grow more vegetables : (and fruits, nuts, berries, grains, and other crops) than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine

Copyright 1974, 1979, 1982, 1991, 1995, 2002, 2006, 2012 by Ecology Action of the Midpeninsula

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
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www.growbiointensive.org
www.bountifulgardens.org
www.commongroundinpaloalto.org
See also: www.johnjeavons.info

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jeavons, John.
How to grow more vegetables : (and fruits, nuts, berries, grains, and other crops) than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine / John Jeavons. 8th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Vegetable gardening. 2. Organic gardening. I. Title.
SB324.3.J43 2012
635dc23
2011040066

eISBN: 978-1-60774-190-9

Illustrations by Pedro J. Gonzalez, Ann Miya, Susan Stanley, Sue Ellen Parkinson, Betsy Jeavons Bruneau, and Dan Miller
Photos on by Cynthia Raiser Jeavons
Cover photograph (pumpkin) and spine photograph courtesy of Bountiful Gardens
Cover photograph (red chard) iStockphoto.com/swalls
Cover photograph (soil) iStockphoto.com/AdShooter
Cover photograph (red boots) iStockphoto.com/cjp

v3.1

Betsy Bruneau, Rachael Leler, Tom Walker, Craig Cook, Rip King, Bill Spencer, George Young, Claudette Paige, Kevin Raftery, Marion Cartwright, Paka, Phyllis Anderson, Wayne Miller, Paul Hwoschinsky, Dave Smith, Steve and Judi Rioch, Louisa Lenz, Bill Bruneau, Dean Nims, Tommy Derrick, Carol Cox, Cynthia Raiser Jeavons, Rose Raiser Jeavons, Dan Whittaker, Shirley Coe, David Basile, Jed Diamond, Sensei, John Raiser, Helen Raiser, Jennifer Raiser, Phill Raiser, Victoria Raiser, Sheila Hilton, Mia Walker, Bill Somerville, John Beeby, Salvador Diaz, Bill Liebhardt, Jack and Virginia Jeavons, John Doran, Emmanuel Omondi, Joshua Machinga, Sandra Mardigian, Fernando Pia, Juan Manuel Martinez Valdez, Mercedes Torres Barrones, and, especially, Jennifer Ungemach, Carol Vesecky, Vicci Warhol, Mary Zellachild, William Wardlaw and Patricia Arnold, Maryanne Mott and Herman Warsh, Richard Rathbun, Mike and Diane Griggs, Steve and Carol Moore, Clancy Drake, Jasmine Star, Langtry Williams, Mark Larratt-Smith, Gayle Fillman, Jed Diamond, Karina McAbee, Julian Gorodsky, Ellen Bartholomew, Brian Bartholomew, Randy Fish, Dawn Griffin, Marie Laure Roperch, Jake Blehm, Mark House, Robert de Gross, Patricia Becker, Don Larson, Veronica Randall, Betsy Stromberg, members of Ecology Action, and friends have all made important contributions to the books content and spirit.

We assume responsibility for any inaccuracies that may have been included; they are ours and not Alan Chadwicks or Stephen Kafkas. This book is not intended to be an exhaustive work on the subject, but rather one of simple completeness. Most of us at Ecology Action are only beginning- to intermediate-level GROW BIOINTENSIVE gardeners. The purpose of this book is to turn on as many people as possible to a beautiful, dynamically alive method of horticulture and life.

In the early days at Chez Panisse, forty years ago, we had to scrounge for decent beans, pick lemons from neighbors trees, and hunt far and wide for a variety of produce of any quality whatsoever. But farming has evolved in California. We now work with, at last count, nearly fifty local, small-scale, family-run farms that groworganically and sustainablythe seasonal fruits and vegetables that are the foundation of our cooking. In large part, we have John Jeavons to thank for this.

I met John on the twentieth birthday of Chez Panisse just as he was preparing for the twentieth anniversary of Ecology Action. We both had a lot to celebrate. The work that John had begun in a small garden at Stanford had inspired small farms on nearly every continent; he had already worked with the Peace Corps in Togo, helped found an agricultural center in Kenya, taught in Mexico, and supported programs in Russia and the Philippines. His work has gone right on inspiring, and at a pace that is fast enough to give us real hope that we will be able to grow sustainable communities around the world.

Johns methods are nothing short of miraculous. He has shown that almost any soil can be prepared for the planting of food, and that astonishing quantities of high-quality produce can be grown on even the most devastated land. He has worked tirelessly to bring self-sufficiency to the poorest people in the poorest parts of the world. As I write, hes preparing to share his methods with the five thousand small-scale farmers from one hundred and thirty-one countries who are expected at Terra Madre, the biannual gathering of farmers in Turin, Italy, organized by the eco-gastronomes of Slow Food International. I can think of no more appropriate place for the dissemination of his ideas.

Vandana Shiva, the outspoken Indian food activist, has said that farms are zones of peace on this planet. A peaceful revolution in agriculturewhat I like to call the delicious revolutionhas begun, and John is one of its most brilliant leaders. How to Grow More Vegetables may be one of the most important how-to guides ever written.

ECOLOGY ACTION GOAL: Act as a catalyst, instruct teachers, and train students

The work has always been worthwhile despite the continuing challenge of attracting strong, ongoing support. The biggest single asset to this undertaking is John Jeavonss unfailing stamina and dedication. Over and over, when we all ask, Can it work? he answers, How are we going to make it work? It is becoming increasingly clear that GROW BIOINTENSIVE Sustainable Mini-Farming will be an important part of the solution to starvation and malnutrition, dwindling energy supplies, unemployment, and exhaustion and loss of arable land, if the social and political challenges can be met.

After forty years of testing, GROW BIOINTENSIVE food-raising has produced amazing benefits. Yields can average 2 to 6 times those of U.S. agriculture, and a few range up to 31 times highera plus at a time of peak food. But theres still more to learn; for example, we are still working to develop an optimally healthy soil system. Compost and calorie crops present the most challenges because they are crucial in meeting the nutritional needs of people and the soil. Experiments include alfalfa, fava beans, wheat, oats, cardoon, and comfrey. So far our yields are from one to five times the U.S. average for these crops. Water use is well below that of commercial agriculture per pound of food produced, and is about 33% to 12% that of conventional techniques per unit of land area. This is especially important in a world that has reached a point of peak water.

Energy expenditure, expressed in kilocalories of input, is 6% to 1% of that used by commercial agriculture, and this helps meet the challenge of