In this post you will find an overview of the trial garden and the polycultures we are growing, a description of what we record and the 4th year results from the trial. You can find results from previous seasons here.
First of all we'd like to say a huge thank you to the team of volunteers that joined us for the study this year and that make it possible for us to carry out our experiments and research. It was a pleasure to work together with you :) Thank you Victoria Bezhitashvili, Angela Rice, Malcolm Cannon, Elise Bijl, Alex Camilleri, Daniel Stradner, Emilce Nonquepan, Ezekiel Orba and Chris Kirby Lambert.
It was a great a mix of people from all over the world including university students, a crypto fund manager, ex-nintendo web editor and market gardeners. Thank you all for your valuable input, it was our pleasure to host you and we look forward to seeing you again some day.
The Polyculture Study 2018 Team
Garden Overview
Climate: Temperate
Köppen Climate Classification - Dfc borderline Cfb
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5b - 7a
Latitude: 42°
Elevation: 565 m
Average Annual Rainfall: 588.5mm
Prevailing Wind: NW & NE
Garden Name: Aponia - Polyculture Market Garden
Garden area: 256.8m2
Cultivated beds area: 165.6m2
Paths: 50cm wide - 91.2m2
Bed Dimensions - 23m x 1.2m Area - 27.6m2 per bed
Number of beds: 6


The Polycultures
Polyculture Zeno

Photos from Zeno Polyculture
Zeno Plant List - The following plants and cultivars were used in this polyculture:
Tomato - Solanum lycopersicum 'Currant Sweet Pea' (not included in records)
French Beans - Phaseolus vulgaris - Local
Courgette - Cucurbita pepo 'Black Beauty'
White Bush Scallop - Cucurbita pepo
Butternut Squash - Cucurbita pepo 'Waltham Butternut'
Basil - Ocimum basilcium 'Napoletano Bollosi'
Pot Marigold - Calendula officinalis
Zeno Planting Scheme
Zeno Control
The control includes all of the above plants but planted in blocks along the bed (see below). We want to see how the two planting schemes compare, i.e. whether or not the polyculture will produce more and the difference in the amount of time needed to cultivate the different layouts. The fertility inputs for both beds are the same.
Polyculture Epictetus

Epictetus Plant List - The following plants and cultivars were used in this polyculture:
Turnip - Brassica rapa subsp. rapa 'Milan White'
Swiss Chard - Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla 'Rainbow Mix' (self seeded)
Pot Marigold - Calendula officinalis (self seeded)
Epictetus Planting Scheme

We have not included a list of native wild plants that are encouraged to grow around the perimeter of each bed that we mow and apply as mulch to the beds during the growing season.

What we record - Inputs
What we record - Outputs
Crop Yields - All produce is weighed directly after harvest. The produce is recorded into two categories, fit for market and fit for processing.

N.B. We do not sell all of the produce from the garden. Some of the produce is consumed by the team or preserved.
What we record - Surveys
Soil Analysis - Each spring and autumn we obtain a soil sample and send it to NAAS of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. To take a sample we take approx. a hand trowel full of the top 20cm of soil from eight random areas from the beds, mix it together and send 400g "bagged and tagged" to the lab the same day.
Physical Analysis - Each spring the team carry out a series of nine tests that are designed to provide an indication of soil health based on observable physical properties of the soil. It's a soil management tool developed by farmers for farmers to track the developing health of soils. We have slightly modified the test for our purposes.
Pest and Disease - Thanks to Victoria Bezhitashvili, who joined us for the study this year, we also have a general record of some of the pests and diseases in the vegetable garden this year. You can find Victoria's observations here.
Results
We'll start off by looking at the results from the soil analysis and soil health tests, then look at the results for each polyculture and finally finish up with the overall garden results.
Soil Results - Mineral Analysis
Each spring and autumn we take soil samples and send them to NAAS of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The sample is taken before we add any fertility in March at the beginning of the season.
The first sample taken in March 2015 in the table below is the base sample taken before work in the garden began.
2015 | |||||
March (before adding compost) | pH (KCI) | N03N | NH4N | P205 | K20 |
5.69 | 15.4 | 2.89 | 16.3 | 13 | |
November (after final harvest) | pH (KCI) | N03N | NH4N | P205 | K20 |
6.44 | 16.2 | 4.45 | 43.9 | 14.4 | |
2016 | |||||
Nitrogen mg/kg | Phosphorous - Potassium mg/100g | ||||
March (before adding compost) | pH (KCI) | N03N | NH4N | P205 | K20 |
6.65 | 4.43 | 5.79 | 88 | 25.2 | |
November (after final harvest) | pH (KCI) | N03N | NH4N | P205 | K20 |
6.61 | 8.17 | 3.83 | 44.1 | 22.1 | |
2017 | |||||
Nitrogen mg/kg | Phosphorous - Potassium mg/100g | ||||
March (before adding compost) | pH (KCI) | N03N | NH4N | P205 | K20 |
6.73 | 25.1 | 4.85 | 147 | 39.6 | |
2018 | |||||
Nitrogen mg/kg | Phosphorous - Potassium mg/100g | ||||
March (before adding compost) | pH (KCI) | N03N | NH4N | P205 | K20 |
6.74 | 9.53 | 5.3 | 130 | 22 | |
Soil Results - Soil Health Card
This year's soil health card test scored 63.9 - a small decrease from last year's test of 65.6. The highest score obtainable for this test is 88.
You can find the full results from 2015 - 2018 in the spreadsheet 2018 Annual Polyculture Market Garden Study - Published Records - Sheet 6.Soil Test Cards
Should you wish to use this soil card you can download the Soil Health Card forms with instructions on how to carry out the tests here.
Inputs and Outputs - Epictetus
Task | Time in mins |
Fertility | 72 |
Planting /Sowing | 320 |
Garden Care | 592 |
Irrigation | 180 |
Harvesting | 170 |
Propagation | 170 |
Total hrs | 25 hrs |
The fertility inputs on Epictetus were as follows:
Fertility Inputs | Total Quantity |
Mulch - Lawn Mower Clipping | 540 L |
Mulch - Spot Mulching | 1 Bale |
Wood Ash | 6.720kg |
Seedling mix for Beans | 14 L |
Compost planting out Kale | 30 L |
Compost for sowing beetroot strips | 100 L |
Seedling mix for Sowing Parsnips and Beetroots | 75 L |
Compost for Propagation | 90L |
Seedling Mix for Propagation | 87 L |
Compost added to beds | 460 L |
The yield outputs for Epictetus totalled 68.05kg of produce. This is around 1.23kg of produce per m2.
Crop | Weight in g per bed |
Dwarf Beans (Fresh) | 4255 |
Kale | 4385 |
Chard | 1340 |
Beetroot | 14380 |
Parsnip | 8740 |
Turnip | 925 |
Total | 68.05 kg |
N.B At the time of publishing this post (03/12/18) there are still parsnips and kale, the yields of which have been estimated for these records.
Inputs and Outputs - Zeno
The amount of time spent on Zeno was 36 hrs.
Task | Time in mins |
Set up | 222 |
Planting /Sowing | 322 |
Garden Care | 595 |
Irrigation | 180 |
Harvesting | 600 |
Propagation | 245 |
Total hrs | 36 |
Fertility Inputs Item |
Total Quantity |
Strawbales | 31 |
Compost for Tomatoes (L) |
17.6 L |
Seedling Mix for Squash (L) |
10.4 L |
Seedling mix for Beans (L) | 13.2 L |
Wood Ash kg | 6.72kg |
Mulch - Lawn Mower Clipping (L) | 540 L |
Crop | Weight in g |
Tomatoes | 20640 |
Tomatoes - (Processing) | 1770 |
Beans | 33140 |
Courgette | 42425 |
Tomato (projected) | 20640 |
Basil | 995 |
Total | 237.23kg |
Inputs and Outputs - Zeno Control
Task | Time in mins |
Set up | 318 |
Planting /Sowing | 444 |
Garden Care | 333 |
Irrigation | 180 |
Harvesting | 600 |
Propagation | 245 |
Total hrs | 35 hrs 20 mins |
Fertility Inputs Item |
Total Quantity |
Strawbales | 31 |
Compost for Tomatoes (L) |
17.6 L |
Seedling Mix for Squash (L) |
10.4 L |
Seedling mix for Beans (L) | 13.2 L |
Wood Ash kg | 6.72kg |
Mulch - Lawn Mower Clipping (L) | 540 L |
The yield outputs for Zeno totalled 191.57kg of produce - 3.47kg per m2.
Crop | Weight in g |
Tomatoes | 11895 |
Tomatoes - (Processing) | 2450 |
Beans | 23770 |
Courgette | 41880 |
Tomato (projected) | 11895 |
Basil | 3895 |
Total | 191.57kg |
General Tasks | |
Task | Time in mins |
Fertility | 24 |
Analysis | 10 |
Set up | 180 |
Market Prep | 2400 |
Mowing | 540 |
Total hrs | 52 hrs 30 mins |
Zeno Polyculture vs the Control
This year's results
Zeno | Control | ||
Total time | 36 hrs 5 min | 35 hrs 20 min | |
Total Produce | 237.23kg | 191.57kg |
Last year's results
Zeno | Control | ||
Total time | 37 hrs 5 min | 37 hrs 30 min | |
Total Produce | 154.429kg | 140.670kg |
Inputs and Outputs - All Beds
Aponia - The Polyculture Market Garden
Time | ||
Tasks | Minutes | Hours |
Fertility | 96 | 1.6 |
Analysis | 10 | 0.16 |
Set up | 720 | 12 |
Market Prep | 2400 | 40 |
Mowing | 540 | 9 |
Planting /Sowing | 1086 | 18.1 |
Garden Care | 1520 | 25.3 |
Irrigation | 540 | 9 |
Harvesting | 1370 | 22.8 |
Propagation | 660 | 11 |
Total time input | 149 hrs |
Fertility Inputs | ||
Total inputs for garden | ||
Strawbales | 63 bales | |
Compost | 1205 L | |
Wood Ash | 20kg | |
Sieved Compost /River Sand 50 /50 |
224 L | |
Lawn Clippings | 1620 L |
Produce all beds | ||
Product | Weight in g | Average weight in g per m 2 |
Dwarf Beans (Fresh) | 8510 | 154.17 |
Kale | 8770 | 158.88 |
Chard | 2680 | 48.55 |
Beetroot | 28760 | 521.01 |
Parsnip | 17480 | 316.67 |
Turnip | 1850 | 16.76 |
Tomatoes | 130140 | 1178.80 |
Tomatoes - (Processing) | 8440 | 76.45 |
Beans | 113820 | 1030.98 |
Courgette | 168610 | 1527.26 |
Basil | 9780 | 88.59 |
Total kg | 498.84 |

Some shots of the market garden
Results in Summary
The time spent on the garden was 149 hrs from sowing the first seeds indoors in February to packing up in late October.
The fertility inputs of the garden were 63 Straw bales, 1205 L of compost, 20kg of wood ash, 224 L of sowing medium, 1620 L of lawn clippings.
Comments on Results
Time Input
- Not included in the records were other tasks carried out around the site such as making compost, harvesting stakes and support sticks, establishing beneficial habitat such as wildlife ponds, hedgerows/stick piles.
- The time for preparing the produce for market i.e quality control, packaging and delivery, was estimated at 2 hrs per week per culture.
- Not included here are the set up costs for the garden. These costs were included in the first years results. The costs recorded here are the annual operating costs which is basically the cost of seed, and fuel,oil and maintenance for the lawn mower.
- A polyculture market garden should have a polyculture of revenue. Our study currently focuses on annual vegetable production. We chose to begin our study of annual vegetables as it is the most accessible practice to most people requiring the least amount of investment making it ideal for a novice or curious grower. This year we have started planting up various perennial polyculture trails in our new garden Ataraxia. You can find out more about these trials here

Other potential revenue from the Polyculture Market Garden includes perennial crops, plant nursery, adding value to produce and courses and training. We plan to add a record of these activities to represent better the financial potential of a Polyculture Market Garden.
Estimated Harvests
At the time of writing this report there are still crops growing in Epictetus. We estimated the harvest weights of the remaining crops based on what we had already harvested.
Epictetus bed with Parsnips and Kale yet to be harvested. These can remain in the beds until the new year.
Considerations :
- We usually aim to grow at least five different tomato cultivars but this year we only used two cultivars and one of them was cultivar 'Currant Sweet Pea'. This was a mistake and although they performed very well in the gardens and are very tasty they are ridiculously small and for this reason we decided not to include them in the weight records. Instead we used the Tigerella yields to provide an estimated forecast of what we may have harvested.
- We usually aim to grow equal numbers of the same cultivar in the polyculture and the control but this year our courgette cultivars were not distributed equally.
- The warm and wet summer reduced our irrigation needs significantly this year with only six weeks of the season requiring water (aside from watering of the seedlings in early spring) . We did however need to mow the garden more often due the optimal growing conditions.
You can access the full spreadsheet here that includes all of the data entries and task descriptions. (Note there are multiple sheets that can be accessed from the blue tabs running along the top of the sheet.)
Why are we doing this research?
If you are reading this you're most probably aware of the environmental damage caused by industrial agricultural practices. We believe this damage isunnecessary, and aim to provide healthier models of food production that yield nutritious affordable food while at the same time promoting biodiversity and general ecosystem health.

Polyculture gardens providing food for humans and other organisms
Little data exists showing the productive capacity of polyculture systems and the economic viability of them. I believe there is a need to fill this gap and provide data and concise coherent models that can be replicated easily. This project intends to go some of the way to achieve that.
- How productive can polycultures be?
- What advantages can polycultures provide ?
- How much time do polyculture gardens take to establish and manage?
- How economically viable are these gardens?
- How bio-diverse can our food producing systems be?
- Can we provide clean, nutritious, affordable food whilst enhancing biodiversity?
Useful links
More from the Balkan Ecology Project: