Garden Overview
Latitude: 42°
Elevation: 565 m
Co-ordinates: 42.71259, 25.32575
Click here for the Polyculture Market Garden location (labelled as Paulownia Garden on our Project map)
Garden area: 256.8 m2
Cultivated beds area: 165.6 m2
Paths: 50 cm wide - 91.2 m2
Six beds: Dimensions - 23 m x 1.2 m Area - 27.6 m2 per bed 
The beds are named after common vegetable families in order to familiarize participants with the use of Latin and introduce them to some major plants families. They do not correspond to what was planted in the beds.
The Polycultures
Polyculture Zeno
Zeno Plant List - The following plants and cultivars were used in this polyculture;
Tomato - Solanum lycopersicum 'Ukranian Purple'
Tomato - Solanum lycopersicum 'Marglobe'
French Beans - Phaseolus vulgaris 'Cobra'
French Beans - Phaseolus vulgaris - Local
Courgette - Cucurbita pepo 'Black Beauty'
White Bush Scallop - Cucurbita pepo
Broccoli - Brassica oleracea - 'Romanesco Ottobrino'
Broccoli - Brassica oleracea - 'Calabrese'
Butternut Squash - Cucurbita pepo 'Waltham Butternut'
Pot Marigold - Calendula officinalis
We usually grow our own tomatoes from seed and have around 10 cultivars but this year we lost all of our seedlings during a cold and windy spell so we bought them from the local market. Our Basil seedlings were also lost in the cold spell so we replaced the Basil with Broccoli. We did not record broccoli harvests in the records for Zeno or the Control.
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 the polyculture will produce more and the difference in the amount of time needed to cultivate them. 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'
Swede - Brassica napus subsp. rapifera 'Marian'
Broccoli - Brassica oleracea - 'Calabrese'
Kohlrabi - Brassica oleracea 'Purple Vienna'
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.
Financial output - Profit - The market value of the produce is estimated based on the average prices we were receiving from local buyers, veggie boxes and Trustika buyers club in Sofia.
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 8 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 9 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. You can download the form with instructions how to carry out the tests here. We have slightly modified the test for our purposes.
A sample of invertebrates from the gardens- Photos by Chris Kirby-Lambert
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 March sample is taken before we add any fertility and the November sample is taken after all of the crops have stopped producing.
The first sample taken in March 2015 in the table below is the base sample taken before work in the garden began.
You can see the full results HERE
Soil Results - Soil Health Card
This year's soil health card test scored 65.6 - an increase from last year's base test of 58.9. The highest score obtainable for this test is 88.
You can find the full results from 2015 - 2017 in the spreadsheet 2017 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 458
Garden Care 481
Irrigation 330
Harvesting 170
Propagation 170
Total hrs 28hrs
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, Turnips, Swedes and Beetroots 75 L
Compost for Propagation 90L
Seedling Mix for Propagation 87 L
Compost added to beds 460 L
Crop Weight in g
Dwarf Beans (Fresh) 3095
Broccoli 2240
Kale 2820
Chard 1675
Beetroot 14545
Parsnip 14390
Kohlrabi 6460
Milan White Turnip 3630
Swede 6830
Total 55.685 kg
N.B At the time of publishing this post (November 2017) there was still produce in the beds namely parsnips, swedes and kale, the yields of which have been estimated for these records.
Inputs and Outputs - Zeno
The amount of time spent on Zeno was 37hrs and 5 mins.
Zeno
Task Time in mins
Set up 202
Planting /Sowing 296
Garden Care 508
Irrigation 330
Harvesting 646
Propagation 245
Total hrs 37 hrs 5 mins
The fertility inputs on Zeno were as follows:
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 6.72 kg
Mulch - Lawn Mower Clipping (L) 540 L
The yield outputs for Zeno totaled 154.429kg of produce - 2.80kg per m2.
Crop Weight in g
Tomatoes 63320
Tomatoes - (Processing) 12835
Beans 26465
Courgette 19319
Bush Scallops 30950
Winter Squash 1540
Total 154.429 kg
Inputs and Outputs - Zeno Control
The amount of time spent on Zeno Control was 37 hrs and 30 mins.
Zeno Control
Task Time in mins
Set up 168
Planting /Sowing 454
Garden Care 647
Irrigation 330
Harvesting 408
Propagation 245
Total hrs 37hrs 30 mins
The fertility inputs on Zeno control were as follows:
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 6.72 kg
Mulch - Lawn Mower Clipping (L) 540 L
The yield outputs for Zeno totaled 140.670kg of produce - 2.55kg per m2
Crop Weight in g
Tomatoes 62320
Tomatoes - (Processing) 13660
Beans 15295
Courgette 34565
Bush Scallops 12485
Winter Squash 2345
Total 140.670kg
General Tasks
Task Time in mins
Fertility 24
Analysis 20
Set up 180
Market Prep 2400
Mowing 360
Total hrs 49hrs 45 mins
Zeno Polyculture vs the Control
This year's results
| Zeno | Control | ||
| Total time | 37 hrs 5 mins | 37 hrs 30 mins | |
| Total Produce | 154.429 kg | 140.670 kg |
Last year's results
| Zeno | Control | ||
| Total time | 38 hrs | 37 hrs | |
| Total Produce | 130.08 kg | 112.57 kg |
Inputs and Outputs - All Beds
The amount of time spent on all beds was 152 hrs.
Time
Tasks Minutes
Fertility 96
Analysis 20
Set up 550
Market Prep 2400
Mowing 360
Planting /Sowing 1208
Garden Care 1636
Irrigation 990
Harvesting 1224
Propagation 660
Total time input 152 hours
The fertility inputs for all beds were as follows:
Fertility Inputs
Total inputs for garden
Strawbales 63 bales
Compost 1205 L
Wood Ash 20 kg
Sieved Compost
/River Sand 50 /50 224 L
Lawn Clippings 1620 L
The yield outputs for all beds totaled 350.78kg of produce or 3.78kg per m2.
| Produce all beds | ||
| Product | Weight in g | Average weight in g per m2 |
| Dwarf Beans (Fresh) | 3095 | 56.06884058 |
| Broccoli | 2240 | 40.57971014 |
| Kale | 2820 | 51.08695652 |
| Chard | 1675 | 30.3442029 |
| Beetroot | 14545 | 263.4963768 |
| Parsnip | 14390 | 260.6884058 |
| Kohlrabi | 6460 | 58.51449275 |
| Milan White Turnip | 3630 | 32.88043478 |
| Swede | 6830 | 61.86594203 |
| Tomatoes | 125640 | 1138.043478 |
| Tomatoes - (Processing) | 26495 | 239.990942 |
| Beans | 41760 | 378.2608696 |
| Courgette | 53884 | 488.0797101 |
| Bush Scallops | 43435 | 393.432971 |
| Winter Squash | 3885 | 35.19021739 |
| Total kg | 350.784kg | |
Some shots of the market garden
Results in Summary
The time spent on the garden was 152 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.
- Not included here are the set up costs for the garden. These costs were included in last years results. The costs recorded here are the annual operating costs.
- 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. Other potential revenue from the Polyculture Market Garden includes perennial crops (see here for a perennial polyculuture study we are starting), plant nursery, adding value to produce and courses and training. We plan to add a record of these activities in the future to represent better the financial potential of a Polyculture Market Garden.
At the time of writing this report there are still crops growing in Epictetus. I estimated the harvest weights of the remaining crops based on what we had already harvested.
Crop failure :
- Our basil seedlings failed this year as did our tomato seedlings. In Zeno instead of basil we used broccoli although we did not include the broccoli in the harvest records.
- The tomato plants we bought from the market and the cultivars were mixed up so we could not sow equal number of cultivars in each bed
- A cold and wet April and May last year meant that many squash and beans did not germinate. This resulted in less production from beans and squash than would be expected. This year we grew these plants in starter trays under cover. Germination rates were not ideal and we were short of beans.
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 is unnecessary, and aim to provide healthier models of agriculture that yield nutritious affordable food while at the same time promoting biodiversity and general ecosystem health.
Little data exists showing the productive capacity of polyculture systems and the economic viability of them. There is a big need to fill this gap and provide solid data and concise coherent models that can be replicated easily and provide real solutions to the environmental damage caused by industrial agriculture. This project intends to go some of the way in filling this gap.
- 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?
Anna Shetty