Earlier this year, we were finding the Farming God’s Way group gardens in Itshehlophe were substandard – beds not laid out properly, veg seedlings planted in wavy rows (or just wherever), and the seedlings being planted far too close, or with way too much space between, or most often with no discernible order at all.

There were two major reasons for this – the first we knew, and the second we didn’t. The first was lack of knowledge – not just about the how, but the ‘why’ behind the how. Proper plant spacings allow both for enough soil per plant to provide the nutrients, air and water the roots need, but also for maximum ‘canopy closure.’ This simply means that most of your soil area is covered not just by the mulch cover we call God’s Blanket, but also by the leaves of the growing plant. The effect of this leaf canopy is the creation of micro climates – areas much more conducive to seedling growth than the weather alone allows. These micro climates shade out weeds, prevent evaporation and keep the soil cool. This effect is not trivial – it’s dramatic! Teaching these principles is an ongoing process made more difficult by the fact that each vegetable has a different optimum plant spacing.

The second reason for the low standards was that the gardeners lacked basic tools to lay out their beds properly, and then to plant in straight rows with proper spacings. In addition, the hoes they’re using, when not broken, have probably never been sharpened!

A financial gift from the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada enabled us to put together six small tool kits – one for each of the community gardens we’re working with. Each kit contains a tape measure, a vegetable spacing chart, builder’s string for laying out beds and rows, a square, a metal file and a Farming God’s Way field guide. We’re finding the kits are being well used, and also well looked after. The kits were not gifted to individuals, but to the NGO implementing the gardens for the benefit of families at risk due to severe illness etc. Thank-you EMCC for enabling us to provide a simple solution to the problem of lack of basic tools!

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