See detail of vegetable garden here.
Biodynamics is a farming method that focuses on building the soil by adding to it organic matter, green manure crops, and compost, and by rotating crops. This plan for a small-scale biodynamic farm is based on the design at the Pfeiffer Center in New York. The half-acre vegetable garden is divided into 4 main planting areas, which are further subdivided into 68 manageable beds to provide a steady harvest of organic food from early spring through late autumn.
The Pfeiffer Center occupies about 51/2 acres of land in total, with 3 acres reserved for pasturing two draft horses, 1 acre for field vegetables, 1/2 acre for vegetable garden production, 1/2 acre for herbs and flowers in the Healing Plant Garden, and 1/2 acre for the greenhouse, orchard, and other smaller gardens. Because diversity is a key element in biodynamics, the center also includes composting areas, an apiary, berry production, a wood-fired bread oven, raised beds for growing herbs for teas, perennial gardens for bee forage, and a dyers’ garden for fiber crafts.
Compost and diversity are key. Compost plays a large role in biodynamics. “Ideally, the compost is made from materials from the farm, such as manure from your own animals, leaves from your property, and so on,” explains Program Director Mac Mead. Having a diverse range of crops is also a cornerstone of biodynamics, and it’s beneficial to the bees as well as other pollinating and beneficial insects.
The soil at the Pfeiffer Center is handworked, which means that most of the gardening is done by hand or with simple hand tools. “It is important in training interns that they learn basic handwork methods first before moving on to more mechanized techniques,” notes Mac.
Resting the land. To maintain and support soil health, the vegetable beds at the Pfeiffer Center are rotated regularly so that they are not in constant production. “Our goal is to rest one-quarter of the garden in order to really nourish the land,” says Megan Durney, the head gardener. The soil can become tired or depleted from constant production, but by growing regenerative crops like legumes and grasses, it can quickly be brought back to health. To organize the space and ensure the garden is properly rotated, the main 1/2-acre vegetable garden is separated into 4 large planting areas that are further subdivided into 68 smaller raised beds.
Raised-bed veggies. Planted in the raised beds are “a diverse array of annual vegetables and some perennial vegetables, accompanied by a variety of perennial and annual flowers — specifically focused on bee forage,” says Megan. The harvested vegetables are sold at a local café, a garden stand, and the local co-op; those not sold are donated to a food bank.
A large rock sculpture at the center of the four main garden beds holds water for birds and honeybees. It is surrounded by a ring of pollinator-friendly perennials including roses, lavender, catmint, and sage.
At the Pfeiffer Center, planting begins early in the season. “The first sowings happen from early spring to midsummer, and the second and third sowings are planted roughly from midsummer to early autumn,” says Megan. Succession planting is key to a bountiful harvest, so quick-growing vegetables like lettuce are sown every two weeks beginning in early spring for a steady supply.
Selecting successive crops. As the first round of vegetables is harvested and removed, some of the beds are replanted with more food crops. Others are sown with cover crops such as rye, peas, oats, buckwheat, and vetch mix. The cover crop chosen will depend on what was previously grown in the soil and when and what crops will be next planted. “For instance, if a bed had just grown a long-season brassica like fall cabbage, which tends to gobble up fertility, we want to plant a cover crop like peas, an early legume that will nourish the soil with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.” explains Megan.
Scattered among the tidy vegetable beds, rows of chamomile, calendulas, signet marigolds and other herbs and flowers support the pollinator populations and provide edible blooms for salads, garnishes, and teas. In the northeast corner of the garden, one bed contains perennial vegetables Turkish rocket and sea kale — a sizable plant grown for its edible leaves, shoots, and flowerbuds, providing a reliable annual harvest.
See detail of vegetable garden here.
According to Pfeiffer Center Program Director Mac Mead, biodynamics means “life energy.” The concept of biodynamic gardening was introduced in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner in a series of lectures on agriculture. This approach to gardening and farming seeks ways to bring a rich vitality to the soil and plants, thus enhancing the quality of the produce and revitalizing the earth at the same time. “Like the human being,” Mac says, “the earth when cared for properly can be healthy and dynamic.”
Rows 1–5: Valerian, rhubarb, dye flowers (cosmos; nonedible), asparagus
Rows 6–10: Basil; mixed rows of tomatoes, marigolds, and basil; parsley
Rows 11–15: Mixed rows of tomatoes and marigolds; lettuce
Rows 16–20: Carrots; strawberries; mixed row of peas and spinach
Rows 21–25: Lettuce, Swiss chard, kale, perennial scallions (bunching onions)
Rows 26–30: Summer squash, ‘Sugar Snap’ snap peas, assorted greens, trellised cucumbers
Rows 31 & 42: Perennial flowers (bee forage focus) and perennial vegetables (sea kale and Turkish rocket)
Rows 45–50: Calendulas, Florence (bulb) fennel, beans, kale, zucchini, chamomile
Rows 51–56: Zucchini; beets; baby greens; tomatoes; peas; mixed row of yarrow and anise hyssop
Rows 57–60: Holy basil, trellised cucumbers, peas, chamomile
Row 62: Beans
Rows 65–68: Lettuce; cabbage; mixed row of turnips and parsnips; Swiss chard
Resting beds: 4, 11, 20, 22, 32–41, 43, 44, 61, 63, 64