Generally, earthen raised beds are formed 5~6ft apart from one another with 3~4ft wide top raised by 0.5~1ft above the ground with 2ft wide furrow besides. The direction can be north-south or east-west depending on what parameter one is trying to address, namely, sunlight or air circulation. Generally the furrows are used as walk paths and stepping on the bed top is discouraged to avoid soil compaction. This concept is adapted from French intensive gardening, wherein the process of loosening the soil and forming beds is repeated every 3~4 years. This concept of raised bed is adapted into natural farming as a quasi-permanent structure and various techniques are used to stabilize it.

Following are a few advantages of raised beds -

• Suitable for short term row crops

• Protection from water logging

• Good soil aeration, deeper rooting

• Easy farm operations

• No-till practice possible

• Drip setup can be permanent if no-till used

• Least walk path to growing area ratio (2:5)

This is the most common feature of all natural farming techniques and is a feature that sets it apart from organic and chemical farming techniques. Top soil is mulched with biodegradable organic matter which protects soil moisture and exposure of bare soil to sunlight. Decaying organic matter nurtures soil micro & macro fauna (bacteria, fungi, nematodes, earthworms, ants etc.,).

Soil health is decided by the amount of biological activity that’s happening inside the soil. Soil organic carbon (SOC) serves as its measure. Stabilized SOC increases cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soil, which inturn stops minerals from leaching out of the soil through water. Minerals that become scarce with continuous farming & harvesting could be backfilled by the soil microfauna by solubilizing minerals from rocks, gravels in the soil. So, higher biological activity leads to fertility.

• Mulching reduces soil temperature by reducing sunlight exposure

• Decaying organic matter absorbs moisture from air, as well as soil moisture is protected from evaporation despite soil’s capillary action

• Mulching protects soil microorganisms and offers predatory protection to soil creatures, such as earthworms, ants etc.,

• Slow decay of mulch offers food and sustains soil micro & macro fauna

• Increases soil fertility by supplementing minerals and other organic compounds

• Pores, holes dug by earthworms, ants etc., regulate subsoil air quality

• Porous soil infilters rainwater down to subsoil, capillary action aids moisture movement upwards as required by plants

In a nutshell, mulching can be considered as in-situ composting & vermicomposting of organic matter, that aids soil building

The purpose for which tilling has come into being is to ensure soil aeration, decompaction, weed control to promote plant & root growth. Sometimes cultivation is done to conserve soil moisture by breaking the top soil capillary action. But the side effects of reckless and continuous cultivation of land is fast decay of soil organic carbon (SOC) due to excess aeration, destruction of root systems of established trees, subsoil compaction by heavy machinery, soil erosion, nutrient leaching, destruction of soil micro & macro fauna in the long run etc.,

No-till techniques propounded in natural farming rely on heavily mulching the soil with organic matter, as it offers moisture conservation and sunlight protection to the soil. Soil micro & macro fauna help create a safe germinating and growing environment.

Before the advent of water pumps and mechanized irrigation, gravity irrigation was the norm. With permaculture gaining traction, this energy saving technique is gaining popularity. The aspect that can benefit from the gravity irrigation is one of the recent developments in drip irrigation.

With advancements in drip irrigation, drippers with closed loop control are able to reduce water consumption than ever before. Guiding principle here is, that plants need just moisture to thrive. Too much water apart from being a waste, makes roots starve to get oxygen and can create anaerobic conditions wherein diseases can thrive. So water is supplied as and when plants require.

As part of the pilot trials, we didn't have access to such drip lines with closed loop control. And due to the requirement to keep it low tech, gravity irrigation came handy. The gravity irrigation setup is naturally a low head (pressure) system. This coupled with lowest flow inline drip pipes with closest possible drip points available in the market, can serve to imitate the low flow rate phenomenon and hydrate the landscape evenly. It was an object of the pilot trial to measure the water consumption and try to reduce it by this method.

Movement from monoculture to polyculture (multi cropping) is the first step towards natural farming. Varieties of herbs, shrubs, creepers, climbers, trees etc., coexist in a polyculture garden. We can arrange the plants in various permutations and combinations to optimize the utility of resources. Such a beneficial arrangement is called guild. It’s essentially a grouping of plants, trees, animals, insects and other components that work together to help ensure their health and productivity.

Five tier polyculture guild for vegetable farming that we intended to follow was developed by Mr.Kumaraswamy, an agronomist based in Bengaluru. The design is drawn out of French intensive gardening and Padmashri Subhash Palekar’s Five tier orchard. We did some modifications to the original design based on our convenience; the key features are as follows -

Succession planning has two parts - One, seeding crops at intervals of 7 days in order to maintain a consistent supply of harvestable produce throughout the season. Second, succession planning considerations such as seasonality, probability of disease propagation, nutrient requirement of succeeding plant, companion planting etc.,

1. Continuous & consistent production: Vegetable requirements of a kitchen can be standardized into “weekly kitchen units (WKU)”. A typical WKU for a family of four (2 adults + 2 kids) can contain 15~17 types of vegetables, weighing 8~10kg in total, which should suffice for a week. When one intends to grow for kitchen consumption, succession planning assumes importance. One needs to produce the vegetables consistently, exactly as per WKUs, in terms of quantity as well as variety.

This was achieved by dividing the plot into 17 equal sections, which mean ~4months (17wks) of succession cycle. Each section can contain one or more raised beds. That is, the very first week, only the first section is sown/planted with 7~8 varieties of vegetables; Second week the second section would be sown with 7~8 different vegetable varieties, and so on. By sixth/seventh week, the first section starts yielding leafy greens (if sown); after ten weeks fruiting shrubs/climbers/creepers in the first bed start yielding. By the end of 17 weeks most of the plants in the first bed would have already completed their life cycle. Then we can uproot the leftovers and start resowing again. The 18th week we can do the same with the 2nd section. This cycle of planting and sowing at weekly intervals ensures consistent vegetable production and greater variety. At any point in time after maturity, more than 8~10 sections will be yielding something or the other.

1. Succession compatibility: Almost every 3~4 months the crop seasons change and only a small subset of plants will be suitable for sowing/planting in that particular season. Another aspect is plant families have bearing on nutrient requirements; so identical families should not succeed one another. We should allow sufficient time for replenishing nutrients before repeating a particular family of plants. Also diseases and pests also possibly can get carried forward if identical families succeed one another. Companion planting is another consideration that should be in mind while planning succession.

https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-news/succession-planting

This is easily one of the most hailed practices of natural farming. Staunch natural farming philosophies consider the majority of weeds non-invasive, albeit some invasive ones. The theory in support of no-weeding is as follows -

• Many weeds cover the ground and thus don’t allow the actual invasive weeds to take root. Although these weeds reduce yield by a small % but their benefits outweigh the reduction.

• Weeds as good ground cover hold moisture in the soil, protect the microbes, prevent soil erosion

• Most main crops’ roots go much deeper and most of the weed species have very shallow roots.

• Weeds and other trees that naturally grow are the food of pests. Weeds being more nutritious compared to the main crops, pests would be satiated and do least harm to the main crop. When clean farming was practiced these insects will have no food so they turn to the major crop for food.

• Weeds can be indicators of soil health and they perform remedial action; for e.g. if the soil is poor in nitrogen, then most of the weeds would be nitrogen fixing ones

It was observed during the trials, controlled weeding is essential in the initial phases of establishment of farm setup. Passive methods of weed control should also be practiced.

As with many natural farming methods, Subhash Palekar Natural Farming (SPNF) too suggests usage of microbial concoctions prepared at farm level. The major difference here is they all are based mostly on zebu cow (Bos Indicus) urine and dung. This formulation skews the concoctions more towards bacterial richness rather than fungal population, which arguably is better for mammalian nutrition. Following are a few example concoctions suggested for vegetable farming