Food4Wealth Experiment

• Friday, 05 March 2010 14:40

I just received a book by horticulturist and environmental scientist, Jonathan White called Food4Wealth. The book claims "absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food, without all the problems." It goes on to say:

Set up a garden that produces many times more than a traditional vegetable garden Grow food that you can harvest every single day of the year, no matter where you live Set up a garden that NEVER needs digging Set up a garden that naturally REPELS PESTS Set up a garden that has virtually NO WEEDS Grow vegetables and fruit ORGANICALLY Fertilize your garden for free using waste from your household Produce food in the world's most environmentally and ecologically friendly way Create a garden that regenerates all by itself, year after year

Built My Raised Bed Frame Today

• Sunday, 07 March 2010 17:12

I finished reading Food4Wealth by Jonathan White (B.App.Sci. Assoc. Dip.App. Sci.) yesterday. It was an easy read, nothing technical or overly wordy as one might expect being written by a guy with a lot of initials after his name. I opted for an 8x8 frame made of 1"x8"x8' pressure treated lumber.  Using 2"x8' would have been better but the cost was twice as much. As the book states, you don't need to purchase lumber to make your frame, you could use anything that provides a barrier from outside weeds and of course, to hold in your organic material.  The Food4Wealth system is based on growing your plants in layers of organic material. The materials needed and the order they need to be put into your frame are all explained in the book. I spent roughly $80 in all at my local hardware warehouse to get everything I needed.

Jonathan White

• Thursday, 11 March 2010 15:49

I did a little research on the author of the Food4Wealth book. Jonathan White is a professional environmental scientist and gardener with over 20 years experience. This book is his comprehensive package of techniques that allow gardeners to enjoy growing food with higher yields and less work.  Jonathan's easy-to-understand style makes Food4Wealth perfect for beginners and advanced gardeners alike. Check out the video message from him on the left side of this page.

First Plantings

• Sunday, 28 March 2010 00:00

I planted my raised bed over the weekend based on the Food4Wealth this past weekend. It was too late for seeding so I transplanted a couple of types of cabbage, red leaf and butter crunch lettuce, and some red onions. After a few more weeks I'll fill in the holes with some tomatos, beans, squash, and whatever else I can squeeze in the raised bed.

You can see my three bin compost system at the top of the picture. The Food4Wealth system is all about compost; how you can make it faster and what you need to do with it in your raised bed. I'll add a soaker hose throught the bed over the week.

One Month

• Thursday, 29 April 2010 19:21

It's been about one month and I have been enjoying a variety of lettuce and Swiss chard from my raised bed. Everything is growing well including two tomato plants that just popped up from seeds in the compost. No weeds have yet to invade the raised bed and the size of the plants are worth comparing to that of my garden. Look at these two pictures of cabbage, the first is in the raised bed and the second image is in a row in my garden. The raised bed cabbage is nearly three times as large yet both were planted at the same time.

Been Two Months

• Monday, 31 May 2010 19:28

It's amazing what you can get in just two months. We had more lettuce and swiss chard than we could eat or give away. First time growing or eating swiss chard and I liked it. I ate it like baby spinach,  raw in my salad but still have some left that has matureed that I'll cook. The cabbages were great and as you can see the corn, beans, tomatoes, peas, okra, squash, peppers, and cucumbers (yes, all that is in the 8x8 bed) is doing very well--just as Jonathan said they would. I have already set aside the space to build three more beds.