Farmers of Forty Centuries

Cucumbers, growing up a trellis.

The wet and hot weather of the last several days have been good for the garden and, so far, plants have been relatively free of insects. We are still mulling over whether or not the blueberry shrubs are doing well--they may need a shot of iron--but they are all standing and seem healthy. The leaf rust on the apple trees also appears to have slowed down if not entirely eradicated. Our corn is about knee high and at least two of the flower beds are going to be spectacular. We are also glad that the raspberry canes planted about a month ago have lived and are taking root. We may plant another line of them in an under-performing east-side bed.

Bed and Tread Method

The Community Gardeners are using a no-till method of gardening that relies on "beds and treads" that was original developed by Chinese farmers over a nearly forty century period. Although the picture above does not clearly show it, plant beds alternate with trenches, or "treads" that gardeners walk on, throw waste and dirt, and then, periodically but at least once a year, clean out and toss the waste material up onto the bed where plants are grown. Over time, the beds get substantially taller and the treads get deeper and deeper. On some Chinese farms farmers don't have to bend over at all to do their weeding and picking.

This method of Bed and Tread farming was popularized by the writer F. H. King in about 1910 in his book Farmers of Forty Centuries and was adaped by USDA as the recommended approach for organic gardners seeking to have a "zero waste" garden. Since the FCC gardeners are largely experimenting as they go along they are unable to report whether it works or not. But it is an interesting process to engage in, and generally attractive. We'll keep everyone posted.