How do we use minimum effort to get maximum results when growing our own food?

Answer 1

The golden rule is PPPPP.

Prior Planning (and) Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

When planning out where to put trees and veggies, Permaculture provides a number of very useful ideas at the planning stage. The principles are summarized below (1st reference)

The Principles of Permaculture Design

Whereas permaculture ethics are more akin to broad moral values or codes of behavior, the principles of permaculture provide a set of universally applicable guidelines which can be used in designing sustainable habitats. Distilled from multiple disciplines—ecology, energy conservation, landscape design, and environmental science—these principles are inherent in any permaculture design, in any climate, and at any scale.


1. Relative location
2. Each element performs multiple functions
3. Each function is supported by many elements
4. Energy efficient planning
5. Using biological resources
6. Energy cycling
7. Small-scale intensive systems
8. Natural plant succession and stacking
9. Polyculture and diversity of species
10. Increasing "edge" within a system
11. Observe and replicate natural patterns
12. Pay attention to scale
13. Attitude

In practical terms this could mean planting evergreens to provide shade for many other plants and raise the water table to nourish them.

Planting a circle of herbs round the tree to enrich mineral and nitrogen content of the soil, keep away insects harmful to the tree and vegetables to be planted near it. Act as a green mulch.

Companion planted vegetables spiraling round the herbs channeling water down to a pond containing fish cleaning the water, using the nutrients with run off to high water use pulses such as rice, or berries.

The most important single point is that each thing planted should provide multiple benefits and have multiple uses.

Answer 2

twilight has said everything that i could have said maybe even better ,first class ,

One thing i did not see was utilizing all opportunity and space ,having a cubic view .
So that each pole ,such as trees and fence poles is used for vines.

Fences can support beans.old walls can support grapes.or be used as basis for niches.

Personally i also use the multiple effect rule during the implementation ,which cuts down on a lot of work (labor costs)and speeds up the job ,although it appears to go slower,

The same principle as ones mother telling you not to go to the kitchen empty handed ,there was always something that had to go back there and vica versa)

For example when making a path we dig a trench either side,the sand of this goes onto the road we are building ,but the digger is told to place the sand straight away on the spot that needs it ,this needs a bit of training as he has to first look then aim .but is is much easier to level after if there are not mountains of sand to rake.

Further more ,as the road or path ways are being build ,so is the draining and water harvesting system .

2 mayor jobs with one work at the same time ,If we dig a hole ,don`t just throw the sand in a mountain ,but have a wheel barrow stand by that takes it straight away where we are building a mountain.

This is why i am called byderule because i doggedly stick to this kind of method ,and with 2000 people i once build all the dams and pathways for a small park in 2 days ,(/old people and school children)

One point to remember when working with hundreds of people ,is to always have them moving anti clock wise ,this is easier on the body and is the natural direction we have ,some peoples right foot (like mine)is one size or a bit bigger than the left ).

You will have a happier crew with less accidents ,The leaders walk clockwise so they look everyone in the face.

At the risk of repeating twilight we also should consider location and multiple reasons/uses for choosing a particular bush ,plant or tree .

For example a bush in one place just gives berries ,but in another place it also functions as part of the perimeter or niche wall especially if it has thorns.So its location is better where it has more then one or two uses.

When harvesting potatoes or other root crops ,always throw a few back in ,this saves coming back to plant more .
when planting cabbage,onions ,carrots etc ,always leave a few of the best go to seed ad let them drop the seed) clear the ground around them)this save making seed beds and we have to grow for seed as well because to buy them is ridiculously expensive.

Answer 3

No time to grow your own food? Try lasagna gardening / Layering method ... Garden and Greenhouse - Eat Local; From Your Own Kitchen or Backyard. Although I have been growing herbs for years, the early Eat Local Challenge excitement of the Spring inspired me to plant numerous vegetables in my backyard and on my patio. One of my purchases was a scarlet runner bean plant. Its small size---a height of 4 inches and just a few leaves---and my inexperience with vegetable gardening led me to I put it into a container with a volume of roughly 4 gallons. In the next few weeks, the plant tried to tell me I had made a mistake: it grew at a shocking rate, with the runner vine seemingly climbing a foot per day. But I didn't listen.

Answer 4

Humans have developed tools to assist themselves in increasing the efficiency of their agricultural production. With today's huge diesel tractors, irrigation systems, pesticides, and genetically modified crops, vast amounts of food can be grown by someone sitting in an air-conditioned tractor cab listening to satellite radio. It's hard to imagine getting much greater results with much less effort than that.