What is French Intensive Gardening?

French intensive gardening is a gardening technique which is designed to maximize yields, using a combination of biodynamic agriculture and specific alterations to the normal garden layout and planting system. In addition to being very productive, French intensive gardening is also extremely efficient, and an astounding array of crops can be produced in a very small space when the garden is laid out well. This form of gardening can also be beautiful, especially when gardeners take the time to plan and map before plunging into the project. One of the defining features of French intensive gardening is the raised beds used. In this style of intensive gardening, the beds are very large, allowing gardeners to walk in the beds rather than along established pathways to perform garden maintenance. The beds are also double dug, which means that the soil is worked to twice the usual depth. The intensive working of the foil in French intensive gardening produces light, fluffy soil well amended wi ... more

French Intensive Gardening was developed outside of Paris, France in homes with limited growing space. The farming method was brought more into the public eye when a man named Alan Chadwick implemented these French Intensive Farming Methods with Rudolf Steiner’s Biodynamic Farm Methods. The French Intensive Gardening Method uses raised beds and create microclimates around crops by sowing the plants close together. The varieties of plants are selected to compliment each other in the field (companion planting). This helps keep in the moisture and reduce weed growth. French Intensive Gardens and Biodynamic gardens use organic fertilizers, cover crops, green manure (till in such crops as clover), compost, and biodynamic preparations to provide healthy food for the microorganisms and the plants growing there. This method of farming ensures our microorganisms in the soil are thriving. Alive soil is soil that can provide for healthy plants. This is the big difference between our garden soil a ... more