Tiny, biointensive farms around the world have been showing small ag operations how they can grow far more food with newer methods than with conventional approaches, reports ensia.com.
Biointensive farming incorporates a host of methods, including transplanting and double-digging. The newer strategy also involves on-site composting, close plant spacing, use of seeds from naturally-pollinated plants, and the use of specific food-to-compost crop ratios.
Due to mechanization, large farms see larger profits by forgoing these strategies. But for a small operation, biointensive strategies can be life-changing. On a small patch of land, a biointensive farm can use 99 percent less energy to produce the same amount of food as a conventional farm. They can sometimes also use 80 percent less water and 100 percent less fertilizer,
