The Homeless Garden Project • Fall 2008
Down on the FarmUniqueness & Variety
"Diversity provides both the resistance to monocultures and the creative alternative.
Our strength is our uniqueness
and variety, a strength that can be eroded only when we give...
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The Homeless Garden Project • Fall 2008
Down on the FarmUniqueness & Variety
"Diversity provides both the resistance to monocultures and the creative alternative.
Our strength is our uniqueness
and variety, a strength that can be eroded only when we give up on it ourselves.
" — Vandana Shiva
Diversity in nature appears to be a cornerstone of sustainability.
And sustainable agriculture,
according to ATTRA, the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, “follows the
principles of nature to develop systems for raising crops and livestock that are, like nature, self-sustaining.
”
Our farm directors observe and teach this principle daily: Greater diversity leads to less pest problems.
(Imagine 2 acres of a single crop that a pest loves
and 2 acres of diverse crops that includes habitat for beneficial insects.
) The nutrient levels of the soil can be more easily maintained because different crops
give and take differently.
With a diverse farm plan, if you lose a crop, you don’t
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