Digging deep
Mr. Stripey has some terrible characteristics. The open-pollinated heirloom tomato has a rich, tangy flavor that makes it a favorite among cultivators. But you won’t find Mr. Stripey in Hawai’i’s markets. Because Mr. Stripey doesn’t ship well.
‘I was talking to somebody about this once and they said, ‘You name your tomatoes?,’ says Ele Munjeli, laughing. ‘And I said ‘No, that’s the name of the variety.’ They had never heard of Mr. Stripey. But it seems like everyone who gardens at home knows about Mr. Stripey.’
Munjeli is an organic gardener who uses biointensive technique to install gardens and instruct home gardeners on biointensive organic gardening.
Biointensive is a combination of Biodynamic and French intensive gardening methods. The technique has been spread through a nonprofit group called Ecology Action. On its website, its founder John Jeavons states that using biointensive technique, it is possible to grow enough food to feed one person for one year in 3,403 square feet. In contrast, it takes commercial agriculture between 22,000 and 42,000 square feet to accomplish the same task.
Much of biointensive’s success is due to double digging, which adds air into the soil and facilitates water flow to the roots, Munjeli says. It’s shoveling deep–about 2 feet, as opposed to a traditional 4-to-6 inches–into the earth and planting crops very close together.
‘People know that it’s a good idea to loosen their soil more deeply,’ Munjeli says. ‘But they don’t have the technique with the shovel to do it more deeply. And a rototiller won’t go down two feet. When you start digging and you hit rock, it seems like you are going to break your backÖBut the key to double-digging is shovel technique.’
This can be learned, and Munjeli teaches it, but it will never be easy. She learned shovel technique when she lived on a farm in Central America, where she says they often don’t have the option of expensive machinery.
‘It’s definitely learned because I learned it from somebody, but it also takes a certain amount of practice,’ she says.
Munjeli , who has been a ‘technical’ and professional gardener since 1994, says there is definitely a ‘zen’ of shoveling that you learn where to place the shovel and push the shovel. For the elderly and those with frail backs, or maybe those unfamiliar with physical labor, the intense shoveling can be overwhelming. Even for those physically able, the task can be daunting.
‘A lot of people have read about biointensive technique, and there’s always the idea that ‘Oh, yeah, you can implement that someplace else–where the dirt is softer,” Munjeli says. ‘But biointensive is easy for no one, no where. It’s a difficult installation, but it’s easy maintenance.’
Munjeli concentrates her work in urban areas. She says steep, rocky slopes won’t work for this type of gardening, but small urban environments with ample sunlight do. Planting close together allows the roots to grow down, not out. It crowds out weeds. It saves water and can produce high yields.
‘Most people don’t realize how little space you need with biointensive culture,’ Munjeli says. ‘There tends to be this idea that I need more space to produce food for myself.’
For $600, Munjeli will install a 8×4 bed - which includes providing a soil test, adding compost, planting two fruit trees and constructing a redwood frame. She does not provide maintenance, though she’s available for consultation after installation. Many things can grow here, she says, but it’s a matter of knowing how to plant. And that’s what she tries to teach.
She believes in planting open-pollinated heirloom varieties and says the easiest things to grow are lettuces, bitter greens, some onion crops and herbs. Grains can grow, but they require more space. Citrus trees do well. Dwarf mangos. Mangosteens. Figs. And her enthusiasm for the uncommon varieties is infectious: purple carrots, heirloom popcorns.
‘If you want to grow it, there are a lot of things that can be grown. It just depends on your level of commitment,’ says Munjeli. ‘There are so many exciting varieties and such a spectacular range of flavors.’
Like Mr. Stripey.
Ele Munjeli
For information, call 203-4222
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