The Polyculture Advantage: Surviving the Drought
Tuesday, 14 August 2012 19:30
Astrid Cook
While the recent break in the weather has brought some much-needed rain to some of the farms in our region, many farms here and across the country remain under a severe drought. The warm dry winter has evolved into a hot dry summer, and it's estimated that the monoculture corn and soybean farms are going to sustain severe losses due to the weather.
One of the great things about being part of a CSA is that you are allowing small farms to practice diversified farming, also referred to as polyculture. Polyculture offers a distinct advantage during seasons of extreme weather in that certain crops will thrive in certain environments.
Although hot weather is hard for some veggies- i.e. lettuce and cooking greens in particular- it can also be good for some of the other many types and varieties of vegetables that your farmers grow including:
- melons
- peppers (spicy ones get extra spicy!)
- tomatoes
- fruits like peaches and nectarines
But, even though they like the heat, they need water. Your farmers have been spending long days moving irrigation equipment around their farms trying to keep up with their plants' need for water.
