 | Bio-Intensive Approach to Small-Scale Household Food Production (IIRR, 1993, 180 p.) |
 |  | (introduction...) |
|  | Introduction |
| | Characteristics of the bio-intensive approach to small-scale household food production |
| | Why household food security through gardens makes sense? |
| | Information, education and communication approaches to household vegetable gardening |
| | The household as a production and consumption unit |
| | Definitions of homegardens |
| | Vegetables throughout the year |
| | Starting a biointensive garden |
| | Layout for a small-scale, household level vegetable production plot |
| | Technological profile |
| | The rationale for deep-dug and raised beds |
| | Why deep-dug beds are important? |
| | Development of rooting systems |
| | Raised-bed garden technologies |
| | Integrated alley cropping bio-intensive garden |
| | Pot-garden technologies |
| | Common garden tools |
| | Soil management |
| | Know your soil |
| | Discovering your soil type firsthand |
| | Soil modifiers |
| | Nutrient composition of various organic materials |
| | Composting |
| | Composting methods |
| | Conventional method of compost preparation |
| | The 14-day method of composting |
| | Composting in triple-compost bin |
| | Deep bed composting |
| | Semi-sunken composting |
| | Basket composting |
| | Liquid fertilizer |
| | Fish emulsion as plant food for bio-intensive garden |
| | Green manuring |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Nitrogen-fixing trees |
| | Characteristics of Some Nitrogen-fixing Trees |
| | Cover crops |
| | Some cover crops successfully used by farmers |
| | Cover crops as soil conditioners |
| | Nutrient requirement of vegetables |
| | Seed and seedling management |
| | Saving seeds through gardener curators |
| | Why producing your own vegetable seeds is important? |
| | Traditional or indigenous seeds |
| | Seed production |
| | Site selection and timing of seed production |
| | Seed harvesting and seed extraction |
| | Seed drying |
| | Seed storage |
| | Testing seed quality |
| | Nursery techniques for seedlings |
| | Crop management |
| | Crop planning |
| | Using the fenceline for planting annual and perennial crops |
| | Companion plant guide chart |
| | Vegetables that can be harvested in less than a month |
| | Shade-tolerant vegetables |
| | Drought-resistant vegetables |
| | Solarization: A weed control technique using sunlight |
| | Watering |
| | Mulching |
| | The role of organic mulches |
| | Some tropical materials for use as mulch |
| | Gardening in dry environments |
| | Water-saving ideas for gardens during dry season |
| | Growing vegetables in saline areas |
| | Lead in urban gardens |
| | Pest management |
| | Some common garden pests |
| | Alternative pest management |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Cultural method of pest control |
| | Biological pest control |
| | Encouraging predators |
| | Botanical pest control |
| | Handling of garden produce |
| | Conserving and safeguarding quality and freshness of garden produce |
| | Non-refrigerated storage |
| | Nutritional dimension of bio-intensive gardening |
| | Sustaining gardens as nutrition |
| | Vegetables for family nutrition |
| | Vitamin A content of some local foods in serving portions compared with recommended dietary allowances for various age groups |
| | Iron content of some local foods in serving portions compared with recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for various age groups |
| | Vegetables containing iodine |
| | Vegetables with multiple edible parts |
| | Neglected annual vegetables |
| | Maintaining the nutritional value of vegetables: Food preparation tips |
Conventional method of compost preparation
1. Choose a spot that is at least partially protected from rain.
2. Gather the crop residues, animal manures and other wastes and bring them to the preparation site.
3. Pile the crop and other plant residues (15 cm thick) first. For the next layer, spread the animal manure to a thickness of about 8 cm, followed by about 3 cm of good soil. Pile another layer of the materials in the same sequence and repeat until a height of about 1.5 meters of the compost pile is attained.
4. Water the pile until it is sufficiently moist. Water regularly.
5. Turn over or mix the pile with spading fork after 3 weeks, then again after five weeks.
6. Harvest the compost in three to four months.
Conventional method of compost preparation
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