what is contour gardening

Contour gardening is a way to use the land's contours to reduce irrigation and erosion, and maximize nutrients for abundant harvest yields. It's a popular tool in permaculture gardens. Here's what contour gardening is and how you can pull it off.

What is the meaning of contour farming?
Why is contour farming used?
How do you do contour farming?
How crops are planted on contours?
What are the disadvantages of contour farming?
What is the advantages of Contour System?
What are the method of contouring?
What are the important features of contour farming?
Where is contour plowing used?
What is the difference between contour farming and terracing?
What are the benefits of contour plowing?
What is the difference between contour farming and strip cropping?
What is mean by strip cropping?
Is contour farming sustainable?
What is an alley crop?
What are the pros and cons of no-till farming?
How does no-till farming work?
What are the benefits of no-till farming?
What is contour strip cropping what is its use?
What are 3 types of contour lines?
What are the uses of contouring?
How many methods of contouring are present?

What is the meaning of contour farming?

Contour farming, the practice of tilling sloped land along lines of consistent elevation in order to conserve rainwater and to reduce soil losses from surface erosion. ...

Why is contour farming used?

Farming across the slope helps to shorten slope lengths, slowing down runoff water so it can soak into the soil. Contour farming slows water down and lets it soak into the soil. Combine contour farming with cover cropping and other conservation practices for more soil fertility and slope protection.

How do you do contour farming?

The following are the 10 steps of SALT.

Step 1: MAKE AN A-FRAME. ...
Step 2: LOCATE THE CONTOUR LINES. ...
Step 3: PREPARE THE CONTOUR LINES. ...
Step 4: PLANT SEEDS OF NITROGEN FIXING TREES.
Step 5: CULTIVATE ALTERNATE STRIPS. ...
Step 6: PLANT PERMANENT CROPS. ...
Step 7: PLANT SHORT AND MEDIUM-TERM CROPS.

How crops are planted on contours?

Contour farming is farming with row patterns that run nearly level around the hill -- not up and down the hill. Contour stripcropping is crop rotation and contouring combined in equal-width strips of corn or soybeans planted on the contour and alternated with strips of oats, grasses, or legumes.

What are the disadvantages of contour farming?

Therefore, contour farming alone is not sufficient to control erosion on steep, long slopes, erodible soils, and during erosive rains. The major drawbacks of contour farming are frequent turning involving extra labor and machinery time, and loss of some area that may have to be put out of production.

What is the advantages of Contour System?

The advantages of contouring are: the velocity of runoff is checked; the adsorption of rainfall is increased; erosion is reduced by slowing the rate of runoff; and, temporarily storing runoff behind contour ridges increases infiltration and collects sediment.

What are the method of contouring?

There are two methods of contour surveying:

Direct method.
Indirect method.

What are the important features of contour farming?

In contour ploughing, the ruts made by the plow run perpendicular rather than parallel to slopes, generally resulting in furrows that curve around the land and are level. This method is also known for preventing tillage erosion. Tillage erosion is the soil movement and erosion by tilling a given plot of land.

Where is contour plowing used?

Contour plowing is normally used only when the slope of the land is between 2 to 10% and when excessive rainfall is not generally a problem. When these conditions are not met, strip cropping is used in addition to contour plowing to prevent problems from developing.

What is the difference between contour farming and terracing?

Contour ploughing follows the “natural shape” of the slope without altering it. Terrace farming alters the shape of the slope to produce flat areas that provide a catchment for water. ... In terracing, wide steps are cut around the slopes of hills to prevent soil erosion.

What are the benefits of contour plowing?

Contour plowing was a method of plowing furrows that follow the curves of the land rather than straight up and down slopes. Furrows that run up and down a slope form a channel that can quickly carry away seeds and topsoil. Contour plowing forms ridges, slows the water flow and helps save precious topsoil.

What is the difference between contour farming and strip cropping?

Contour farming is the practice of tilling sloped land along lines of consistent elevation in order to conserve rainwater and to reduce soil losses from surface erosion, while strip cropping cultivation in which different crops are sown in alternate strips to prevent soil erosion.

What is mean by strip cropping?

Strip-cropping, in which a close-growing crop is alternated with one that leaves a considerable amount of exposed ground, is one technique for reducing erosion; the soil washed from the bare areas is held by the closer-growing vegetation.

Is contour farming sustainable?

Strip cropping prevents soil erosion and can improve soil fertility. Contour cultivation (contour farming, contour plowing, or contour bunding) is a sustainable way of farming where farmers plant crops across or perpendicular to slopes to follow the contours of a slope of a field. ...

What is an alley crop?

Alley cropping is the planting of trees or shrubs in two or more sets of single or multiple rows with agronomic, horticultural, or forage crops cultivated in the alleys between the rows of woody plants.

What are the pros and cons of no-till farming?

Here's a short list of no-till pros and cons.

Pro: Savings. ...
Con: Special Equipment Costs. ...
Pro: Water Conservation. ...
Con: Fungal Disease. ...
Pro: Less Herbicide Runoff. ...
Con: More Herbicides. ...
Pro: Higher Crop Yields. ...
Con: You Need Patience.

How does no-till farming work?

In conventional no-till farming, farmers use herbicides to manage the weeds before and after sowing the seeds. The amount of herbicides used in this approach is even higher than the amount used in tillage-based farming, which causes a threat to the environment and human health.

What are the benefits of no-till farming?

No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certain soils, especially in sandy and dry soils on sloping terrain. Other possible benefits include an increase in the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil, soil retention of organic matter, and nutrient cycling.

What is contour strip cropping what is its use?

Strip cropping is a method of farming used when a slope is too steep or too long, or otherwise, when one does not have an alternative method of preventing soil erosion. ...

What are 3 types of contour lines?

There are 3 kinds of contour lines you'll see on a map: intermediate, index, and supplementary.

Index lines are the thickest contour lines and are usually labeled with a number at one point along the line. ...
Intermediate lines are the thinner, more common, lines between the index lines.

What are the uses of contouring?

Uses of the Contour Lines

To estimate the water storage capacity, back water limit and max . ...
Volume of the proposed excavation wok,
To decide whether certain location is visible from another location,
To decide exact line of railway or road way haing safe slope,
To determine the ground water level from contours of ground water.

How many methods of contouring are present?

How many methods of contouring are present? Explanation: There are 2 methods of contouring: direct and indirect. In direct method, the points of elevation are located physically and then plotted on the map. Indirect method uses contouring with the help of grids.