Why a diverse garden is a stronger garden

There's strength in numbers. Or, for the sake of gardening, there's strength in diversity. In fact, a monoculture (one crop planted over an area) is actually weaker and more prone to pests and diseases than a polyculture (multiple crops planted over an area).
Mixing and matching plants and species makes for a much stronger garden and boosts your chances for success. And a diverse garden generally leads to a larger harvest while requiring less maintenance. Keep reading to learn more!
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The big picture
Monocultures dominate industrial scale farms in the U.S. (think corn and soy), but they're really taxing on environmental resources. Most industrial scale farms require extensive tilling, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and heavy equipment. Still, monocultures are thought to be more productive and more profitable, not to mention the most viable way to feed the masses.
Dr. Mercola and Science Daily cite a study done by the University of Wisconsin's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Michael Fields Agricultural Institute that says this isn't true. In the study, two food-growing sites in southern Wisconsin — one practicing species-diverse, organic methods and the other more conventional methods — were compared from 1993 to 2006. The study found that in all instances medium-sized organic farms were more profitable than industrial farms.
One of the major reasons organic farms come out on top is because they work with the environment rather than exploit it. So insecticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics (for livestock) and much of the industrial scale equipment is unnecessary in an organic setting. This results in a cheaper, more sustainable operation.
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In your own backyard
Most of us don't have actual farms. But nature's principles hold true at any scale. If you grow just one or two crops in the same place year after year, your garden will suffer from soil depletion and increased disease and pest occurrence. Therefore, as time goes on, you will most likely notice you're relying more and more on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
To avoid exploiting the resources you have at hand — namely your soil, the foundation to a healthy garden — consider the following:
1. Biodiversity: In general, the more life that inhabits your garden, the healthier it will be. Chances are that critters, insects and microorganisms can't survive in a depleted, chemically treated environment. So take it as a good sign if you have bees, butterflies, earthworms, birds and other creatures happily inhabiting your garden. Biodiversity offers significant protection for your garden. Soil organisms and insects improve soil condition, and birds and predatory insects keep pests under control.
To increase biodiversity in your garden, avoid chemicals — including pesticides and fertilizers (which can kill soil organisms) — and plant a wide variety of plants, including natives and perennials. Intermixing annual vegetables with perennial edibles and native flowers and shrubs is a sure way to improve biodiversity. When you encourage your garden as an ecosystem, it will become more self-sustainable and productive — which means more reward with less effort!
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2. Genetic diversity: The world relies on only 12 plant species for 75 percent of food consumed. In terms of livestock, 15 animal species, including birds and mammals, account for 90 percent of meat consumed. Unfortunately, a lack of genetic diversity makes it easier for diseases and pests to wreck havoc. If one species is wiped out by a disease, that's a huge chunk out of the food supply. By planting more genetically diverse plants you are creating more opportunities for some plants to adapt to adverse conditions and resist pests and diseases. On a small scale like a home garden, genetic diversity may not have a significant net impact on productivity. However, ordering heirloom varieties and other varieties not commonly grown helps to preserve genetic diversity of food crops on a larger scale. It's for the benefit of everyone to maintain as much genetic diversity as possible when it comes to the food that sustains us.