Space Utility: Vertical Strawberry Tower
For the first article in the new series “Space Utility”, I decided to explore a seemingly simple but innovative gardening technique the Dacha Project uses in their gardening system: the vertical strawberry tower.
The idea of utility, defined as usefulness, is important when creating an egalitarian community. One of the goals of an egalitarian community is to maximize each individual’s potential into realized energy and seen consequences. In the case of the Dacha Project, the egalitarian goal is to allow each person’s everyday life to contribute to a greater collective effort.
While observing the way of everyday life for the people at the Dacha Project, I was reminded of thte reading I have done about the philosophical ideals of utilitarianism. The ideal of classical utilitarianism is orienting actions that maximize happiness while minimizing pain. What is defined as happiness is the source of debate for a lot of philosophers, however, the concept is a lot more concrete in the Dacha garden. Happiness in the garden is observed by seeing plants that are flourishing and yielding maximum output. The Dacha concept of garden happiness is also evaluated on how many pests are present in the garden and how much destruction they cause.
The extra-dimensional strawberry tower maximizes happy gardening. Through the use of vertical, as opposed to strict use of horizontal space, the number of plants can increase while also increasing the likelihood that the plants will do well. This is achieved by evaluating the proper amount of soil, nutrition, and water each individual plant will need. With the design, another beneficial aspect is that the roots grow down within the soil as opposed to having roots that are sprawling. This is nutritionally beneficial to the plant since they get more nutrients from within the deeper soil.
Using the corner of the garden was a deliberate choice because that was the area of the garden that would be the most logical to construct a vertical and triangular gardening unit. After defining the proper area of the gardens, the right materials were needed for the vertical strawberry tower. The boards are made of black locust which is naturally rot resistant wood. The strawberries are also fed with compost consisting of soil form around the homestead and local horse manure. When the strawberries send runners, they will fall over the side of the trough they are planted in so that harvesting them is easiest and efficient.
This is the first vertical strawberry tower the Dacha Project has implemented, so it is an experiment in progress. Expect updates about this project!
