Oasissofas: Growing food while mimicking the forests

Water quality in urban areas can be enhanced by biomimicry. In this study, we mimicked the forest by growing vegetables in 6’ x 3’ beds called oasissofas copying a ‘forest ecosystem’ of: continues mulch; minimum soil disturbance – no tillage; and spatial and rotational species diversification. A highly fertilized, compacted and herbicide applied monoculture lawn at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University campus was converted into an experimental site to test if an oasissofa system is a better alternative in producing urban vegetables compared with conventional tilled systems. The site used a lot less artificial chemicals than when it was in grass hence water quality from runoff is improved.