polyculture
Diverse crop cultivation
Polyculture is the practice of growing multiple crops together in the same space, as opposed to monoculture's single-crop approach.
The technique mimics natural ecosystems, where diverse plants support each other—one fixes nitrogen, another repels pests, a third provides shade.
The farm shifted from corn monoculture to polyculture, interplanting beans and squash.
The term extends beyond agriculture to any system that cultivates diversity rather than uniformity.
Simultaneous multi-crop cultivation
- agroforestryTrees integrated with farming
- guildsCraftsmen's mutual aid societies
- biocontrolPest control via organisms
- no-tillUndisturbed-soil cultivation
Range of life forms
- ecosystemsInterdependent organism-environment systems
- nichesRecessed hollows or specialties
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
- pollinatorsOrganisms transferring reproductive dust
mycorrhizae · microhabitats · hedgerows · resilience · succession
Design imitating natural systems
- stackingPlacing items vertically
- guildsCraftsmen's mutual aid societies
- swalesShallow drainage depressions
- zonesDefined territorial divisions
regenerative · closed-loop · self-sustaining · observation · integration · multi-story · understory · groundcover
Cultivating one crop exclusively
- single-cropCultivating one species only
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- specializationConcentrated expertise in one field
- mechanizationConverting to machine operation
intercropping
Simultaneous multi-crop cultivation
- agroforestryTrees integrated with farming
- guildsCraftsmen's mutual aid societies
- biocontrolPest control via organisms
biodiversity
Range of life forms
- ecosystemsInterdependent organism-environment systems
- nichesRecessed hollows or specialties
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
pollinators · mycorrhizae · microhabitats · hedgerows · resilience · succession
biomimicry
Design imitating natural systems
- stackingPlacing items vertically
- guildsCraftsmen's mutual aid societies
- swalesShallow drainage depressions
zones · regenerative · closed-loop · self-sustaining · observation · integration · multi-story · understory · groundcover
monocropping
Cultivating one crop exclusively
- single-cropCultivating one species only
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- specializationConcentrated expertise in one field
- agriculturefarms, crops, farm, farmers, farming
- gardeninggardener, gardening, flowers, seeds, soil
- aquaculturefish farming, fish farms, salmon farming, shrimp farming, fish farm
- Andean agriculturequinoa, potatoes, potato, terraces, terrace farming
- cultivationplanting, propagation, grafting, cuttings, transplanting
- farm ecologyagroforestry, beneficial insects, biological control, companion planting, cover crops
polyculturemonoculture
Single-crop agricultural system
industrial agriculture · factory farming · agribusiness · mechanized farming