Lesson 2.18 DESIGN - Decipher the slope of the land

 

FOOD FOREST COURSE

AGRO-ECONOMY  Lesson 2.18 

DESIGN - Decipher the slope of the land

 

The second step is to decipher the slope of the land. You are going to aim at harvesting any runoff from the rain that comes down the slope so that the plants can take advantage of that. The way to catch this runoff is by swaling.

 

o   Find the contours of the slope with a dumpy level or an A frame.

o   Mark out the level points of the slope with bamboo or star pickets.

o   Dig out a shallow channel and place the soil from the channel on the downside of the slope, this is called the bund. The channel can be up to a metre wide.

o   Plant your most important trees on the bund of the swales with inter-plantings of tropical vegetables and support species.

o   You can have any number of swales and generally the steeper the land, the closer together they are. Very steep land however is not suitable for swelling as erosion problems can occur.

 

When you have your swales in place it is best to sheet mulch the entire area. If the food forest garden is large, then it can be done in stages but keep in mind that the earth works have created bare soil and this will quickly grow weeds if nothing is done. To prevent this from happening it will be a good idea to broadcast seed such as pigeon pea, cow pea or any other legume ground cover crop to cover the soil, fertilise it and help add organic matter into the soil. You can plant trees in your food forest area before you start sheet mulching, or even sheet mulch around existing trees.

 

Text from the roots, Elisabeth Ferkonia (Aus.) PDC studied with Bill Mollison,




MORE INFOS: Be more successful with our company as consultant in AGRO-ECONOMY.  We reach 4 times more yields, click on the blog: https://atlas-development.blogspot.com

Join in on 150 lessons FOOD FOREST COURSE AGROFORESTRY you can easy start now. Click on https://food-forest-course.blogspot.com THE STANDARD you find there forever.

Find the 250 lessons, the basics of ORGANIC FARMING COURSE in fb on FAIREC forever. https:// www.facebook.com/FAIREC-Atlas-Developement-SARL-654505228040366/

Save daily 50 % water, energy, and fertilizer with us. Use also 2-wheel tractors for easy and better farming. See 70 lessons of best SUBSURFACE DRIP IRRIGATION for crops and trees Use our best T-Tape, click on the blog https://smart-farming-solutions.blogspot.com

#organicfarmer #organic #organicfarmingpractices #organicfarming #organicfarm #foodforest #syntropic #agroecology #syntropicfarming #agroeconomy #introductiontopermaculture #permacultureprinciples #creativethinking #permaculturehomesteading #regenerativefuture

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lesson 1.0 INTRODUCING - FOOD FORESTS TO FEED THE FUTURE

Image
  FOOD FOREST COURSE AGRO -ECONOMY Lesson 1.0  INTRODUCING - FOOD FORESTS TO FEED THE FUTURE As the world celebrates International Day of Forests on 21st March, one avenue to explore is the role that food forests can play in providing a rich source of nutrition for humans while enhancing biodiversity and nourishing the  soil . Forests are some of the most  productive , biodiverse and self-sustaining ecosystems on earth. Yet, deforestation, an indicator measured by the  Food Sustainability Index , destroys these rich centres of life at a rate of  10 m hectares per year . Driven by demand for monoculture crops such as  soya  (primarily for livestock feed) and  palm oil  (a widely used ingredient in food-processing and cosmetics), deforestation presents a major problem for forest ecosystems. But what if forests and food production could be reconciled in a novel way? Food forests may be the answer. Human-designed  food forests  differ from conventional forests, which do not provide
Read more

INDEX 134 Lessons

Image
  FOOD FOREST COURSE   AGRO -ECONOMY THE STANDARD          INDEX 134 Lessons   CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCING:   What means Food Forest, Agroforestry (11 L.) Lesson 1.0 INTRODUCING - FOOD FORESTS TO FEED THE FUTURE Lesson 1.1 INTRODUCING - Strategy for sustainable living. Lesson 1.2 INTRODUCING - ENCOURAGE MORE IDEAS Lesson 1.3 INTRODUCING - SUPPORT-PLANTS Lesson 1.4 INTRODUCING - MULTIBLE OUTPUTS. Lesson 1.5 NINE LAYERS - choose plants for gardening Lesson 1.6 NINE LAYERS - 1, 2, 3 CONOPY and smaller trees Lesson 1.7 NINE LAYERS - 4, 5, Shrubs and Grasses Lesson 1.8 NINE LAYERS - 6, 7, FORBS, HERBS, GROUNDCOVERS Lesson 1.9 NINE LAYERS - 8, 9, Root Tubers, Fungi Lesson 1.14 INT. PROJECTS - Self-sustaining food systems     CHAPTER 2: DESIGN:   How to plan a Food Forest.(15 L.) Lesson 2.2 DESIGN - Multi - cropping Lesson 2.3 DESIGN - Inter-cropping Lesson 2.4 DESIGN - Alley cropping Lesson 2.5 DESIGN - Companion planting   Lesson 2.6 DESIG
Read more

LESSON 1.1 INTRODUCING - Strategy for sustainable living.

Image
  FOOD FOREST COURSE AGRO -ECONOMY LESSON 1.1  INTRODUCING - S trategy for sustainable living.   Food Forest gardening is a central practice of Permaculture and is an ecological design strategy for sustainable living. Eco systems such as mature rain forests have a huge number of relationships between its component parts. Trees , understory , ground cover , soil , fungi , insects and animals are an integral part of this system.  Plants grow at different heights and this allows a diverse community of life to grow in a relatively small space.  Plants come into leaf and fruit at different times of year.   Edible forest gardens can mimic the complexity of a mature ecosystem and can offer inspiring and practical information of perennial polycultures and of multipurpose plants in small-scale settings. We can apply the principles of a natural ecology to the design of home gardens that mimic forest ecosystems to grow our food, fuel, fodder, fertiliser, ‘farmaceuticals,’ and f
Read more