Fixing Agroforestry

[cpslashm]

Moved this from my introductory paragraph to start a separate discussion topic.

I'm turning a pasture field into a modular agroforestry system. Take a 20m x 20m plot of pasture land, take these 100 types of seed, plant this tree here, that ground cover plant there.... repeat with the next plot. If we have a standardised edible woodland, we only need to learn where 100 things are in one plot. If it works out disseminate seeds and instructions to anyone with a bit of pasture.

Briggs wrote:

Perhaps you can expand a bit on how you protect your woodland crops?

We have tried planting in our woodland but the local wildlife assumed it to be a buffet. Including the supposedly non edible Hawthorn. I don't want to fit poly tunnels or anything that stands out too much like wire mesh everywhere. What are your methods/plans?

I put a rabbit fence around the OH's veg. patch, but so far I'm only growing trees in the field and so far no trouble. In the short term I will be planting to propagate or gather seed for final positioning later. If the rabbits get too greedy, I will probably use gorse clippings to form a perimeter. Once there are enough plants to plant out in bulk in their final positions in a module, it will be survival of the fittest (plants/rabbits/foxes/ snares). Then move the perimeter to the next module.

Of course, if the land is not yours, your options are more limited, but start small.

[Steveo82]

I don't understand this. Please can you dumb it down more.

[ForgeCorvus]

If I'm reading it right.
Divide your entire field into standard plots (both size and shape) and then subdivide a plot into areas.
Each area has a different 'crop' planted in it (even if its just a windbreak hedge or a 'wood' tree)
Plant every plot exactly the same way.

[cpslashm]

You've got it, ForgeCorvus. But an individual area (say, one square metre) may have a variety of cooperative plants. That area arrangement may appear in several places on the plot, but always in the same several places across all plots. So a plot can consist of big areas (e.g. hedges) and small areas (e.g. an arrangement of small ground cover plants).

Sorry for being confusing.

[ForgeCorvus]

You've got it, ForgeCorvus. But an individual area (say, one square metre) may have a variety of cooperative plants. That area arrangement may appear in several places on the plot, but always in the same several places across all plots. So a plot can consist of big areas (e.g. hedges) and small areas (e.g. an arrangement of small ground cover plants).

Sorry for being confusing.

Like Three Sisters or onions and carrots?

Not confusing, just radically different from traditional western gardening....... I did have to read through it a few times

[cpslashm]

Yes, very similar. The big difference is, like permaculture, most of the plants in agroforestry (AKA forest gardening) are perennials. You plant them once and harvest them many times. I'm not sure which plants will benefit which the most as the choice is vast, but it will be fun finding out.

Over the years....

[Arzosah]

It sounds "efficient", but nature may not cooperate! In an area that size, you may have differing soil types, there may even be previous settlement under the soil (a la Time Team, you know, walls, or demolition rubble, that affect the roots of the crop, even though you can't see anything). Or there may be dumping - I came across that in my previous garden, even, someone had dumped a whole load of oil, and nothing would grow there.

Microclimates? Where does cold air settle and create frost? Whats shelter like, and what sun? If it slopes, what direction? That'll affect you too.

Good idea to create a separate thread. Good luck, and keep posting!

[cpslashm]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm initially concentrating on pastureland in my local area where there are expanses of unbroken field and the underlying geology is likely to be the same. Growing wind breaks is part of the game. Some areas will do better than others, but the idea is to grow more food than a few sheep.

Anywhere that doesn't grow stuff will select itself for other uses (e.g. algae tanks, dew ponds). Plants which won't grow on a soil type will be replaced with adjacent plants which do grow better.

I suppose the answer may be to base things on an initial design rather than try to stick rigidly to it. Hopefully planting a hundred different types of plant will have some successes in any environment!

[cpslashm]

Just replied to junmist in general chat about bad weather. I've recently been wondering how to grow stuff in all this rain.

I'm planning on growing a lot of trees on my field. I'll need some pollarded wood to keep the home fires burning, but I'm expecting that eventually there will be a lot left over.

My OH pointed me at hugelkultur http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/ which should kill two birds with one stone - productively use the excess branches which are too big for biochar and drain the growing surface to prevent waterlogged crops.

Not too much of a redesign needed at this stage! First bed started.