Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Enhanced Ecosystems

Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Enhanced Ecosystems: Center for Eco Literacy.                                                                                                                    ...

IMG 03081 Enhanced ecosystems agroecology

Enhanced Ecosystems

Center for Eco Literacy.                                                                                                                                   In my last blog, I discussed that diversity favors balance which supports resilience. All this enhances ecological stability. Resilience encourages the plants built-in resistant traits. Healthy plants are less prone to diseases and insects. Plants have defense mechanisms that help them deal with insects and diseases. Plants use metabolites to help them digest the nutrients they need. Secondary metabolites help build plant defense mechanisms. Monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids are the main components of essential oils. These are toxic to insects. They also inhibit bacterial and fungal attacks. Phytoecdysones can mimic insect molting and disrupt the development of larvae. These also contain anti fungal properties. Defensins are another defense mechanism contained in plant proteins. Besides this, plant resistance also depends on structural barriers between cells. When there is a disturbance the cells are triggered and increase growth that blocks disease from entering. A good example of defense mechanisms is, when temperatures drop near freezing plants are triggered to send sugars out into the leaf. Sugars freeze at a lower temperature then water. This way the plants are more protected and we harvest the more nutritious and sweeter greens after a good frost. Plant roots are highly sensitive. Plant roots can release root exudates that are anti microbial  to inhibit diseases. When plants have an imbalance of nutrients they excrete certain compounds that make them attractive to diseases. Diseases in nature act as the culling out of weaker species. The diet of insect is more carbon than ours. So insects are less attracted to healthier plants.
 So can we mimic these behaviors through hybridization to support this type of development? It does work on a very short term basis with GMOs. Yet this short term is not truly sustainable. It relies on outside inputs and artificial interaction. This means it addresses issues on a one dimensional level. The dynamics of a biologically balanced ecosystem is three dimensional and difficult, if not impossible to manifest with genetic interference. To facilitate the forces of nature is to hold obedience and reverence to the laws of nature. Nature works in multidimensional patterns.
 So creating a healthy environment is key to growing the best plants. This is done both above and below the ground. With diversity I incorporate my cut flowers or herbs in or near beds with vegetables and fruit. They attract beneficial ones and deters unwanted ones. This is part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Here is an example. Buckwheat attracts a wasp that preys on squash bugs. Grasses harbor spiders. Grasses also attract leafhoppers and thrips that can be vectors of disease. that can be a problem for grapes. So grasses are allowed around squash but not grapes. With diversity I try to introduce compatible relationships. Learning what works is an ongoing process. The dynamics of each microcosm is unique. Plants adjust to their surroundings. If I were forming an education group, I would prefer it to develop organically. Plant groupings develop their own dynamics. In ecosystems the ability to adjust to their environment is very important. Each garden setting is unique and a one of a kind. It's individuality favors it's beauty. Plants acclimate to more extreme weather than ever before. So hardy plants are needed to deal with these challenges. Healthy soils create healthy plants. Biotic or biological factors are important to maintain. Cynobacteria (blue green algae), azospirillum,  rhizobia, and antinomycetes are just a few bacterial that build healthy soils. The best way to encourage this is with quality compost. I try to use diverse manures in my piles. I also use minerals like granite sand (high in K). I also use high nutritious plants like compfrey, stinging nettles, dandelions, yarrow, chamomile, Good compost does so much. Epigenetics: the study of changes in organisms caused by modifications of gene expression rather than alterations of the genetic code itself (which is what GMO is trying to do. Plant growth substances (phytohormones) that promote cell division or cytokinesis. A PH of 6.5 helps make nutrients available to plants. Soils that hold water yet drain and breathe are important to a healthy biology in the soil. Being a good steward of land is a commitment that comes with an ongoing learning process. There is more information in my book, Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming.

Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Hortic...

Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Hortic...: Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Horticulture Therapy :  I have done a few gardens over the decades for the disable community. Th...

Principles of Regenerative Agroecology

  My video is a recreation of a part of a talk I recently gave at a conference. You will notice the tall grass. That is the best way to deal with extreme weather conditions. The weeds create cover and protect the soil and help hold moisture. We have had 2" - 3" in of rain in the past 5 months and nothing in the past 3 months along with record heat temps. My talk in part is trying to deal with a lot of misconceptions about how to regenerate land and be a good land steward.

  If you wish to work with land and grow some of your food then you want to do it with integrity. That is how you produce high quality food. There are also incredible rewards in revitalizing land to bring it to it's full potential. Soil responds to positive inputs. Developing land is done in stages. For instance at the www.Tierrasonrisagarden.com  I started by assessing the land and building compost piles. Where some of the compost piles were built I later planted fruit trees. I laid out beds, dug and planted them. In the fall,  I dug them again and planted them in perennials. The garden was developed in phases. Developing healthy soil takes time. To take exhausted and degraded land and turn it into a beautiful garden is incredibly rewarding. To enhance the life of a piece of land fills me with life. If you love this type of work you can pour that love into the land and it will pay you back several times in many ways. It is a labor of love that replenishes the soul. If it seems like too much work then maybe it is not for you. There is a lot of land in need of healing and not enough people who want to do it.  It is also an investment in your future. Done correctly, the yields and quality improve, problems become less and there is less work involved. It is more than a job. It is a lifestyle. Developing a close relationship with the land helps me connect with the life around me and how to fit into it. Life attracts life and this adds rhythm to my dance of life.

Principles of Regenerative Agroecology

Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Horticulture Therapy

Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Horticulture Therapy:  I have done a few gardens over the decades for the disable community. This summer I was involved with the roof top garden for disabled vete...

Horticulture Therapy

 I have done a few gardens over the decades for the disable community. This summer I was involved with the roof top garden for disabled veterans at the VA Center in Decatur, GA. I also worked at Enable for adults with developmental disabilities and Christian City in Union City.

 The concept of horticulture therapy is: to heal the land and let it heals us. This applies to all land use, farming gardening, etc. Connecting with the soil is a way of connecting with a part of ourselves, where we come from and where we are going back to. Nature enhances our lives. Working in a garden you find your place in nature. It is centering and allows us to put our life in perspective. While in this relaxed state I can get people to talk and share about their wonderful life or not so wonderful. As they open up they become full of the life around them. plants communicate with us on subtle levels. There is also a feeling of accomplishment when people see things grow that they planted. A garden simplifies our life. The cycle's of nature in the garden operate at a slower rhythm yet on a continuum of life. It offers insight on how the world operates in balance.

At the VA center in Decatur, GA I worked with a quadruple amputee, Von Heinze, a Viet Nam  vet.  I thought, if he can garden anybody can. This is a rooftop garden of containers. Enable is a day center for adults that are developmentally disabled in Red Oak, GA. These are not productive gardens, nor are they focused on aesthetics. These are fun gardens. It is important to remember, that if you grow for food or you grow for your lively hood, are you having fun?  This reminds me that when I am out driving around in urban cities I feel very disconnected from everything. When I am working in the garden I am in a centered, more sane environment that makes more sense to me. I also spent time at a community garden at Christian City in Union City, GA. This is a retirement community. They have boxes off the ground for wheel chair access.

    With ambulatory people we dig a bed in the ground. I do not need lumber for boxes on the ground. I also do not buy soil, compost or plastic. The role being a gardener is that of a producer not a consumer. The boxes in the barrier free gardens are of recycled materials. The compost comes from my farm or I use very old rotted manure from a horse stable for soil. It is difficult to get people to think outside the box. I either contribute my seeds or get seed donations. The mind set of being a consumer in all our activities runs deep. Regenerating a piece of land offers many rewards that are described in my book, Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming. Sharing this fits into the concept of; the gift is in the giving. Thanks to these groups for allowing me to contribute to their programs.

Below is John watering the beds he helped plant. 

Weeds as indicators of your soil and other uses.

Weeds are a problem for many gardeners and farmers. In this blog I wish to examine how to view weeds differently. All weeds are plants that we have not found a use for. Weeds can be used as indicators of the soil's mineral composition. The ideal way to find out about your soil is through a soil test. Your local cooperative extension service provides this service for a nominal fee. It will  provide information on macro nutrients and the PH. Plants can also be useful to look at. Here are a few examples;  Fertile soils or soils previously cultivated attract plants like, Chick weed, henbit. lambsquarters, stinging nettle, clover, wild vetch. Poor or deficient soils attract, mullein, wild parsley, wild radish, mugwort, common daisies, wild or dog fennel.. Higher nitrogen soil plants are clover, stinging nettles, black medic, chickory. Phosphorous indicators; purslane, mustard, stinging nettles, poke salad. Calcium indicators; lambsquarters. low in calcium indicators are burdock, dandelion, dock, Johnson grass, pigweed, sorrel. (this can also be an indication or acid soil. Alkaline soil indicators are, scarlet pimpernil, bladder campion, sage brush, goosefoot (chenopodium). Cornflowers or batchelor buttons can indicate acid or alkaline soils by their color. blue flowers indicates alkaline and red indicates acid soils, this also applies to hydrangeas. Bad drainage plants are, dock, horsetail, ox eyed daisy, golden rod, hemlock, Joe Pye weed,. butter cups, mosses and violets. This is not a true science and you may find many exceptions Weed seed sometimes just blow onto your land. Look for consistent patterns of weed populations. This is not as accurate as a laboratory test.

 There are several plants that are Dynamic Accumulators. These are plants with a high a composition of minerals. Nitrogen - Alfalfa, vetch, lupines and most legumes. Potassium - Comfrey, stinging nettle, dandelion.and yarrow. Calcium - Buckwheat, lambsquarters, chamomile, stinging nettle. Phosphorous - Buckwheat, valerian, Sonchus Sowthistle (pictured below has high amounts of Calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, potassium and zinc. These are very good plants to put into your compost pile. As they break down they release these minerals.                                                                                                         Weeds are the guardians of the soil. They are the scar tissue that protects and heals damaged land. If you do not use the land efficiently they will. You can learn a lot about keeping the land covered from them. They preserve the land until you are ready to use it well. They also house and protect the dynamic life that exists at the surface of the soil. To destroy them is to destroy the life giving properties they provide for your field or garden. It is not a good idea to take out all the cover and leave the soil exposed to the elements. Of course there are undesirable weeds. My least favorites are: pig weed (amaranthus palmeri), bind weed (wild morning glory), bermuda grass. There are many plants that can be used to choke them out. Keeping beds full and using a living mulch covers the bed and so it does not provide space for these plants. The use of weeds or wild plants as companions is covered in my book, Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming. 

Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Pruning Fruit Trees The primary pruning of fruit...

Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming: Pruning Fruit Trees

 The primary pruning of fruit...: Pruning Fruit Trees  The primary pruning of fruit trees is an annual event. In my region it takes place in early Feb. while trees are stil...

Pruning Fruit Trees

 The primary pruning of fruit trees is an annual event. In my region it takes place in early Feb. while trees are still dormant when the threat of heavy frost is over. This is also when it is time to prune roses and shrubs. This is an opportunity to control the shape of the tree. It also helps you open the tree up so to discourage pests and disease. Taking extra care of your trees and they will reward you with a plentiful amount of fruit later in the year. If you are cutting out disease make sure to disinfect your tools with an alcohol wipe especially before moving on to the next tree. Step back periodically to view the shape before deciding what needs to be taken out. Over lapping branches are important to remove. Strive for a shape to encourage healthy growth and accessibility when picking fruit. Look for insects hibernating in split bark.and diseases to be cut out. Sanitation is an important part of fruit tree maintenance. So raking out rotted fruit and leaves is part of the maintenance. If tree have diseases, like fire blight, use diluted bleach on tools between cuts. I also posted a blog on 7/15 on fruit tree care. That blog covers taking care of fruit trees during the growing season. Trees are an important part of any farm or garden. They add dimension. In my design, I use them to establish a perimeter around the main garden. Below are photos of before and after of pruning an apple tree.

Putting Ecology into Agroecology (part 3)

  This is the third part of my three part blog on putting ecology into agroecology. If you have done an assessment of your surrounding environment, (this is explained int the first part of this blog) then you have an idea of how to design the land in order to work with your environment. Design is an ongoing learning process. Doing it intelligently gives you better tools to work with.  One of the main principles of regenerative gardening and farming is to always put back more than you take out. Leave that land in better shape than how you found it. Part of the motivation for doing this writing  is that I visit many farms and see people destroying the land in order to learn farming. It is like reinventing the wheel and we did a lot of that in the 1970's. Although we never stop learning, moving forward is a positive direction to go in.

  Planting in an integrated system allows you to take the examples given to you by nature and emulate them into your growing area. The principles of Permaculture and French Intensive overlap a lot to achieve the same results. Some of these ideas involve: Polyculture, interplanting in a way that uses symbiotic relationships. Niche plantings that encourage micro environments and favorable habitats.  The use of IPM to attract beneficial insects for a variety of purposes. Nutrient cycling maintains the flow of life in the soil. Using the 5 components of companion planting has many uses. With all this keep in mind, that diversity ensures balance and resilience and compatibility is the key to confluence. Develop a perennial base. If you do this with fruit trees, it implies a long term commitment to the land. Establishing edible hedgerows can divide a field into separate environments. Examples of hedgerow plants for my area are, currants (gooseberry), blackberry, service berry, lingon berry, bay tree, camellia sensensis, pineapple guava, aronia berry, secondary, rosa rugosa, elderberry. This can serve as a way to redirect the flow of wind and water. .Nature works in cycles. Allow the cycles to be complete. Fertility is never in a complete state. It is an ongoing process. Being a good steward of the land means being a facilitator of these cycles. When the overall health is disrupted you will know it. Insect and disease problems are indicators of an imbalance.  Planting a perimeter of trees around a piece of land helps to preserve the environment. This also creates corridors for birds and other life forms. In larger plantings of tall trees it  can attract rain and create moisture reserves. Design is also an expression of your love for the land. Protect it and it protects you, heal it and it heals you. Become part of it and it becomes part of you. There are many more ideas in my book, Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming.

Putting Ecology into Agroecology Part 2

 This is the second part of three parts on putting ecology into agroecology. In this part I want to examine land and habitat restoration. It is an important part of regenerating land. This is partially done by monitoring the ecosystem covered in the last blog. It also involves introducing plants that heal the land. Developing land in such a way to emulate nature means several things, using native plants, doing this in stages and designing areas to create a balanced diversity.  The list below is for creating healthy habitats. Restoring land is an art and a science. It can also be a spiritual work. Healing land can heal one's soul. It connects us with the land.
  Plants that restore land: In general, Sonchus oleraceus (sow thistle), lupines, alfalfa, clovers, comfrey, dandelion, yarrow. The plant list below is for creating healthy habitats.
     Praries plants:  Amorpha canescens ( lead plant), Baptisia alba  (wild white indigo), white prairie clover, Lespediza, Heal all (pruella vulgaris), Lomatium and self heal.
     Southeast: plants: Alfalfa or Lucern, oats, white clover, rye grass, hairy vetch, yarrow, big blue stem grass, gamma grass, asclepias. self heal, plantain.
     Northwest plants: Red alder tree, yarrow, holodiscus discolor (ocean spray shrub), parnassia fimbriata, oat grass, Queen Anne's lace, bed straw, owl clover, Seablush, balsam, balsam root, lupine, Oregon sunrise, douglas aster.
     Southwest plants: Rice grass, Feather grass, blue gamma grass, James galleta, globe mallow, alsclepias, fleabane, bluebell flower, lomatium, wild sage.

Plants that remediate soil: Indian mustard, pelargoniums, sunflowers, sea pink thrifts, red clover, wild lettuce, gomphrena, claussenii, chick peas, birdsfoot trefoil, chinese cabbage, canna lily, salix, willow.

Plants that remediate water: Water lily (nymphea alba), phragmites australias (common reed), sparganium erectum (yellow flag iris), schoenoplectus lacustris (club rush or bull rush), duck week,  cress, stratiotes alvides (water soldier), hytocharis horsus-remae (european frogbit), ealamus (sweet flag reed).

Plants that attract beneficial insects: Yarrow, Umbellifers (dill, queen Anne's lace, ammi majus, caraway, parsley, fennel, cilantro), allysum, sunflower, clover, tansy, golden rod, borage, digitalis, chamomile, coreopsis, cosmos, verbascum, forsythia, amaranth, shasta daisy, vetch, chervil, spirea, aster, lavender, forsythia and tall grass for spiders.
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Putting Ecology into Agroecology.

  This blog is set in three parts. The first is on developing an intimate relationship with a piece of land. It involves doing an ecological assessment of the land. It helps to know what the history of the land was before you arrived. Most land has been abused and is in need of restoration. Understanding how the land functions ecologically is important if you wish to work with the dynamic nature of a piece of land. While conducting monitoring of the land it helps to view the entire land as a living entity. This means looking at it as a living organism. Most of what lives on the land was there before you arrived and will be there when you are gone. So it isn't a matter of what is on your land but rather who's land are you on and how do you coexist within that unique environment. Some important monitoring tools: www.mostream.org (Once you go to that site, go to the menu and click, Water Quality Monitoring, Scroll down and click, macroinvertebrates. That will provide a useful chart for  water insects. The more you have, the cleaner your water is.  Next is insect identification. www.insectidentification.org, This will provide a good reference for identifying insects. In a previous blog I did a description on insects. Please refer to that blog for information on monitoring for insects on your land. Soils are important to look at. This is the most stable of the elements and the one we can most affect. Finally, observing the flow of energy as it passes thru the land.
  The second part will go into restoring habitats and regenerative practices. It is about healing land and emulating nature.
  The third is on design and creating an integrated system to grow in. I hope it offers some insight. This is all taken from my book, Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming (Biodynamic Principles and Perspectives.
How to do an assessment of your ecosystem. 

Water is a huge biological niche. It attracts a lot of life and is an important component to a balanced ecosystem. Three things to look at in examining water. Movement is necessary for it to replenish as a life source. Oxygen feeds life in the water. A drop in water provides for that. If you don't have that, you might want to set up a fountain. Riparian borders are a habitat that protects and preserves the biology along the water. Check for macro invertebrates with the screen method. Go to www.mostream.org Click on Water Quality Monitoring, and scroll down to macro invertebrates for a chart.

  The woods is the next area of study. This is where insects and animals come from that move into your field and growing area. This is where you can inspect for habitats of small animals, birds and insects. It is also where you can find symbiotic relationships that favor a confluent ecosystem.  Mushrooms growing at the base of trees is an example of fungus having a compatible relationship with tree roots. I have muscadine vines growing up into the trees. The trees provide a trellis. The grapes attract birds that also comb the trees for insects. The dead trees and leaf litter attract decomposers that break down materials that provide nutrients for plants. Older trees are the gene pool, younger trees are the regeneration of an ecosystem. Compatibility is the key to confluence in nature. A healthy wooded area is integral to a balanced ecosystem.                        Moving into a field you can observe the plants. Again look for diversity. A mix of grasses, dicotyledons, legumes and wildflowers create the diversity needed for healthy balance. Mushrooms indicate a good mycorrhizal presence. After heavy rains look for standing water. If this is present you may need to open up channels to drain the water. The field provides food for livestock or hay or mulch. My hay is for composting.

   Insects are important to monitor. I use a combination of nets for flying insects and sticky traps. On my Sept. blog I discuss insects. Please refer to it for insect monitoring. Keep in mind that insect problems are simply indicators of an imbalance. I will refer to this more in the third part of this blog.                                            Soils are pretty obvious. Soil is the element that is most stable and most fragile.  If you dig you probably have a good idea of your soil. There are several plants that can be used as indicators. I think the simple thing to do is get a soil test done through the local Cooperative Extension Service. It can be done for a nominal fee. It will provide you with the PH and macro nutrients. It is good to do every 3 or 4 years to see how your soil has improved. Look at the soil profile to examine how much top soil you have. Many of us have little or no top soil. In this case you are in need of major soil restoration. There are plants that are natural healers of the soil. Sowthistle (Sonchus Oleraceus), alfalfa, all clovers, lupines, compfrey, stinging nettle and dandelion are a few that help replenish the soil. To monitor for soil insects is quite easy. Take a square foot out side of your growing beds. Do this after a light rain. Observe for soil insects, such as centipedes, millipedes, sowbugs and earthworms are all good decomposers. If you have around 10 - 12 earthworms per square foot, you are in good shape. A good steward of the land is a good soil builder.                 The last area is to observe energy flow. Water and air can be redirected. For example, edible                     hedgerows can be used as wind breaks. Wind breaks should  redirect air flow not stop it. A row of plants can also redirect the flow of water. Groups of tall trees catch water in the form of rain. Small shrubs catch air flow. Tall plants create shade for other plants. Wild life habitats are useful along the edge of woods. There are many ways to work this into your design. More information is located in the design chapter of my book, Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming. 

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