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.
2.

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. 

1.