Chasingmytail
Member
- Location
- Newport, SE Wales
Good evening,Perfectly said !! I had to learn it the hard way....
There are many places on the world where too much temperature and/or too much sunlight is the problem and reducing biological activity - if you find a way to reduce temperature in the soil (by loads of residue) and shade the soil/plants (by planting trees) you can boost biology and yields for sure.
On my farm I have basically too low temperature and too low sunshine in 9 from 12 month to make the biology work properly, so too much residue and every single tree will make it worse and you can spot every bigger tree in the hedges on the yield-map !! Here the biggest problem is too much rain at times reducing (drowning) the biology, I need to find a way to get rid of the moisture at many times !!
But: priciples are universal, solutions are local !! That`s still correct and certainly proofs that it can`t work at all to copy solutions from south america when I have totally different problems - took me nearly 10 years and a LOT of money to realize. Still searching for the right solution though.....
Triple like. I would love to do something similar although I'm not convinced in the Mark Shepherd model or keyline water management in the UK. What income streams do you think this will generate or are you doing it for the love of it (which would be valid too IMO). Be great to follow how you get on. Keep us posted.Weve been working with the Woodland trust. These trees are provided free. Permaculture principles to achieve this silvoforest. https://www.facebook.com/pg/Cwrt-He...8/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1756219544614885. This forest will eventually provide a microclimate, fruit and nut, grazing pasture/growing alleys etc all organic.
You need to bale some straw!
Out of interest, have you visited Martyn Wolfe at Wakelyns Farm? Or Steve Briggs at Peterborough? Both these guys are combining profit-yielding trees and combinable crops and seem to be making it work (although I'll admit I've not seen Wakelyns, but have been to Steve's place).
I know you've an enquiring mind, maybe you ought to take a look and see how they're managing things
Weve been working with the Woodland trust. These trees are provided free. Permaculture principles to achieve this silvoforest. https://www.facebook.com/pg/Cwrt-He...8/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1756219544614885. This forest will eventually provide a microclimate, fruit and nut, grazing pasture/growing alleys etc all organic.
yes you can make micro climates to the field - this field was chosen for its orientation and improving the wind battering to the rest of the farm further across so we see this as a benefit. Its on a hill too. Growing in the style has taken into account future draughts which we foresee will become longer and more regular. I'm not experienced in this but worked with the Woodland trust and consultant Amelia Lake (keyline etc used successfully on other small farms in France etc but I am not an scientist so can only take note of what information I have been given) however there can only be advantages of growing silvoforestry over traditional orchards. My husband did a lot of reading and a big fan of Geoff Lawton and Martin Crawford he wanted to grow more trees for the future of the farm and will of course benefit the children over us. As far as I know there are very few commercial 'organic' nut growers in the UK most are imported. As for income it will be a good income but unable at this stage give a figure due to factors like when maturity, overheads etc. I will expect to see a good crop of fruit within 5 years which will only be small scale enough for the children to pick and sell (farmgate style). But its another string to our bow. Future production I hope will provide an excellent commercial crop.Do you really think that 15 acres will provide a different climate to the area outside it? It is a tiny area.
I share your scepticism regarding Mark Shepherd and this use of keyline but not re microclimates. Perhaps we are defining climate differently, but a hedgerow creates a microclimate. Wind speed reduction can reduce evapotranspiration even at a small scale and not just in the shaded areas.Do you really think that 15 acres will provide a different climate to the area outside it? It is a tiny area. My whole landholding now consists of just about 1 acre more, so I am not decrying the amount of land you farm.
I do know however, from farming much bigger acreages in the past that a block of even several hundred acres fails to affect the climate within and around it, other than the trees shading the ground and so conserving a little more moisture when it is wet - not necessarily a good thing in Britain.
Mark Shepherd (Shepard?) planting a tree to every two square yards (250,000 on 106 acres) is fooling himself and everyone else if he thinks this has any relationship to Keyline. Keyline, is or was, a registered trade mark name of P.A.Yeomans. I have a coouple of his original books bound in a single volume and generously given to me by someone in Australia when I farmed there.
Keyline is essentially a means of delivering and attempting to conserve rainfall on grassland. It needs at least a few hundred, and preferably a few thousand acres to be used effectively. It is a fantastic idea in the right circumstances and with enough land held in one ownership. As I posted at #36, different areas, different climates will give different results.
15 acres will provide food and gazing not forgetting improved diversity.
I share your scepticism regarding Mark Shepherd and this use of keyline but not re microclimates. Perhaps we are defining climate differently, but a hedgerow creates a microclimate. Wind speed reduction can reduce evapotranspiration even at a small scale and not just in the shaded areas.