#Permaculture... And why #Maine is perfect for it

By Topher Belknap, November 2018

"THE TERM PERMACULTURE was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s, but the concepts it embodies have been around for much longer. According to Holmgren, permaculture is, 'Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fiber and energy for provision of local needs.'

Permaculture design: a primer

"Permaculture is a form of landscape design intended to generate food for humans while simultaneously regenerating our soil and land. It aims to create environments that meet our needs in sustainable ways; repair damage to ecosystems; and maintain and return wild spaces. Or, as I like to say, 'Permaculture is farming with your head, your heart and ... trees.'

"With respect to ecosystem repair, there are several things we can easily do that nature struggles to accomplish—such as moving nutrients uphill; moving nutrients from the ocean back to land; slowing water on steep slopes; and planting trees appropriate to the changing climate. All these things can be done by people with just a small amount of planning and effort.

"Systems that mimic nature are more sustainable, whereas human-created systems tend to be linear in their design, consuming resources and creating unusable waste. Natural systems maintain a closed loop, where waste from one element becomes input for another element. Nothing is depleted, and nothing accumulates into pollution.

"In permaculture, before introducing a new element to the design it is important to consider what that element adds and what it takes away or consumes in relation to the other elements in the system.

"Chickens, for example, need food, but if you already have a surplus of grain and ticks, their food is provided in the system. They need a place to scratch, but if you have patches of land that need cleaning up, they will do the work for you. They produce manure, but if you have a garden, it needs the fertilizer. They produce eggs, but if you already have bacon... well then, you’ve got breakfast!"

https://greenmainehomes.com/blog/2018/11/20/permaculture-and-why-maine-is-perfect-for-it

#SolarPunkSunday #Homesteading #MoreTree #FoodForests #Agroforestry #AgroEcology #GrowYourOwnFood #PermacultureDesign #GardenDesign #ZeroWaste

#Agroforestry may be just what #Maine needs for agricultural growth

By Marina Schauffler
Published on: January 24, 2021

Excerpt: "Agroforestry, an age-old concept, could provide a path to Maine’s future. Part of the #RegenerativeAgriculture movement, it involves an integrated approach to cultivating #trees with #crops and – sometimes – #livestock. These diversified farm systems nourish #SoilHealth and #wildlife while offering more resilience in a warming world — locking up atmospheric carbon, absorbing floodwaters, and sheltering crops and animals from high winds and #ExtremeHeat.

" 'Diversity is really key to sustainability for small farms and the ecology of farms,' said vegetable farmer Max Boudreau of Winslow Farm in Falmouth. He sees many landowners and #homesteaders 'putting these principles into practice,' but said agroforestry is still 'a foreign concept' in farm service agencies.

"Being interdisciplinary, agroforestry challenges the siloed world of natural resource management. It is routinely ignored in college curricula and by technical service providers, said Meghan Giroux, an agroforestry researcher, technical service provider and practitioner in Vermont. Her nonprofit, #InterlaceCommons, seeks to fill that void by training farmers – including Boudreau – how to implement and maintain agroforestry practices.

"Boudreau was one of the 20 farmers selected among 92 applicants from around the Northeast for a free, agroforestry 'field consultancy' this year. Farmers are eager to learn about agroforestry’s potential to diversify income, and there’s growing consumer demand for its products – from nuts and uncommon fruits (like #honeyberry and #PawPaw) to #mushrooms and #MedicinalHerbs.

"Yet policymakers routinely tell Giroux there’s 'no interest in agroforestry,' she says. 'There’s no institutional will to move these practices forward primarily because people don’t understand them.'

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture has supported agroforestry since the 1990 Farm Bill and does exceptional research, Giroux feels, but “a knowledge-exchange issue” prevents guidance from reaching most landowners. A network of trained farmers could help support and train peers – a process that happens informally, Boudreau says, in the permaculture community, a related landscape design approach modeled after natural systems.

"Research has already demonstrated that #NoTill agriculture improves crop yields, reduces costs and improves soil health. Even more economic and environmental benefits could flow from cultivating crops in a layered, integrated mix of annuals and perennials more reminiscent of natural plant communities."

Full article:
https://themainemonitor.org/sea-change-agroforestry-may-be-just-what-maine-needs-for-agricultural-growth/

#SolarPunkSunday #NoMonoculture #Polyculture #AgroEcology #FoodForests

Vandaag begon de Agroforestry Design Challenge van Stichting ReGeneratie, waar ik aan deelneem. Heel fijn om bomenland (niet te verwarren met dromenland) in te duiken en me te verdiepen in deze tak van landbouw waar ik al lang geleden mijn hart aan verloor 💚

We leerden vanalles over de plantjes om ons heen die we regelmatig afzeiken en wegzetten als onkruid, maar die eigenlijk juist heerlijk smaken in kruidenboter 😋

En natuurlijk hadden we het over bomen 🤪🌳

#cursus #agroforestry #bomen

Very nice article about agroforestry and people living with the forest (not separate from it): "Caribbean
‘Agriculture of life’: the Rio families growing bananas to protect the world’s largest urban forest"

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/mar/20/agriculture-of-life-the-rio-families-growing-bananas-to-protect-the-worlds-largest-urban-forest

#brazil #agroforestry #farming #tropical #agriculture #food #nature #environment #conservation #biodiversity

Move over maple: Other tree saps are just as sweet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjV23inZQPE #EconomicBotany #Agroforestry #Food

Is there an edible mushroom that is able to grow on conifers?

Context:

In agroforestry systems we often intervene to reduce growth of less helpful trees in the system. I prefer to do this with as little harm (compaction, noise, felling damage) as possible. Some saprophytic mushrooms like leatiporus, pleurotus are really good at this, while producing food from low edibility rated trees like Robinia along the way.

Boosts welcome 🙏

#mycology #mushrooms #permaculture #agroForestry

One Million Voices of Agroecology is now on Android + iPhone 🌍💚 Map your territory, share agroecological practices, and connect with people building fair, resilient food systems worldwide. Add your voice 🌱

https://onemillionvoices.agroecologymap.org/mobile

#Agroecology #Permaculture #Agroforestry #DigitalAgriculture #FoodSystems #FreeSoftware #OpenSource

Gisteren vond in Den Bosch het Bossche Groen Doen Festival plaats, waar 39 lokale initiatieven gericht op duurzaamheid en gezondheid samenkwamen.

Bezoekers genoten van workshops, lezingen, een lokale markt, muziek, optredens en een kinderprogramma.

De Voedselboskabouters gaven workshops over het enten van paddenstoelen en het maken van papier van eierdozen.

De volgende bijeenkomst in het voedselbos is op 14 maart om 10:00 uur via het Engeler Visserspad. Doe mee! 🌱

#Agroforestry
#Voedselbos