Permaculture for Farmers Ecological Production by Design Benneth G. Phelps, Mosaic Farm Ethan C. Roland, AppleSeed Permaculture Regenerative Design Group Apios Institute
Permaculture for Farmers 2009
May 13, 2015
Ecological agriculture - by design! Learn more at http://www.regenerativedesigns.wordpress.com
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Permaculture for Farmers Ecological Production by Design
Benneth G. Phelps, Mosaic FarmEthan C. Roland, AppleSeed Permaculture
RegenerativeDesign Group
ApiosInstitute
Permaculture for Farmers
Permaculture Design
• Origins - Ethics - Principles
The Permaculture Pie
perennial vegetables
coppice woodcrafts & biomass
composting & compost tea
biochar/terra preta
apiculture
aquaculture
edible forest gardening
mycoscaping
bioremediation
earthworks
keyline
natural building green architecture
management-intensive grazing
alternativecurrencies
food forestry
Ethics of Permaculture
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more than 4,000 projects on the ground
1. Earth Care 2. People Care 3. Resource Share
Ethics of Permaculture
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more than 4,000 projects on the ground
1. Earth Care 2. People Care 3. Resource Share
Ethics of Permaculture
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more than 4,000 projects on the ground
1. Earth Care 2. People Care 3. Resource Share
Ethics of Permaculture
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more than 4,000 projects on the ground
1. Earth Care 2. People Care 3. Resource Share
Ethics of Permaculture
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more than 4,000 projects on the ground
1. Earth Care 2. People Care 3. Resource Share
Principles
Design Tools
Zones of Use
Camp Epworth
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 1
Zone 3
Zone 2
Zone 1
Zone 3Zone 4
Zone 2
Zone 1
Sector Analysis
Sector Thinking: Windbreaks
Keyline Design
Keyline: Catch and Store Energy
Source: Permaculture: A Designers Manual
Catch+store
Yobarnie
Yobarnie, 2007
Source: Permaculture: A Designers Manual
Yobarnie, Layout, 1988
Keyline Plow
Coulter, Tip, Shank
seeding
Soil conditioning
1. Plow to 2” below new root depth
2. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks
3. Just at onset of flowering:
Hard graze to 2-4”
Existing Condition:
Shallow, Compacted, Drought-Prone Topsoil
1. Soil Test & Remineralise
2. Plow to 2” below hard pan
3. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks
4. Just at onset of flowering:
Hard graze to 2-4”
1. Plow to 2” below new root depth:
Max out at 12-15”
2. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks
3. Just at onset of flowering:
Hard graze to 2-4”
Yeomans Keyline Plow – Plowing for Rapid & Cheap Soil Development (Pasture)
And Another Thing:
1% increase in Organic Matter =
63 ton/ac capture in Atmospheric CO2 !
(That’s twice your total annual emissions)
Keyline Pattern
[DD keyline design]
LittleSeed CSAChatham, NY
3-Shank Plow
Shank & Weed-Knives
Carbon Farmers of America
Cimarron FarmSwanton, VT
5-Shank Plow
Italian Ryegrass
www.carbonfarmersofamerica.com
Rodale Whitepaper
• A 40% reduction of global carbon emissions is possible with a switch to regenerative organic agricultural practices on the world’s 3.5 billion tillable acres.
• Agriculture contributes 20% of Carbon emissions in the US, and 12% worldwide
Rodale Institute Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming
• A 40% reduction of global carbon emissions is possible with a switch to regenerative organic agricultural practices on the world’s 3.5 billion tillable acres.
• Agriculture contributes 20% of Carbon emissions in the US, and 12% worldwide
• Soil holds twice as much carbon as terrestrial vegetation
• Midwestern soils that in the 1950s were composed of up to 20 percent carbon are now between 1- and 2-percent carbon.
• Forests and grasslands generally are 6 to 10 percent organic matter, well over the 1- to 3-percent levels typical of today’s agricultural field systems.
• Because soil organic matter is primarily carbon, increases in these levels will be directly correlated with carbon sequestration. While prevailing farming practices using synthetic inputs typically deplete SOM, regenerative farming practices, including the integration of crop and animal production, build it.
Carbon Farming
• August 25 -September 16th.
• The Farm, Summertown, TN
Carbon Farming
• August 25 -September 16th.
• The Farm, Summertown, TN
• Next one in Hudson Valley?
Design Patterns
Animals & Aquaculture
Deseret Ranch, AZ
HM Grazing
Deseret Ranch, AZ8 years later
Tractors
Polyface Farm
CH_CS_fish1
Photo: Ethan Roland
Aquaculture & Aquaponics
Cascade SystemsWadenswil Agriculture Research Station, Switzerland
Tilapia
50
CH_CS_view01
Photo: Ethan Roland
CH_CS_waterflow
Photo: Ethan Roland
CH_CS_parsley
Photo: Ethan Roland
54
55
CH_CS_papaya
Photo: Ethan Roland
CH_CS_waterflow
Photo: Ethan Roland
CH_CS_banana
Photo: Ethan Roland
Ecosystem Mimicry
• Land Institute
Ecosystem Mimicry
• Kazakh Food Forests
Ecosystem Mimicry
• Kazakh Food Forests
Perennial Vegetables
Perennial Vegetables
• Permaculture Principle: Least effort for large effect• Plants w/ a 3-3000+ year lifespan• Not destroyed by harvesting• More Common:
– Asparagus, Rhubarb, Horseradish
• Human Uses: 7 F’s
• Ecosystem Functions:– Beneficial Insect Attractant & Habitat– Aromatic Pest Confusion– Dynamic Accumulator & Soil Builder– Carbon Sequestration & Water Conservation
Perennial Vegetables
LOW MAINTENANCE• Only plant once• Years of harvests• No digging or tilling• Resist pests, weeds, drought• Extend harvest season• Excellent yield/time
Slide: Eric Toensmeier
Perennial Vegetables
Nettle
Urtica dioica
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis
Rhubarb
Rheum x cultorum
French sorrel
Rumex acetosa
Some (More) Common Perennial Vegetables
Slide: Eric Toensmeier
Top Ten Perennial Vegetables
Climbing Spinach (Hablitzia tamnoides)
Photos: Eric Toensmeier
Good King Henry (Chenopodium bonus-
henricus)Photos: Ethan Roland & Eric Toensmeier
Skirret (Sium sisarum)
Photos: Eric Toensmeier
Multiplier Onion (Allium cepa-aggregatum)
• Shallot, walking onion, chive, garlic chives
Photo: Eric Toensmeier
Sea Kale
(Crambe maritima)Photos: Ethan Roland
Sea Kale
(Crambe maritima)Photos: Ethan Roland
Sunchokes (Helianthus tuberosus)
Photo: Kathryn ConwayPhoto: Eric Toensmeier
Turkish Rocket (Bunias orientalis)
Photos: Kathryn Conway & Eric Toensmeier
Water Celery (Oenanthe javanica)
Photos: Eric Toensmeier
Welsh Onion (Allium fistulosum)Photo: Kathryn Conway
Salad Hedge
Salad Hedge
Small Fruits & Nuts
Currants(Ribes spp.)
Hardy Kiwi(Actinidia arguta)
Seaberry(Hippophae rhamnoides)
Hazelnuts(Corylus spp.)
Sandraberry(Schisandra chinensis)
Agroforestry & Forest Gardening
Agroforestry & Forest Gardening
Tree Crops & Agroforestry: 2:15-4:15 Resource Center
Design Patterns
Summary Example: Threshold Farm
Keyline
Keyline
Perennial Vegetables
Forest Gardening
Chive, sorrel, anise hyssop, and chicory starts
TBD understory
1 season later
Harvest bins
Apples, Pears,
Peaches
Animal Integration
Permaculture for Farmers
Business Design
• Mosaic Farm
• Econ Ag Tool
Mosaic Farm
MISSION STATEMENT Offer unique vegetables, fruits and nuts, produced with sustainable methods, and provide a diverse, seasonal, year-round diet to local customers, while developing a model farm for the future, including investing in a carbon neutral energy supply, building ecological capital on site, utilizing a mixed food forest system of perennial crops, and a low-input, self-regenerating, high-yielding system where crops and products are byproducts of improvements in the site ecosystem.
Mosaic Farm
LANDSCAPE MOSAICA geographic group of site-level ecosystems (Bailey, 1998).
Food Forest Farm
Goal#1:Acquire15‐25acresclassIorIIsoilinonetotwocon=guousfieldswithinrangeofwillingcustomerbaseforexperimentalCSA.Longtermlease,renttoown,orpurchase.Wateraccess.Goal#2:LaygroundworkforCSAopera=ononsite.
Objec/ves:A:Ini=alSoilImprovements(GreenManures)Q32010B.Ini=alInfrastructureImprovements(barn,water,greenhouse)Q12011C.Ini=alEquipmentAcquisi=on(Tractor1and2)Q42010D.LandUsePlan&NurseryGardenQ32010
Mosaic Farm
Goal#3:Meetenergyneedsinacarbonneutralmanner
Objec/ves:A.CompleteEnergyPlan,withsolarspecsandbudget(CompletedQ109)B.SolarelectricsystemonbarnroofC.SolarelectricforheatingreenhouseE.Research,evaluateandconductelectrictractorsandtractorconversions
Goal#4:Createa150memberCSAthatservescustomersyearroundandoffersnewandexci=ngfruits,vegetablesandnuts.
Objec/ves:A.Signup100shareholders,Q22011
Mosaic FarmFARM PRODUCTS - beginning in years 1-2 Annual vegetable production Winter greens Storage roots and alliums Mushrooms Solar energy
FARM PRODUCTS - beginning years 3-5 Fruits Perennial Vegetables (greens, alliums, roots etc…) Perennial Flowers
FARM PRODUCTS -beginning in years 10-25 Nuts
Eco-Ag Design Tool
Next Steps• Resources: Handout
• Northeastern Permaculture Wiki:
• www.nepc.wikispaces.com
• Forest Garden Immersion Series
• www.appleseedpermaculture.com
Northeast
Questions?
Benneth G. Phelps, Mosaic FarmEthan C. Roland, AppleSeed Permaculture
Permaculture for Farmers Ecological Production by Design
Benneth G. Phelps, Mosaic FarmEthan C. Roland, AppleSeed Permaculture
RegenerativeDesign Group
ApiosInstitute
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