Reforestation - Growing trees in arid, barren lands - by Seeds and Clay cubes (no watering)

Today we’re doing something a little different.

We’re at our farm, about half an hour south of Thessaloniki. This is a natural farm, and the land has not been plowed for about 25 years.

Our goal is to introduce what is called biology into the soil. Ideally, we would do this with animals — for example, a herd of 25, 30, or even 50 sheep. The sheep would graze lightly on the land, eating about half of the plants above ground. The rest would be trampled, and the animals would also urinate and deposit manure. This process would introduce biology into the soil and help improve soil health in an accelerated way.

Since we don’t currently have access to sheep, I’m trying a different approach. I’m taking fresh compost and placing it directly on the soil surface. We’re not digging and we’re not burying anything. After placing the compost, we cover it with dry or green leaves.

We’ve done this in about 20 to 30 different spots across the farm. I honestly don’t know how this will behave, and I don’t have a way to monitor it closely. This is the first time I’m doing this.

The best-case scenario is that it’s wildly successful: the biology in the compost thrives in the soil and gradually spreads throughout the farm. The worst-case scenario is that it does very little — the quantity may simply be too small to have a major impact.

I don’t have a way to measure the results yet, and as I said, I’m at the very beginning of this process. Still, I don’t think this can do any harm. Even if the impact is small, it doesn’t damage the land. And personally, it has already been beneficial for me — spending time with the land and the soil matters.

If anyone knows more about this than I do, I’d really appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks.

Kostas

[youtube]https://m.youtube.com/shorts/ILlrFfLt5qE[/youtube]


Greetings,

Today we planted acorns, even though it’s a bit late in the season for planting. Recently there has been very little rain, so the soil is quite dry. We had kept the acorns in the refrigerator for over two months, and we were happy to see that they survived well and remained in good condition.

If we just planted the acorns in the soil as it is (dry), there's a good chance the acorns will not survive - there is no rain forecast over the next 10 days.

Since we finally had the time today, we took the opportunity to plant them. To improve their chances of survival, we added damp vermiculite to the soil. Vermiculite has the ability to hold moisture for long periods, and we hope it will help keep the acorns alive until the rains arrive. Ideally, this will give the young roots enough time to grow deeper into the soil, where they can find more moisture and nutrients.

Through this process we are becoming much more aware of how important soil moisture is when planting acorns. If there is too much water, especially in heavy clay soil, the acorns can rot. On the other hand, sandy soils can dry out quickly and create the opposite problem. Because of this, we are learning how useful soil additives such as vermiculite or hydrogels can be in helping acorns survive and grow during difficult conditions.

Kostas

Greetings,




Today we visited several areas where we planted acorns over the last two or three months. Unfortunately, in some locations nearly 90% of the acorns had been taken by wildlife. It could be field mice or other small animals that are attracted to the large acorns we planted.


This is the first time we have planted such a large number of evergreen oak acorns, and it is also the first time we have seen losses on this scale. In one area alone we planted perhaps 200–300 acorns, and almost all of that effort was lost.


We have had similar experiences in the past. Years ago, when planting almonds, we lost hundreds—possibly even a few thousand—to field mice. Thinking about it now, the large evergreen oak acorns are roughly the same size as almonds, so it makes sense that they would be a delicacy for local wildlife.


In another area we noticed heavy activity from wild pigs. These animals tear up the ground while searching for food, so anything planted there is likely to be disturbed or destroyed.


Although this wildlife activity is frustrating and sets us back, it is also part of the natural cycle. There is little we can do about it, nor should we try to eliminate it.


Interestingly, our experience after forest fires has been very different. For the first couple of years after a fire, wildlife such as wild pigs and field mice tend to move away from the burned areas. During that period we can plant many almonds or acorns with very little loss. However, this window of opportunity may only last two or three years before the animals return.

Kostas

This is discusses the damage by wild pigs

Kostas