Forum:

soil

Soil rehabilitation technique that defies common logic.

John C Daley

pollinator

Posts: 6278

Location: Bendigo , Australia

593

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

11
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Soil fertility created by pruning new growth continually.

John Daley Bendigo, Australia The Enemy of progress is the hope of a perfect plan
Benefits of rainfall collection https://permies.com/t/88043/benefits-rainfall-collection
GOOD DEBT/ BAD DEBT https://permies.com/t/179218/mortgages-good-debt-bad-debt

Christopher Weeks

master gardener

Posts: 6862

Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods

4288

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

9
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I've had several exposures to Syntropic ag just recently and keep meaning to read up on it. Most recently, I'm in the middle of a podcast interview between Shane Simonsen and Klaus Lotz, who worked with Ernst Götsch in Brazil.

PEP - BB100 Badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by gir bot

Phil Stevens

master pollinator

Posts: 2203

Location: Ashhurst New Zealand (Cfb - oceanic temperate)

788

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

9
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I'm sold on the concept and have been gradually implementing it more and more here.

John C Daley

pollinator

Posts: 6278

Location: Bendigo , Australia

593

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Phil, how are you doing it?

Joao Winckler

master pollinator

Posts: 429

Location: UK

159

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

12
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Been following Götsch's work for a while and it keeps showing up in unexpected places. The chopping and mulching in place idea sounds simple but trusting it takes time, especially when the plot looks a mess for a few months. Phil, curious what you've seen most improvement in, soil structure or water retention?

Leaftide - garden planner w/ 876 plant types. Need permaculture testers for fruit trees & perennials. Free Pro month for detailed feedback, even just suggesting plants

Gray Henon

pollinator

Posts: 939

Location: Appalachian Foothills-Zone 7

252

posted 2 weeks ago

16
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Several years ago, I planted 50 or so trees just for sheep fodder. After they eat the leaves, I turn the branches into biochar. Quite labor intensive, but I believe the practice has the ability to rapidly build soil. Slightly different approach from the video, but I am essentially pruning most of the new growth each year.

https://permies.com/t/161023/biochar-production-tally-thread

tool care - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Mike Haasl

M Ljin

gardener

Posts: 2985

Location: Zone 4b/5a

1765

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

9
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Ernst Götsch has a number of videos himself, too.

https://agendagotsch.com/en/our-videos/

One can never be too kind to oneself or others.
Never our fault, always our responsibility

PEP - BB5 Badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by gir bot

M Ljin

gardener

Posts: 2985

Location: Zone 4b/5a

1765

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

6
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Syntropic agriculture video:

One can never be too kind to oneself or others.
Never our fault, always our responsibility

Ben Zumeta

pollinator

Posts: 1661

Location: NW California, 1500-1800ft,

541

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

15
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I think the main thing most misunderstand about how this works is the way above ground pruning causes roots to die back proportionally and decompose, enriching the soil from above and below. In the past, large herbivores and ecosystem engineers like elephants, elk, bears and beavers would be common enough and their movement unrestricted to find early succession forests and do this work of their own accord. Now we must do their work and help them return.

This is all just my opinion based on a flawed memory

foraging - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Mike Haasl

Phil Stevens

master pollinator

Posts: 2203

Location: Ashhurst New Zealand (Cfb - oceanic temperate)

788

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

10
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Joao Winckler wrote:Been following Götsch's work for a while and it keeps showing up in unexpected places. The chopping and mulching in place idea sounds simple but trusting it takes time, especially when the plot looks a mess for a few months. Phil, curious what you've seen most improvement in, soil structure or water retention?

I haven't really done a lot of soil sampling yet. All the system improvements I'm noticing are at the broader scale, with the fertility increase in the understory and nearby alley cropping and pasture strips getting the benefits of shelter and more diversity at the edges. I take a lot of the prunings to make biochar, which isn't a "pure" syntropic agroforestry technique because those nutrients aren't being cycled right there. But I would still be getting that root dieback and renewal process, and keeping the trees in a cycle of youthful vegetative growth rather than letting them reach full size.

I brought this back from the farm where they grow the tiny ads:

Contemplate spending the next 20 years building a better world in montana

https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp