Konstantinos Karoubas

Greetings,

The city of Thessaloniki is bordered on one side by the Mediterranean Sea and on the other by a man-made pine forest, about 3,000 hectares (30 million square meters) in size. This forest is now in serious danger. Lack of rain, high summer temperatures, disease, and the constant threat of fire are weakening it, and its future is uncertain.

But this isn’t just a local issue. Across the Mediterranean, the original broadleaf forests were destroyed centuries ago. In their place, pines spread quickly, almost like weeds, covering the land. Now those same pine forests are collapsing, and with them, so are the ecological benefits they provide: cooling the land, attracting rainfall, and cleaning the air. If we lose them and have nothing to replace them, the climate in our region will become hotter, drier, and harsher.

Conventional reforestation has serious limitations. Planting saplings in holes may work along roadsides where they can be watered and cared for, but in remote areas it is prohibitively expensive. To do nothing and hope that pine forests regenerate naturally is also unrealistic. Even if pine seedlings appear, they are unlikely to survive the heat, drought, and fires. And the acorns and seeds of native broadleaf trees have long since disappeared from the soil.

We humans created these problems, and we now have a responsibility to help repair them. Historically, the Mediterranean basin—stretching from Southern Russia to North Africa—was covered with rich forests, dominated by oak trees. In ancient Greece, oaks were everywhere; they are even considered our national tree.

For the past few years, we have been experimenting with planting oak trees among the pines of Thessaloniki. The hope is that if the pines die, the oaks will be ready to take their place and restore the balance of the forest.

This summer, for the first time, I forced myself to check on the young oaks during the hardest months of the year. Most of them have turned yellow or brown. They are still alive below the surface, but I don’t know how many will survive the next two months until the winter rains arrive. If rain comes, they may recover. If the heat continues without water, many may perish. Still, we must continue.

Looking ahead, we can improve our methods while keeping costs low. For example:

Adding a spoonful of biochar to each planting hole may help young acorns survive the summer by holding moisture.

Biochar can be “pre-charged” with compost tea or liquid nutrients, so it provides both water retention and food.

We can run small experiments: planting some acorns with biochar or hydrogel and others without, side by side, to see the difference over time.

These ideas are not theoretical—they need to be tested widely. Already, we have seen how government or volunteer plantings fail when young trees are left unsupported through the summer; most do not survive.

The crisis is clear: lack of rain, rising temperatures, and the decline of tree cover threaten not only Thessaloniki’s pine forest but the entire Mediterranean region. If we don’t act now, we will lose both our pines and the opportunity to restore the resilient oak forests that once thrived here.

Thank you,

Kostas

Greetings,

We revisited the site that burned down five years ago near Thessaloniki.

See the previous vids in this playlist.

We checked on the older holly oaks we had planted in previous years, as well as the new ones planted this year. The young trees planted this season have leaves that have turned brown and yellow. However, their root systems appear strong—no matter how hard you pull, the trees don’t come out, which means the roots are still alive.

From now until December, when the rains usually arrive, survival will depend on the weather. If the drought continues and temperatures stay high, many of these young trees may not make it. We will have to wait and see. In the future, if such hot and unusually dry conditions persist, we may need to use hydrogels or biochar to help retain water in the soil and give the young plants a better chance. We also need to be more selective with the types of acorns we plant—some oak species may be more suitable than others for specific sites, and we will only learn this through experience.

As for shrubs and other tree plantings, the reality is difficult. In such harsh conditions, survival requires watering throughout the entire summer. While it was encouraging to see shrubs planted along the roadside in this area, the cost and labor involved are prohibitive. Planting in more remote areas—one, two, or three kilometers away from roads—is simply not practical if it depends on constant watering and maintenance.

That is why direct seeding remains an alternative. It is not a perfect solution and does not guarantee 100% success, but it is more realistic for large-scale restoration than digging holes, planting seedlings, and watering them all summer long.

Kostas

Greetings,

This is a brief update on our effort to plant oak trees in the abandoned stone quarry near Thessaloniki.

We are now at the end of summer, and hopefully rains will arrive soon. What we observed today is that the acorns we planted did sprout into small trees, but they did not survive the long, hot summer. Recently they turned yellow, and it’s uncertain whether any part of the root system is still alive. If so, we may see new growth in the winter or early spring.

Unfortunately, goats have been grazing in the area. It’s surprising, as there seems to be almost nothing for them to eat—yet they still wander through. Because of this, unless a gate is installed to keep them out (which I am not willing to do), there is no point in continuing to plant acorns here.

We have many other projects to focus on, and cannot afford to waste time.

Kostas

Greetings everyone,

We’ve been experimenting with a new approach: mixing clay with a wide variety of small seeds—arugula, daikon, alfalfa, sainfoin, and many other edible plants. What’s not included is just as important: we’ve deliberately left out vetch and barley, since both establish very well when simply surface-scattered during the rainy season.


Our long-term goal is to establish alfalfa as a year-round ground cover. To succeed, however, it needs to be sown in combination with many companion plants.

For this trial, we’re using a small pellet machine (originally designed for making cat food!) to combine the clay and seeds into pellets. Once the rains arrive, we’ll scatter these pellets and observe the results. Will they dissolve and fail, or will they germinate and grow into a diverse cover of plants—alfalfa included?

If the method proves successful, there are larger electric pellet machines available that could allow us to scale up production.


For now, it’s a matter of rolling with the punches and seeing what the land teaches us.


Kostas

"about 75 percent of the decrease in rainfall is directly linked to deforestation"

Deforestation - NYTimes

That says it all !!!

(Unfortunately)

Kostas

So the answer is simple reforest and provide green cover for the Earth

Greetings,

We’re almost finished making our clay balls and clay tubes, and now it’s time to evaluate our process.

First, we wanted to confirm that the seeds we’re using are viable. We tested them with the wet paper towel method, and both the alfalfa and the barley germinated well.

Next, we’re checking the condition of the clay tubes we’ve made. To do this, we place a damp paper towel in a pan, set the clay tubes or clay balls on top, and let them absorb water. If everything is working properly, seedlings will begin to sprout, and so far, the results look promising.

The next step is to wait for the rains—ideally 5 to 10 days of cool, steady weather, which usually arrives in late November or December. That’s when we’ll scatter the clay balls.

The larger clay cubes will be spread across areas of almost bare soil. These cubes are enriched with compost or manure, as well as zeolite for better water retention. Some also contain chopped straw. We’re curious to see how these variations perform.

Our ultimate goal remains the same: to establish alfalfa and maintain year-round soil cover.

Kostas

Greetings to all !!!



Restoring Land in the Mediterranean Region,

Our project aims to restore vacant lands and farms in Greece by planting perennial, nitrogen-fixing grasses and shrubs. By keeping the ground covered in green throughout the long, hot summers, we will lower soil temperatures, protect vital soil organisms, and enhance the health of the land.

This initiative focuses on several key benefits:

Improving soil health: The chosen plants will enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen and depositing organic matter.

Sequestering carbon: By establishing a continuous plant cover, we will help capture and store atmospheric carbon.

Attracting moisture: Keeping the ground covered will attract and retain moisture, which can help support local rainfall patterns.

Our pilot project will focus on two key plants known for their resilience and benefits: alfalfa and sainfoin.

We are creating and scattering special seed balls, or "clay cubes," made from a mixture of:

Clay (5 parts)
Compost (3 parts)
Zeolite (1 part)
Seeds (1/4 part)

These cubes will be scattered across the land in late November or early December, timed to coincide with at least five continuous days of rain. This will allow the seeds to germinate under ideal conditions without the need for tilling the soil.

For comparison, we will also plant seeds in the traditional manner by disturbing the soil. This will help us evaluate the effectiveness of the clay cube method versus conventional planting.

We understand that different soil types and locations will react differently, so we plan to conduct trials in Northern Greece, Southern Greece, and on the Greek Islands.

We are prepared for this to be a multi-year effort, and we are optimistic about the long-term success of this regenerative approach.

Kostas

Project Update: Forest Rejuvenation After Fire in Thessaloniki

This is an update on a small, project we've been conducting.

In late summer 2021, a fire broke out near Thessaloniki at the State Park, predominantly covered by pine trees. Fortunately, the fire was contained, affecting only a small area of approximately 50,000 square meters.

Our project's primary objective was to observe the fire's impact on the soil and its subsequent suitability for future land use. We know that pine forests typically lead to acidic soil, which restricts the growth of many other trees, shrubs, and grasses.

Our central question was: Does the soil remain acidic after a fire, or does its quality improve?

Immediately following the fire, we initiated our experiment. We sparsely planted a few seeds, including almonds, a couple of oak acorns, and plum seeds. We also scattered small seeds like arugula, Swiss chard, and a few others, eager to see what would happen.

The following year, we expanded our efforts by planting more seeds, specifically various types of common oak and holm oak acorns.

As demonstrated in the video, our observations show that the soil in the burnt area became remarkably rich and fertile after the fire. The planted almond trees exhibit amazing growth, and the holm oaks are also thriving.

Based on this small project, we've concluded that the period immediately following a forest fire presents a significant opportunity to plant diverse seeds of trees and other vegetation. This can help create a healthy, multidimensional forest that is better equipped to adapt to the changing climate and the anticipated lack of rain in the future.

This project also raises a broader discussion: the potential for using controlled fires to manage pine forests that are at risk or dying from disease and drought.

By strategically burning these areas, we can then be prepared to plant a wide variety of resilient seeds, fostering forests that are more sustainable and adaptable to future environmental challenges.

kostas

This is a small update on oak trees

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vXbM8xR5mvA

Kostas

a different climate zone

Not time zone stated above {sorry}

Kostas