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Post by castanea on May 31, 2012 23:52:09 GMT -5
I know we have had a few no till threads and Paul Gautschi's name has popped up a few times, but I don't think anyone has linked to his video, which is free online: backtoedenfilm.com/about/index.html |
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Post by 12540dumont on Jun 1, 2012 18:48:32 GMT -5
Yeah, Loved the film. Love the Olympic Peninsula. Unfortunately, I live in California. A virtual desert made arable by irrigation. You see those trees? I have no trees. I have to plant them to get those wood chips and leaf litter. In our front garden where the ornamentals are, I planted lots of trees and that soil is never tilled. I have hardly any weeds.
Now the trick as I see it, is to get my orchard planted so that I can get those leaves.
I read somewhere that Southern Italy at one time was covered by green deciduous native trees. They pulled them out to plant olives and the soil and climate were forever changed as the olives don't drop leaves before the heavy rainy season like deciduous trees. The olives lose their leaves in spring every couple of years.
I have often thought about it.
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Post by MikeH on Jun 1, 2012 19:24:24 GMT -5
What about something like Pennisetum purpureum - www.sagebud.com/elephant-grass-pennisetum-purpureum/? According to the USDA, it grows in California although they don't say where. If you want biomass for mulching, this might work. It's a perennial, grows rapidly, and can reach heights of 10 feet. |
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Post by castanea on Jun 1, 2012 21:41:23 GMT -5
Yeah, Loved the film. Love the Olympic Peninsula. Unfortunately, I live in California. A virtual desert made arable by irrigation. You see those trees? I have no trees. I have to plant them to get those wood chips and leaf litter. In our front garden where the ornamentals are, I planted lots of trees and that soil is never tilled. I have hardly any weeds. Now the trick as I see it, is to get my orchard planted so that I can get those leaves. I read somewhere that Southern Italy at one time was covered by green deciduous native trees. They pulled them out to plant olives and the soil and climate were forever changed as the olives don't drop leaves before the heavy rainy season like deciduous trees. The olives lose their leaves in spring every couple of years. I have often thought about it. There are a lot of things left out of his method. Wood chips are a cheap waste product in his area but not so much in many other places. And you have to be careful about the type of chips you use. And in one of his videos he admits that some people might need to add blood meal or other fertilizer. His system is made easier by dry, but not too hot, summers, and wet, but not too cold, winters. In really cold winter areas, the wood chips won't break down that quickly. |
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Post by 12540dumont on Jun 1, 2012 21:57:50 GMT -5
Don't say the word biomass in front of Leo...he'll roast me for dinner. He's chopped so much biomass for me that there are somethings I don't bring up like:
Corn, Fava Beans, Kenaff, wheat, oats, barley....yeah he's not jazzed about biomass. He's thinking more like leaves falling while he lays in a hammock in the shade drinking ice tea.
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Post by steev on Jun 1, 2012 23:45:30 GMT -5
As well he should; Man does not live by biomass alone.
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Post by MikeH on Jun 2, 2012 2:33:36 GMT -5
He's thinking more like leaves falling while he lays in a hammock in the shade drinking ice tea. One smart fella you got there Holly. Imagine being able to move leaves from where they fall to where they are needed while he lays in a hammock in the shade drinking ice tea. I'm wondering though why he couldn't somehow chop biomass from the same location. steev, John Jeavons thinks that man does live by biomass alone although he more specifically defines the biomass as crops for compost. Attachments:
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Post by steev on Jun 2, 2012 10:24:24 GMT -5
Both Gautschi and Jeavons know their stuff; I generally agree with them. That's why I rarely go to the farm without a load of organic matter, slowly replacing what's missing due to soil depletion. Here in the East Bay, tree chippings are relatively available, but often contain eucalyptus, which isn't helpful. In Fall, I get many loads of more-compostable leaves. Rabbit bedding is a year-round "crop" for me, as is horsepoo. As workload permits, I'm inceasing my plantings of legumes, mostly for nitrogen and biomass.
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Post by castanea on Jun 2, 2012 11:09:40 GMT -5
I don't think anyone disagrees with Gautschi's basic premise, but he oversells it.
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Post by davida on Jun 2, 2012 13:25:35 GMT -5
I know we have had a few no till threads and Paul Gautschi's name has popped up a few times, but I don't think anyone has linked to his video, which is free online: backtoedenfilm.com/about/index.htmlCastanea, Thanks for posting the link. I enjoyed the film. But like anything, it is only one piece of the puzzle. What helped me the most was the thought that the floor of a forest is never soggy. By using the wood chips to help regulate the moisture to the roots, the soils nutrients are more uniformly fed to the plants. But as the garden becomes larger and larger, the method becomes more impractical (at least in my garden). David |
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Post by castanea on Jun 2, 2012 14:56:30 GMT -5
I don't mean to criticize him. After all I posted the link. But his knowledge and methods are, as you say, just a piece of the overall puzzle. I might not learn as much from Paul as I do from Sepp Holzer, but Paul still has something to offer.
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greltam
grub
Everything IS a conspiracy :]
Posts: 59
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Post by greltam on Jun 2, 2012 18:12:22 GMT -5
I am happy Paul made the movie. It gave me knowledge of an alternative to conventional farming. I have to trial the no-till mulching method for a few more years to get a solid experience, but I am happy with how it's done this year so far.
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Post by templeton on Jun 2, 2012 23:55:57 GMT -5
... but often contain eucalyptus, which isn't helpful. In Fall, I get many loads of more-compostable leaves. Does it not break down, Steev? Or other issues? T |
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Post by castanea on Jun 3, 2012 0:48:05 GMT -5
... but often contain eucalyptus, which isn't helpful. In Fall, I get many loads of more-compostable leaves. Does it not break down, Steev? Or other issues? T Many eucalypts release allelochemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants which is a big reason why you seldom see many plants growing under eucalypts. It would be interesting to plant a black walnut and a big eucalypt next to each other and see what happened. |
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Post by templeton on Jun 3, 2012 5:08:40 GMT -5
I use euc mulch mixed with other stuff without any problems that I notice - but then I don't have anything much to compare it with. I wonder if the wood is a problem or just the leaves? Of course most of the stuff in the bush here grows fairly happily under eucalypts. I'd always wondered how the emigrant eucs interacted with local flora.
T
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