Young Food Forest After EXTREMELY DRY Summer (NO IRRIGATION)

www.casacruzfo...

[@laonongtrendinhdk]

đất này có thể trồng cây mắc ca không? rừng cây phát triển khá tốt

[@Kevin-Cruz]

Yes, macadamia can grow here. We may plant some in the future.

[@CatherineandRob]

Good points on organic matter and yes “snowballing” is precisely one way of thinking about what is happening to the system.

[@giuseppeperilli8284]

😎💪🏽🌱

[@dreamqueen9909]

Nice video. I need to see you soon

[@dreamqueen9909]

kevin, its pretty cool without irrigation

[@jackson8085]

It would be cool to dig a pond somewhere central to the areas without irrigation. You can hook up a 2 inch gas pump, flex hose, to a couple wobblers and get areas started quicker. You would also have a bunch of material to work with after for raised rows, filling low areas, etc. I do the same thing and I just keep moving it around to establish new food forests. I stocked the pond with fish and feed them occasionally. I don't water often and dont intend to keep irrigating indefinitely, just during extreme droughts. It's really pushed the fast forward button on my soil development. You could rent a 7k lb mini excavator for like $400/day, dig in april (lowest water table), and knock it out in 2-3 days.

[@Kevin-Cruz]

Yeah digging a pond provides so many benefits, I'm definitely interested in digging one at my place as there is already a pit in the back.

[@acasas28]

Location/state?

[@Kevin-Cruz]

Naples, Florida

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

Kevin, I consider you one of the best authorities on syntropy. What is your experience working with vining/climbing plants (not as target species, but as support species). This is something I think about quite a lot. Evidently climbers are a mess to deal with, but have you found ways of using them for syntropy successfully? Brambles, Lonicera, Kudzu, Celastrus spp. among others can dominate large areas in the temperate regions of the world, how can we use them for syntropy instead of removing them from an area and setting it back? Thx, Dario

[@Kevin-Cruz]

Vining plants are a tough one. They play an important role in healing degraded lands but are a huge pain to manage. I personally try not to actively plant vining/climbing plants because more than likely there is already wild vines already growing in the area. There are plenty of other plants (whether temperate or tropical) that you're much better off planting. If I'm working on a site already dominated by vines (as is sometimes the case) I constantly manage them and try to keep them off trees. I have no mercy on them and will constantly chop them back any chance I get. The key is to never let the vines get mature and woody. Eventually they become more of a sprawling ground cover that's easy to manage. The new growth is easy to cut with hand tools and provides decent biomass depending on the species.

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

​​@@Kevin-Cruzthx, great answer. One observation I've recently made is that Armenian Blackberries (Rubus armeniacus) are really good at protecting vulnerable species. In one site I've found 3 well-established tree saplings that are very rare in my area otherwise. Ostyra carpinifolia, Tilia cordata, Rhamnus cathartica and another which is becoming less rare, but used to be threatened of extinction in my area (Ilex aquifolium). Furthermore a fascinating garden escapée, the shade-loving Helleborus orientalis managed to establish there, while it doesn't seem to establish anywhere else. So it seems these plants create novel niches for different species to establish in. Maybe there's something here we can integrate into our plantations. Plant thorny vines around species vulnerable to predation. Of course this could only work on a site that is rather extensively managed.

[@Kevin-Cruz]

@@lorrainegatanianhits8331 That's a great point, I noticed that as well when I lived in Oregon where Rubus armeniacus grows rampantly. There is definitely a happy medium and I think effective/efficient managing is key.