Homestead mailing list

[Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>]

Rob wrote:

> Think unconventional.  Think long-term.  Think about the sylvan
> agriculture of the Roman Empire, the Cedars of Lebanon, the olive groves
> of Greece and Italy, the acorn and chestnut forests of Spain---all of
> which would qualify for the description of trashland today with the
> mature forests replaced by less valuable second-growth vegetation.
>
>  
Anyway, my point was that sylviculture is especially important out 
West.  Back East you can scalp a piece of high ground, plant a pasture, 
and barring any dramatic mineral deficiencies, ultimately build good 
soil and have a great farm.  Here there's a different reality.  Oops, it 
quits raining altogether.  Without water, the fungi and other organisms 
that build soil die, so that applications of organic matter don't even 
make it into the soil.  It's not practical to irrigate large tracts of 
land from a small well meant for household use, and the neighbors might 
even take exception.  So about the only choice left, if not to bring in 
tons of feed, is to plant deciduous trees to provide some seasonal shade 
for grass, or grow more browsable shrubs, for forage, and harvest other 
tree and shrub crops for fruit, nuts and seeds.  What's the point of 
clearing land only to have it look like Livermore?

http://www.zigamorph.net/albums/livermore20000711/20000711193300livermore.sized.jpg

Bill
S. Oregon coast