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  • From: "Andrew Clements" <jara@otenet.gr>
  • To: <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Permaculture in Greece
  • Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 18:43:17 +0300

Hello ,
 
  I was given the address of this list by Sharon . Thank you Sharon . I posted the following email on a Yahoo list . I would appreciate any advice anyone out there has .
 
Andrew.
 
   Could anyone help me with my 2 hectare permaculture project in mountainous wine country just
outside Athens , Greece ?

I have quite a few practical problems that I would like input on from
anyone who knows anything about permaculture . I have two plots of land
, one slightly bigger than a hectare , the other slightly smaller . On
the bigger hillside plot I have a spring which is reduced to just drops
of water in the summer . The farmer I bought the land from had ploughed
it just b4 the spring thaw which led to terrible soil erosion and
subsidence . He also planted it with 2500 wild grape vines as he wanted to
use it for raisin and wine grapes . I have done two things so far with
the land . Firstly I have left pioneer grasses and weeds to establish
themselves to begin the biological succession process to an edible forest
garden , much to bewilderment of the surrounding farmers who keep
telling me to plough and spray ;-)) Secondly I have 'created' a series of
small ponds with brooks between them starting at the spring in an attempt
to irrigate some of the plot until I can get vegetative cover to ensure
water storage in the soil .

With the other piece of land I have the opposite problem . It is
currently a very well established (over 100 yrs) pear , quince , apple ,
damsen , plum , berry , walnut , cherry orchard and small vineyard which has
countless brooks and streams running through it all year round producing more
water than I can possibly use .

The first slope is South West facing and is near the summit of the
surrounding mountains at an altitude of about 1000 metres asl , so gets a
good amount of sunlight all the year round . It is hot and dry in the
summer , snow covered , cold and exposed in the winter . The second piece
of land is North West facing and is about 300 metres below the summits
of the surrounding mountains (so it is at an altitude of about 700
metres asl) so gets very very little sunlight in the winter (sometimes only
about 1 hour a day in Dec , Jan , Feb !!) Consequently the area is
pretty damp . In the summer it is ideal as it has water , sunlight and is
pleasantly warm . In the winter it is cold , dark and damp .

I would like to achieve complete sustainable self-sufficiency by
creating an edible forest garden with each piece of land and re-establish
natural climax forest around each one . I would like to know if anyone has
any ideas about how I go about achieving this in these two very
different situations and how I can solve the challenges that I face .
 


  • [permaculture] Permaculture in Greece, Andrew Clements, 08/18/2003

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