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  • From: be peace <seed4peace@yahoo.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Cc: filiz <filiztelek@yahoo.com>, Sarah Whiteley <sarahwhiteley.hara@virgin.net>
  • Subject: [permaculture] mediterranean orchards, terracing and fire protection
  • Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 06:36:26 -0800 (PST)

Dear friends,
my name is nora and i live on a farm and a learning centre called axladitsa
avatakia in northern greeece on the peninsula of Pelion (www.axladitsa.org).
This is typical mediterranean climate with olive orchards all over the place
and some degraded left over mediterranean type of forest and lot of maquis
around. We have a land of 24 acres and a big part of it is a bit neglected
olive orchard and some overgrown areas that according to local knowledge have
been orchard and gardens before. we have just moved into the place last year
and are slowly starting renewing the place. there is few dilemmas that we
face:

1. how to keep clear the ground in between the olives - so far we were
turning around the soil with a tractor - shallow ploughing, but i want to
find a different method which would be gentler to the soil. the local
knowledge holds the olive for a very "jealous tree" that wont like other
things growing around it, hence the ploughing practice. i know about mulching
but the area is too large and mulch presents a fire hazard which is very
critical in this area. i have considered green mulches but then we would need
something strong enough to supress the omnipresent brambles and somthing
which gets harvested before the main fire season starts (june). Any ideas? It
would be also great if we could get a plant which is somehow compatible and
will benefit the olive and mitigates protection of topsoil for which olive is
a total disaster having no surface root system.


2. great part of the land is on a steep slope, the local practice is to
terrace it, i understand that the terraces have similar function as swales in
water retention - is that right? what would be benefit of swales over the
terraces? (or vice versa?) what is the maximum slope u can do swales on
without causing more erosion?

3. mulching - im very fond of mulching but here the locals are very
distrustful of the practice as they consider it a great fire hazard. in long
term - with retaining more water in the soil and cultivating the humus layer
- does the fire risk become less? can the fire risk be minimalised somehow in
the mean time? lets say with the drip irrigation under the mulch? any
experiences to share?

4. any fire protection/management advice or resources are welcome!!! so far
the two main approaches that i encountered are - clearing the land
periodically nevermind the soil. or burn the land - as previously "natural
fires" did. im conflicted about both approaches and i feel i need more
perspectives, more points of view to gain my own understanding

5. any greek pc contacts, please? or mediterranean? any resources relevant to
olive farming and mediterranean?

i hope to get some advice and im willing to continue sharing experience as we
learn adn experiment here. I would love to get in touch with other people who
have experience with olive farming and mediterranean ecosystems in general.
Thanx for considering my message!
peace&pace
norak



'Modesty is dangerous: If we believe we are here to do something, if in
fact we have the daunting task of turning around a system which appears
destined not only to degrade, demoralize and dehumanize us, but to destroy
the ecosystem in the process - we don't have time for outdated social
customs. You need to tell me what you can do, what you are good at, how you
can contribute to helping to make these changes. And i in turn need to tell
you the same. Anything less endangers us. Anything less leaves one of us
wondering why the other is not being clear, 'Are you unaware of your gifts?
Are you unsure of them ? Am i wrong in estimating your ability?' Paxus
Calta





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