permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

On 10/8/2010 4:10 PM, Lawrence F. London, Jr. wrote:

> Anyone interested in discussing this? This is at the heart of
> permaculture as I see it. Stacked functions, recycling, nutrient and
> water resources use.
>
> <>
> pingkol (Lit. “rounded”). These are mounds of decaying plant material
> primarily rice stalks, ricefield waternymph (*Najas graminea) or “bagiw”
> *in the Ifugao Tuwali language, floating fern (*Azolla pinnata) *or
> *“halibubu”, *water hyacinths, duckweed and other leafy succulent plants
> which are made by farmers during the rice cycle’s fallow season and
> planted with an assortment of vegetables like pechay, cabbage, spring
> onions, garlic, legumes and others.
>
> This sounds like island gardens, chinampas, hydroponics, aquaponics or
> aquatic Huegelkulture (see the picture of these mini-gardens planted on
> mounded decaying plant material. The duckweed recycles nutrients and
> purifies the water, azolla fixes atmospheric nitrogen, water hyacinth
> purifies water, absorbs nutrients and produces much biomass, all
> combined with rice stalks to produce a dense bed of nutrient-rich
> compost to grow vegetables in.
>
> This ought to be a method that could be used in the US and elsewhere.
> Those intent on intensely integrated permaculture systems could use
> this form of gardening in wetlands, swales, shallow areas in ponds,
> in ditches and in dammed terraces on slopes. This seems to have a lot of
> potential. In conventional watershed, wetland and pond systems aquatic
> plants could be harvested to make garden grow mounds in the shallows of
> ponds or wetland where there is plenty of light. Benefit: never a drought.
>
> Ideas:
>
> Aquatic Huegelkulture
> Permanent double dug biointensive notill raised beds

You rarely see terraced farming in the US but it should be a standard 
method for gardening on slopes, considering the potential for water 
conservation, erosion control and all sorts of new, innovative cropping 
techniques such as Pingkol. The potential for soil quality improvement
would be great.