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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Pingkol in Ifugao farming

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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Pingkol in Ifugao farming
  • Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:52:14 -0400

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.




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