permaculture

[Neil Bertrando <neilbertrando@gmail.com>]

Thanks for the clarification on this Michael.  Seems like the general idea
of a forage forest with bumper crop years.

another aspect that ties into masting and design is the time layer and
calenderizing periods of masting.  This is particularly useful when
scheduling and managing animal rotation systems.  Bill M. provided an
example of this type of thinking in Permaculture Two when he writes about
design of a poultry forage orchard (and bee forage).  In Holistic
Managment, we're taught to draw out a phenological calendar which trackes
green up, rapid growth, seed production and dormancy (in general
productivity) of various crop types (annual grasses, perennial grasses,
forbes, shrubs) and mast and forest fodder could be added to this list.
 we're also taught to map the timing and intensity of precipitation and
other events (calving, harvesting, selling, egg production, etc).  by
mapping the time layers of our farms or ecologies, we can get a lot of
insights into designing beneficial relationships and having elements in the
'right place and the right time'.

just some thoughts,
neil

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 9:21 PM, Michael Pilarski <
friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com> wrote:

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> MASTING  “A mast year is a year in which vegetation produces a
> significant abundance of mast (fruit). The term originally applied solely
> to
> trees, like oak trees, that produce fruit useful for feeding farm animals.
> The
> term "mast" comes from the Old English word "mæst", meaning
> the nuts of forest trees that have accumulated on the ground, especially
> those
> used as food for fattening domestic pigs.” Wikipedia definition.
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> Hello Chris,
>
>
>
> Masting is a very valuable lesson for all of us. Many mast crops have been
> and are used for human food.  I am not an expert, but I do know from
> my tree research that it is very common for tree species to have on years
> and
> off years.  Or as it may be said
> fat years and lean years (for the critters that eat the mast). In some
> fruit
> trees such as apples, this manifests as alternate bearing.  Too heavy a
> crop can exhaust the plant
> and it takes a year a year to recover.
> This has something to do with resources allocated to next year's buds
> versus
> this year's crop.
>
>
>
> Forest masting is of a different sort.  Mast years are when a series of
> events
> leads to an especially good growing season in that locality for one or more
> mast tree species.  The mast area
> can be geographically widespread or more local. In an era of climate
> change we could
> expect to have fewer years where things line up right.  One of the biggest
> problems, of course,
> is how much fewer mature forests there are to produce mast.
>
>
>
> It was common among hunter gatherer cultures that used mast
> as food to store bumper crops for lean years.  Acorns and pine nuts being
> two examples.
>
>
>
> All this being said, If we are growing mast trees (that is
> food trees) in a permaculture system we can take measures to help give
> them the
> proper growing conditions for good harvests in more years then would be
> achieved naturally.
>
>
>
> Has anyone written a book on the topic of masting yet from
> an international perspective? Probably needs to be done.
>
>
>
> Michael Pilarski
>
>
>
>
> --- On Tue, 1/3/12, wenshidi@yahoo.co.uk <wenshidi@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> From: wenshidi@yahoo.co.uk <wenshidi@yahoo.co.uk>
> Subject: [permaculture] Masting Questions
> To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Tuesday, January 3, 2012, 6:09 PM
>
>
> I have lately been reading as much as I can about masting but I still have
> a lot of questions, and I wondered whether there were any knowledgeable
> folks on this list that could help me out of my ignorance.
> Masting usually refers to beech and oaks but I have read that it is also a
> strategy that is used by tropical species.  Does it also apply to legumes?
> How can I tell whether it is a masting year or not?  Do I have have to
> observe the trees for many years or is there another way.  What I am asking
> is if there is a masting event in one species in one location, is it the
> same everywhere, or is it climate and geographically related.
>
> This year I am seeing what look like masting event in numerous locations.
> Here in Thailand all of the leucaenas and cordias seem to be absolutely
> dripping with crop.  Up on the lower Himalayas, the oak nut fall was
> massive, seemingly much more than usual.  Can these two events really be
> related?  I have been reading in many separate areas that El Nino is going
> to have a big impact in 2012, with lots of cold and then drought,
> especially here in Asia.  The weather has already been unseasonably cold
> and unpredictable in the above mentioned locations.  Could this be having
> some effect?
>
> Chris
>
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