permaculture

[Dieter Brand <diebrand@yahoo.com>]

> It's fascinating that you have this
> long unbroken history with your land and 
> farming, Dieter.

I’m afraid it isn't an unbroken history.  In the 60s our farm was closed due 
to industrialization like millions of other small farms across Europe.  I 
worked most of my life in cities.  It is only about 15 years ago that we were 
finally able to realize our dream and buy some land in the country.  It’s 
about 30 acres of hillside land with a number of small fields.  It isn't 
really suitable for commercial farming and I use it mainly to grow our own 
food.  We give away the surplus.  We have very long and hot dry periods.  The 
result is that the heavy clay soil is very deficient in humus.  I have had to 
create a new layer of topsoil by mulching and composting.  Since I can only 
use a small portion of the land due to lack of irrigation water, there is 
plenty of organic matter growing on the remaining land.  Therefore, I only 
use on-site materials such as hay etc. for soil improvements. I grow the 
usual stuff including vegetables, pulses, berries, fruits
 and some grains - all on a small non-mechanized scale.  Since I’m not a 
commercial farmer, I have plenty of freedom to experiment.  

The idea of a forest garden doesn't really work very well here because the 
soil is too poor and too dry for fruit-bearing trees to grow without 
cultivation and without irrigation.  Most of the fruit trees I planted in the 
beginning have died or don’t bear any fruit.  It is only now, after having 
improved part of the soil for over 10 years that fruit trees will grow in the 
improved soil.  But even then, I need irrigation.  I planted an olive tree in 
improved garden soil a few years ago.  This year was very dry and I didn't 
have enough water for irrigating that particular plot.  The result was that 
the olive tree only produced very tiny olives too small for eating.  This 
shows that even olive trees in improved soil will not produce good fruits 
without irrigation.  It is a very difficult environment.  The only exceptions 
are loquat and apricot trees because they bear fruits in the spring when the 
soil still has enough moisture.  Some types of plum trees
 are also alright, but other types require better soil and some irrigation.