permaculture

["Frances and David" <fdnokes@hotmail.com>]

Thanks for sharing your personal story, Dieter.
I find it makes all the difference when people are willing to tell their 
stories, brings everything into focus by grounding it in specifics.
Whereabouts are you located?
Have you looked at Sepp Holzer's work, and, if so, have you found anything 
that might be helpful there?
I'm glad to hear that you've realized a long held dream and sounds as if you 
are probably enjoying a certain amount of enriching community in the 
enterprise, through family, neighbours, friends.
Cheers,
Frances

-----Original Message----- 
From: Dieter Brand
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2012 7:15 AM
To: permaculture
Subject: Re: [permaculture] fukuoka_farming mailing list needs 
aco-moderator.

> 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.

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