Re: [pf] Fork in the evolution road/Gaviotas tree question

by Sharon Gordon

23 December 2000 14:05 UTC

One way to help the water situation is to grow crops within a permaculture
setting which preserves the water and also uses it multiple times within
the setting.   Another part is to grow crops biointensively which uses
a small fraction of the water of current standard agriculture.  By
starting seeds in seed trays, you use a lot less water to get the plants
started.  Then by planting them out at close spacings, a humid
microclimate is created.  The close spacing keeps the ground covered,
slowing evaporation.

In the current row agriculture, the farmer creates rows of deserts between the
plants which creates the sort of problems you would expect from a
desert which is one of the reasons biointensive close spacing is
such a big help.

Another big help is trees.  As a general rule of thumb, an adult tree has
a positive effect on the environment about 100 miles away due to
what it brings into the atmosphere and the way it brings up deep
water.  It's closer effects are easier to see.  A windbreak helps
with housing comfort and energy costs.  A windbreak by a garden
helps crops out to  6 times its height.  For example, trees or
shrubs 7 feet high, would help a up to garden 42 feet wide from
the windbreak.

In Gaviotas  in the desert in Columbia, one type of tree was planted to
coincide with natural rainfall.  After a number of years there was
a large amount of diversity in the forest as a result of birds drawn
to the trees, who deposited  fertilizer and seeds from meals in other
areas.  I was wondering if anyone knows about this tree.  I have
a friend in a desert area wanting to find out about it.

Sharon
gordonse@one.net