Today we worked with Jay, one of the farm manager’s here in the morning to talk about agroforestry and the importance of trees in the landscape or on your farm. Jay explained the difference between annuals, perennials, and bi-annuals, monocots and dicots. We learned how some plants only grow sexually by a seed and others asexually by cutting for propagation. We also discussed silvopastures, or pastures that incorporate trees and managed fallows, a slash and burn concept to build up soil nutrients and introduce diverse plantings.
Did you know that there have been 15,000 recorded edible plants That only 150 are highly cultivated today? And that only 20 crops account feed the majority of people on this planet? We’re looking at a lot of diversity and it’s minimal use. It’s time to start taking advantage of what mother nature has to offer.
After going over plant taxonomy we talked about how you can start a new tree from an old tree. We looked at stem propagating, grafting, and air layering. Then we went out and applied each technique.
In the afternoon we worked with Ben, the farm’s holistic animal husbandry manager, who explored the world of animal husbandry. The farm is host to chickens, donkeys, sheep and rabbits. These animals live the good life here as they are raised organically feeding on grass and for the most part range free. The animals have a beneficial relationship to the farm. They act as fertilizers to the soil as well as maintain the fields by cutting back the brush. While I have never thought about working with animals today was inspiring and I think I would one day like to start off by working with chickens.
