AllyouCanFind.Club Good Global News | The Polyculture Project 2020

By: The Permaculture Research Institute Posted On: February 20, 2021 View: 165

The Polyculture Project 2020 – Week 23

Still no significant rainfall, since the end of June however we’re fortunate to have a perennial water source which reaches our garden and all the other houses in the village via channels diverted from a mountain river.

Raised beds laid out on contour with sunken pathways in the home garden

Flood irrigation is generally used when a stream from a river can be diverted into the site and is what we predominantly use on our sites. We have designed all of our garden layouts based on the use of flood irrigation, positioning access and earthworks to distribute water across the site and slowly sink into the soils. We’ve found between is very effective, with the pathways doubling up as irrigation channels. not only does the water sink into the soils but capillary action also draws water up into the raised beds. According to some reports, 90% of plant death following planting is the result of not enough water, so having your irrigation plan and system in place on site before planting makes a lot of sense and is absolutely essential if you are planting on a large scale or running a commercial activity.

Last week I mentioned fennel flowers stealing the show in regards to their ability to attract organisms, many of which are beneficial for our landscapes, particularly in terms of pest predation and pollination support. Here are a few photos of some of the visitors.

Here Fennel the red husks of Zanthoxylum piperitum in the background

Once the Zanthoxylum piperitum – Japanese Pepper Tree fruits have opened and shed their seed and it’s a good time to harvest the red husks. They are easy to dry in a paper bag left on a window sill for a week or so and than placed into glass jars for storing. Pop the husks into a pepper grinder for a delicious spice on pretty much any savoury dish. Caution – a little goes a long way :)

This week the figs are coming thick and fast. I was planning to harvest some today, cut them in half, and put them on a metal baking tray placed inside my car, with the windows slightly open for circulating air. The fruits generally take a day or 2 to dry and ready for storing (depending on outside temps/humidity etc). Our weather forecast shows we may have a few cloudy days on the way, so we’ll hold off for now. This is a very simple but also a very effective method, with the added bonus of being able to reposition the car occasionally to follow the sun’s trajectory :)

The essential guide to growing figs will give you a good overview of growing and maintaining the plant, and for a list of cultivars that we’ll have available this season see here. We have started taking orders now for autumn delivery.

Tagete sp. Marigolds are one of the support species we use extensively in our annual vegetable production beds. They self seed and tolerate drought pretty well, as well as attracting a steady stream of visitors. The flowers also make a decent cuppa.