Syntropic Agriculture - A Temperate Climate Experiment (Europe, ROMANIA)

Рет қаралды 11,030

Күн бұрын

As we were very inspired by Syntropic Agroforestry, we followed its principles and started experimenting here, in central Romania (zone 7 - 600/700mm annual rainfall).
We planted this system in Autumn 2022 and it was our very first experiment. Already now we got many lessons and new ideas to put into practice for our further experiments.
In this video we present and describe Syntropic Agriculture:
o Our first experiment and its results so far
o The origin of the concept
o The principles: Natural Succession, Density and diversity, Disturbance (chop and drop)
o Examples of plants we’re using for the temperate climate
To deepen yourselves into syntropic agriculture and its potential we recommend these links:
o A presentation about Ernst Götsch (Portuguese Audio, English Subs): • Ernst Götsch's bluevision
o Agenda Gotsch: agendagotsch.com/en/
o Annaëlle Théry from Pepinière Joala (French audio) • Bienvenue en Syntropie...
o Marc Leiber, podcast (English audio): player.fm/series/the-regenera...
o Gennaro cardone: / gennaro.cardone.35
o Matteo Siroli, Terragenera (English audio): • Syntropic Agroforestry...
00:00 - Land's Previous usage & soil preparation
02:12 - Showing our plantation: Figs, Borage, willow
04:25 - Principle: Density & Diversity
06:54 - Why Disturb? Chop & Drop
09:41 - Origin of Syntropic Agriculture
13:50 - Abundance and the succession theory
16:30 - Inputs for starting the system
18:10 - How to adapt it to temperate climate
20:10 - An example setup for Kaki & Figs
23:05 - Various qualities of mulch
24:05 - An example setup part 2
25:40 - "Invasive" weeds - Jerusalem Artichoke
26:54 - An example setup part 3
28:30 - A key element: "Senescence"
30:10 - An example setup part 4
30:50 - Competition
32:27 - Final sharings

Пікірлер: 56

@Floridamanfoodforest 11 ай бұрын

wow this is awesome! I study ernst and other syntropic farmers, I'm here in Florida and I'm working on something very similar. I make videos too on my progress. Im in my second year of planting my system. Really got to experince some pruning of my biomass producing plants. New subscriber!

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

Happy to be sharing this journey with you :) We're looking forward to some good pruning times too! Planting a lot more stuff this autumn, last year's plantation wasn't at the density we'd liked, so we try again :D Wishing you and your garden lots of growth Drew, see you around

@clarodeluna51 8 ай бұрын

En que zona de Florida?

@MrCPelzer 8 ай бұрын

You're doing a great job. The idea of the soil food web (Elaine Ingham) is that during succession, fungal dominance increases. This is not always the case, because for fungal dominant soil you need both woody vegetation AND disturbance to feed the fungi the lignin they need. They in turn feed the trees. Ernst is not just talking simple nutrients npk and so forth, but also vitamins and complex compounds. The microorganisms in the rhizosphere are thereby also an extention of the plant's immune system. In contrast to what Elaine Ingham says, Tankred (Ernst' son) told me that every crop he grows (both perennials AND annuals) do better in fungal dominant soil. There is no sweet spot in fungal dominance when it comes to any crop growth and health. Also confirmed by Paul Gautschi who shows that with wood chips you can grow EVERYTHING if you do it in the right way. Water management principles are very important to understand. Apparently, when fungi (Basidiomycetes) break down organic matter, they cool down that soil layer and thereby they stimulate condensation. Apart from that and more importantly photosynthesis is a process that cools down the air around the vegetation by transpiration and this results in more rain (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/obF8Z5OSp82RZ3k.html). The more stratified canopies you have and the more the soil is covered by vegetation, the bigger the condensation effect is. Therefore Ernst says: Do not water plants, plant water (thus trees)! And make sure the wood prunings are properly covered with green mulch all the year so they do not dry out and degrade over the entire season. Just some thoughts I brought home from a syntropy workshop. Impressed by your knowledge!

@jimmyaurora7 8 ай бұрын

Hi there! Amazing information, thanks for sharing it as it makes a lot of sense! Cool video about condensation too. Lets plant more water :) What workshop were you at?

@EvelineRabenberg-yx7xm 11 ай бұрын

Zo indrukwekkend Jim wat jullie allemaal vertellen en doen Dikke zoen van een ontzettend trotse mama

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

Mam dat is echt mooi om te horen! Ben helemaal blij! Wat is er nou mooier dan een moeder hebben die trots is! Dikke knuffel van een erg blije zoon

@danielachinda6995 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the explanation,me it's syntropic garden from France. Best regards.

@SandwichKing-lj4ej Ай бұрын

Very inspiring. I’m working on improving an overgrown hard clay almost no topsoil forest into a rich clay loam food forest, slow process and ALOT of work.

@jimmyaurora7 Ай бұрын

Thanks for your words, success and luch fertility to your land :)

@EdRabenberg 11 ай бұрын

Great information about the wonders of nature ! Good work !

@jakubj.2825 10 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@luzg2433 11 ай бұрын

I love the sweet way you young beautiful souls explained everything. Thank you💜🤗🌈

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

Wow.. Thank you so much for your kind and loving words. It means a lot, I wish you knew how much

@luzg2433 11 ай бұрын

@@jimmyaurora7 🙏💜 please keep doing what you are doing. I believe we can all live in a world where there is enough for everyone, we just need to look after each other and live in harmony as every creature (apart from some humans) on mother earth do. We all are learning from each other . I am 50+ learning from you💜 my respect , to take that step at this moment in time it’s not easy. Already happy for your future family😜💜🤗🌈

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! 50+ years young! Warmed our hearts. What aspects do you feel like you are learning from?

@luzg2433 11 ай бұрын

Hola, I am learning to value more what we have. Growing up I remember to have a lot of fruit and vegetables in our back yard and they all came from seeds and just reproduced themselves whenever they wished I guess. Take care💜🤗🌈

@luzg2433 11 ай бұрын

@thepeopleplaceandnaturepod8344 10 ай бұрын

I love this educational vid! more of this please, thank you!

@andrasdinka5809 11 ай бұрын

Always a good day when Jimmy and Aurora uploads

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

Always a great day when Andras comments! What is it that attracts you to our videos? Much love!

@andrasdinka5809 11 ай бұрын

@@jimmyaurora7 we are in a very similar situation. I started my own food forest when you did.(also in romania). I stumbled across your channel when i was researching the best ways to do so. Also you are the kind of people i would hang out with. And finally...i am very curious how your channel grows. ❤

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

@@andrasdinka5809 wow what a beautiful message to read! We're curious about how your food forest is growing, what you planted, where you are etc, we'd love to get in touch! If you use facebook you can add Aurora Popescu or Jimmy Blankestijn, or email us: jimmyaurora7@gmail.com or telepathy or something! Hope to hear from you soon!

@taniah6290 5 ай бұрын

I love this! I'm in Australia in a subtropical climate but located 550m above sea level so our winter is relatively cool and frosty. As you know, there is not much info available on syntropics in a temperate climate and I've slowly come to realise that I will just have to experiment and come up with my own hybrid consortia. Your video has given me lots of ideas and inspiration. Thank you for sharing 🤩

@jimmyaurora7 5 ай бұрын

Hi there Tania, thank you for taking the time to comment, it really gives us a lot of joy to know that you're all the way over there and that this video inspired you! It seems like looking around you, what plants grow, how they grow, how they succeed each other etc... is the best way to go about it! Then add some more general elements you see from other plantations and you create a beautiful first experiment, then learn from that and plant again, you'll learn so much! If you wish to, you can watch our video about 7 mistakes about syntropic plantations, you might like it! Thank you Tania and beautiful planting to you (tomorrow we plant black poplar cuttings! super excited!)

@taniah6290 5 ай бұрын

I have an 80m row ripped, rotary hoed and mulched with old hay and waiting to be planted. I have elderberry and mulberry and salvia cuttings rooted and ready to go in and a jar full of fruit seeds and pips I've collected from eating - very similar to you! 😊 Lots of other things going in too, the main problem is that we'll be heading towards winter very soon and I've left it all a little late to get started. I think I will have to wait to plant my more frost sensitive biomass species in spring. Have fun with your planting tomorrow 🥳

@martinadubicka2049 10 ай бұрын

I just learned about syntropy a few days ago, so thank you for the awesome in depth tour of your babies! I'm feeling so inspired and also resonating with this system on a much deeper level than just standard "Liking" ! ❤ I don't even have land yet but I'm walking around collecting seeds everywhere now :D I'm curious what you meant by pokeweed being the banana of Europe? I thought it was poisonous to humans, are you referring to its ecological functions... ? Anyway overall beautiful work really, if I'm ever heading to Romania I'll get in touch xx

@jimmyaurora7 10 ай бұрын

Hi Martina, thank you for your beautiful comment, it gives us so much inspiration, I don't know if people realize that when they share an authentic comment it has such an impact 😊. Happy it resonates with you too, I would say if you have the opportunity to experiment somewhere with all the seeds you collected, along with cuttings and tubers, even if its only 50m², it would be so fun and so enriching! Because doing is so educational 😊 and share the results because we're all learning different things. With pokeweed as banana, it was more about the ecological functions indeed, I wonder if its not slightly exaggerated but it does grow quite some biomass and reacts pretty well to being cut. I would say Jerusalem Artichoke is also a good fit for this! From our experience its a stronger and more "pioneering" plant than Pokeweed. So they work together and pass the stick of succession to each other as they grow 😊 You are welcome to come! We'll be looking for a new locations to settle our experiments and unite them into one location. That place could become a bit of an experimentation and educational site, but also our home 😊

@Rosenlassi 11 ай бұрын

Wow great video, one of the best I have seen so far!! Thank you a lot.

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your kind words! But that is quite a statement, we're humbled :) May I ask you why you enjoyed it so much, any specific aspect that was helpful? Much love

@NikClinton 8 ай бұрын

Hello, My name is Nicholas. I come from Kentucky in the USA! Here, we have a temperate climate as well and i have struggled to find resources for applications for syntropic agroforrestry in a climate like mine. This video is the first! Maybe i will start making videos about my experience too. Thank you so much for sharing your journey! I just subscribed. Woohoo!

@jimmyaurora7 7 ай бұрын

Wohoo! Nicholas what a beautiful message, its a great pleasure to realize we are in this together, and many more come each day to join the co-creation to a wilder, fuller, more abundant and most of all more beautifully loving world! May sound idealistic but its a nice challenge to aim for :) Hear from you soon!

@jimmyaurora7 7 ай бұрын

We just subscribed to you! Woooooohoo! Looking forward to your first videos brother

@harrywilson404 11 ай бұрын

Very very informative!

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

Thank you Harry! Any information you found especially interesting from this video?

@harrywilson404 11 ай бұрын

@@jimmyaurora7 What was new but very logical, was planting plants so that their roots would add organic matter to a soil that has a lot of clay!

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

That's fun to hear! The words we spoke arrived somewhere and resonate 😊

@astridadler6467 10 ай бұрын

Hello from Ireland.Adapting s a to Ireland. Good video!!

@valentin9764 8 ай бұрын

Felicitari, de cand asteptam astfel de material filmat si in zona noastra, epuizasem deja tot yt :))

@jimmyaurora7 8 ай бұрын

Ne face plăcere să partajăm cea ce facem și experiență noastră ❤

@sowyouthinkyoucanplant5630 11 ай бұрын

Nice one, those fruit trees will likely be flowering for you within 3 years, there are a lot of other species I'm sure would do well there, raisin tree, north american paw paw, blue sausage fruit, some types of persimmon, pecans, hazelnuts are just what I can think of at the moment

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

Nice username my friend! Seems like you like fruits too! We're very excited each moment there is growth, within and without. Some grow slowee, some faster, but we strongly think it'll fruit soon one way or another nature is capable so we are too 😄 we have pawpaw growing, raisin tree seeds on the way, blue sausage however no, will check it out. Much love brother/sister :)

@jeppeleth3888 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing. Pokeweed is the banana of the temperate climate. Time to find some pokeweed then. Do you have Alder in your area, I think it would be nice as a nitrogen-fixing emergent. I am definitely going to collect some horse chestnuts, love the leaf structure. Kind regards from Denmark:)

@friederkrug 11 ай бұрын

Im very interested about pokeweed too but not really for my system in Germany but to plant in south of Spain, very hot and dry conditions. How long does it take to develop? When is its time to germinate or temperature? Also what is its strata?

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

About pokeweed! Many things to share! Here it grows wild on the edges in between de forest and the cultivated land. Usually surrounded by alders, elderflower, blackberries, nettles etc.. I haven't seen it grow in locations where it gets no direct sun for a least a couple of hours, and it seems to handle full sun pretty good too. I would conclude its an high strata. I've seen it in soils that were slightly sandy. We collected the seeds, let them dry and then sow it directly on the lines during autumn. The seeds come up in a bit later in the season, when temperatures reach the 20⁰c. For us I think that was June. I've also saved seeds inside all winter and let sown in spring but these didnt come up (maybe bad stratification?) But for the ones outside, high germination rate, really great to see. And there is so many seeds per pod so its super easy to have many once you find a plant. In terms of succession it doesn't seem to be a colonizer, it seems to die when very dry clay soil. It seems to come in a secondary stage, where the soil has a minimum of organic matter. Where the soil is better it reacted a lot better, grew 10-15cm. A similar plant we experiment with, with very similar parameters is the Sambucus Ebulus, Dwarf elder. We're curious about how they develop on their second year.

@jimmyaurora7 11 ай бұрын

@jeppeleth3888 great for the horse chestnuts, in our clay soil it is doing surpisingly good from the first year already, what a strength they have. Sweet chestnut too. Next year we'll plant many more because they are so sturdy. Not as fast growing as Alder, but I think next year they'll have good momentum (yes we have Alder here too, great option, we found some seedlings in the river bed, pulled them out, bare root, put them in the lines and they grew real good, thanks for the tip!)

@ssshebees2842 6 ай бұрын

Ciao the biggest problem is pollution (chemical and especially electromagnetic) and there is no protected point in the world. We are experimenting with Natural beekeeping the effects of this. In Italy we specialize in zero-cost depollution. We have at our disposal the knowledge to give wetting power to the water, the intercropping of plants on a zodiacal and planetary basis and much more, It is necessary to study. Your land rests on gentle feminine hills, reading the territory is also knowing how to distinguish where life comes from, and this is the lack of permaculture. Im a disposition for explain the entire process.Everything rests on bees....

@babyshota 6 ай бұрын

Ciao, potresti scrivere un post in italiano. Sembra tutto cosi interessante. Sto cercando di comprare un po’ di terreno ma non so come scegliere, su quali punti mi dovrei puntare. Grazie mille ❤

@franek_izerski 9 ай бұрын

I don't think planting an oak inbetween is a good idea. Oak is tannine rich and will kill most other trees and plants. I don't think that you know what you're doing, but I like the experimention and the enthousiasm!! At least you try and I'm sure you will succeed. Keep going!!

@tesha199 8 ай бұрын

We learn by doing, not by developing a strong theory 😉

@tcoxor52 24 күн бұрын

@franek_izerski This isn’t entirely true, at all…I don’t think you know what you are talking about. The Quercus (Oak) genus has well over 500 species worldwide, with nearly another 200 hybrid species. Some of those species can be alleopathic, but most are not. The species that tend do to be most alleopathic are the “evergreen” oaks, like Live Oak, Japanese Oak, or Holly Oak (among others). Without knowing specifically which species of oaks in a particular area/region may be alleopathic, one cannot say, with a blanket statement, that all oaks will cause problems in the long term. In my particular region, and on my own property, I have plenty of oaks that grow perfectly well alongside many other sub-canopy and understory species. As oak trees reach full maturity, they can create a rather shaded understory, which then can cause some other species to die out because they are not getting enough sun, but that is not the same as having true alleopathic characteristics due to chemical compounds. And yes, Oak leaves and acorns are high in tannins, but as those leaves break down and decompose, the tannins actually degrade and become neutralized. Many people, myself included, use a lot oak leaves every year to compost for leaf mold and then, after a year or so of breaking down, use that oak dominant leaf mold as a soil amendment and mulch, without ever having any issues of it causing other perennial or annual plants not to grow well.