Recently a friend of VEL reached out to his community requesting photographs for his soon to be released climate toolkit book. He was interested in images that would illustrate different types of land use and land patterns that are being utilized in perennial agricultural systems. I thought wow we have a few projects that are being developed with perennial tree cropping systems in mind, some slated for future silvopasture, while others will combine annual and perennial food without livestock. I dug through my photo library and found photos of field radishes, sorghum sudan, vetch, buckwheat and so on and still more photos of fields with nothing on them except for the cover crops we were utilizing for the various outcomes we were looking to achieve. There was absolutely no visual evidence that in fact we were establishing tree cropping systems. The first picture below highlights that theres more than meets the eye. Theres a tremendous amount happening in the photo that you cant see. All that lies below the soil surface will be the catalyst that ignites our tree cropping system. Were heading into year two on this specific project starting with spring cover crops, then converting to perennial grasses exc during the cooler autumn months.. I was reminded that preceding the tree planting portion of most projects there are a series of steps which will promote a strong foundation for healthy happy trees. Thanks to Rico at UVM extension for indulging our ideas and educating VEL about the advantages of using a no-till drill. #patience #perennialagriculture #remineralization #decompactingsoil #buildingsoil #keylineplow #covercrops #UVMextension
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 00:30:22 +0000
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