In April we have visited Finca Tierra Nueva for our yearly SPG inspection.
It was the first inspection of this finca and it has passed the test with flying colors.
The finca, which has a wide variety of fruittrees and native species, has been organic without any pesticides, herbecides or chemical fertilizers for at least 8 years and maybe more.
Farmer Dave has been working on the land for one year now using regeneration techniques popularized by Masanobu Fukuoka.
To start he showed us his watering system with channels dug in the soil along the horizontal contours of the land, slowly running down from terrace to terrace.
By cutting the grasses that grow alongside the channel and putting them down on the ground, their fibers work as storage and transportation of the water.
Along the channel on different levels of the terraced land, Dave is creating natural clay ponds to acumulate the water so it can further sink into the ground and be stored for longer periods of time.
The ponds hold water long enough until the next watering day, providing a habitat for various wild animals as well as plants that grow by the water.
Along the channels Dave is also creating small areas for planting vegetables, grains and flowers. By using a very thick layer of organic matter on top of the soil he is storing water for longer periods as well as building new soil for future crops.
Dave showed us his patch of unirrigated Barley grains, thickly sown together, which can withstand the drought because of their thick deep rootsystems, which also prevents other weeds from growing.
Another technique to regenerate and improve the soil is by adding activated charcoal into the soil. Dave showed us his Kontiki which is a hole in the ground which certain dimensions to make a fire thats deprived of oxygen. That way the fire burns on gasses in the wood, and not the wood itself, leaving a large amount of the material as charcoal instead of ashes.
This charcoal is then charged with nutrients by adding it to the compost and after that it will serve as a storage of nutrition in the soil for a long period of time.
To improve the health of the trees Dave has not done any pruning and is laying down thick layers of mulch underneath the trees. Also he plants leguminous plants like broadbeans, peas and lentils all around the land to provide nitrogen to the tree roots.
This visit has showed us many interesting techniques and experiments in the realm of regenerative and organic agriculture, Dave has explained and shown us very well the different methods he is using, confirming there is no need for fertilizers or weedcontrol to regenerate the health of soil and plants.
Many thanks to Dave and the participants to the visit, David, Jon, Carine and Alf.
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