Terranima

trees

What is a guild?

In permaculture, a guild refers to a carefully designed and interconnected group of plants, animals, fungi, and other elements that work together synergistically in a sustainable and productive ecosystem. The main principle behind guild design is creating a diverse and resilient system, where each element performs multiple functions and supports the overall productivity of the ecosystem. A permaculture guild typically consists of several key components: Central Species: At the core of a guild, there is usually a main plant or tree species that serves as the focal point or primary provider of resources. This central species is often a long-lived perennial (for example a tree) that forms the backbone of the guild. Companion Plants: Surrounding the central species are a variety of complementary plants, known as companion plants. These plants are carefully selected to fulfill specific functions that support the overall health and productivity of the guild. They may provide additional resources such as nitrogen fixation, pest control, pollination, nutrient accumulation, or shade regulation. Beneficial insects and animals: Guilds incorporate beneficial insects and animals that play important roles in pest management, pollination, soil aeration, or nutrient cycling. For example, certain plants may attract predatory insects that control pest populations, while flowers can attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. Soil Enhancers: Guilds often include plants or organisms that contribute to soil fertility and health. Nitrogen-fixing plants, such as legumes, convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that other plants can utilize. Dynamic accumulators, like comfrey or yarrow, draw nutrients from deeper soil layers and make them available to shallower-rooted plants when their leaves decompose. Mulch and / or Ground Covers: Ground covers and mulch plants are employed to protect the soil from erosion, conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and provide organic matter as they decompose. These plants, such as low-growing herbs or spreading perennials, also serve as living mulch, creating microclimates and optimizing resource utilization within the guild. By carefully selecting and arranging plant species and other components based on their functional relationships, we aim to create self-sustaining and low-maintenance systems that mimic the balance and efficiency of natural ecosystems. The exact composition of a guild will depend on the specific goals, climate, and local conditions of a particular site. When it comes to guilds with olive trees, there are several companion plants that can be beneficial in enhancing the overall health and productivity of the olive tree ecosystem. Here are the companion plants we chose for our olive tree: I. Comfrey (Symphytum spp.): Comfrey is an accumulator plant and known for its deep taproots that can mine nutrients from deep in the soil. It accumulates minerals and makes them available to other plants, making it an excellent choice for almost any type of guild. Its huge leaves create lots of shade and help suppress unwanted weeds. Note: We have placed the comfrey in the shade of the olive tree (north side) as it still is difficult to grow comfrey in our climate. Comfrey generally prefers half-shade and cooler temperatures. With a thick woodchip mulch layer, which is reducing surface temperature considerably, we hope that the comfrey will thrive here. II. Lavender (Lavandula spp.): Lavender attracts pollinators and beneficial insects while repelling pests. Its aromatic foliage can also help deter pests from olive trees. III. Thyme (Thymus spp.): Thyme is a low-growing herb that can act as a living mulch around the base of olive trees, suppressing weeds and conserving moisture. It also attracts pollinators and repels certain pests. IV. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis): Rosemary is a hardy herb that can thrive in the same conditions as olive trees. It attracts bees and other beneficial insects while providing some shade to the soil around the tree. V. Ballota (Ballota acetabulosa): The flowers of this herbaceous plant are attractive for bees and when big enough, the leaves will work as a ground cover. VI. Incense (Plectranthus madagascariensis): Incense attracts insects, pollinators and butterflies and therefore also birds to the garden.The leaves and branches of this species give off a strong scent and are sometimes used to ward off flies. We\’re hoping to keep away the nasty flies that puncture the olives! VII. Sugar melon (Cucumis melo): This melon is an experiment – we are very curious as to how well annual vegetables can do around an olive tree. So far, the plant looks quite happy, growing a first little melon. Remember to consider the specific growing conditions, climate, and region when selecting companion plants for your guild. It\’s also beneficial to choose plants that have similar water and sunlight requirements to ensure they thrive together.

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Producing medicinal olive oil

This year, 2021, we are happy to have harvested more than two tons of olives. Yeah! We feel very fortunate to have had the help of volunteers and friends who joined us and enjoyed this experience with us.  We have been harvesting alongside  Belgians, English, Dutch, Germans, Ghanaians, Polish, Swedish and Swiss… who offered their time and energy to make this happen 🙂 Together, we’ve picked the olives directly from the trees or we used light machinery to shake the olives into the nets on the ground to be collected immediately. After sunset, when all the olives were safely packed in sacks, we drove them straight to the oil mill to be immediately cold-pressed on the same day. This way, the oil is extracted before the fermentation process of the fruit can start, thus preserving all of its amazing properties.  In order to maintain a maximum quality standard, we do not use olives that have fallen from the trees prematurely, as they usually have already started to ferment or are otherwise damaged or attacked by insects. Despite having had an extremely hot and dry summer, especially at the beginning, nature is generous and has provided us with high-quality olives from which we have made outstanding oil.  Why do we know it is outstanding? First of all, there is our own sensory assessment. We have made it a ritual to try the freshly pressed oil every time we come back from the oil mill. Usually, there is a quite complex sensation: on the tongue and palate, the full range of flavors of green olives present itself, while a rather spicy aftertaste unfolds in the throat. This itchy feeling in the throat is mainly caused by a polyphenol called Oleocanthal.  Several studies have shown the medicinal properties of this component but Oleocanthal is just one of many sorts of Polyphenols that can be found in olive oil. Polyphenols are a group of substances present in plants and in olive oil, with a high antioxidant capacity and with positive effects on our health. The functions of polyphenols in the body are: Antioxidant – They act on the skin and fight free radicals, thus helping to slow down cellular ageing. Anti-inflammatory – They help reduce chronic inflammation and the risk of heart disease. Protective – They improve the functioning of the inner walls of blood vessels. This produces a cardioprotective effect that reduces the accumulation of platelets. The amount of polyphenols in olives is higher in young olives that are still green than in more mature ones. This requires a clear decision-making process by the producer in terms of quality vs. quantity. The earlier the harvest, the higher the quality but the lower the quantity of oil. Our priority is to produce an oil with the highest concentration of beneficial elements, so we harvest early in the season in order to obtain the highest amount of polyphenols. Agronomic factors affect the quality of olive oil as they directly affect the olive. These factors are classified as follows: Intrinsic: Those that can hardly be modified, such as the variety of the tree. Extrinsic: Those that can be controlled, with relative ease, by the farmer himself.  This is where our practice and experience can have an impact on the quality of the oil. Through the application of regenerative methods, we focus on enhancing soil quality, improving water management, and increasing biodiversity. So far, we have been adding organic matter around the olive trees, distributed rich compost extracts, and started sowing cover crops with leguminous species (Medicago Sativa, Vicia). In the coming months, we’ll keep adding organic matter which is food for soil microbiology. In turn, these beneficial microorganisms will be making nutrients available for our trees.  At the same time, we strive to increase the microbial diversity (especially fungi), with the application of compost extracts to our soils. We also plan to apply bio-active compost teas on leaf surfaces and stems of the trees in order to protect them from parasites and diseases. Finally, we try to avoid compaction of our soil by machines such as heavy tractors and keep it covered as much as possible with mulch or cover crops throughout the year. It’s an exciting journey for us as we acquire new knowledge and continue learning about new techniques in this field. We will keep you posted about the progress in one of our next articles as soon as our efforts start to yield reliable results. We hope that you share our enthusiasm and passion for producing high-quality olive oil that not only tastes great but provides such interesting medicinal properties. If you are interested in getting our Extra Virgin Olive Oil, please send us an email and we’ll organize it.  We would like to thank all our harvest hands: Carla, Stef, Jana, Hannes, René, Akasia, Sarah, Joël, Soul, Matthias, Vera, Ramses, Martin, and Corina. Thank you guys, you rock!  “El Cultivo del olivo” – D. Barranco, R. Fernández-Escobar, L. Rallo https://www.olivetto.com.co/oliva-a-la-mesa/tipos-de-polifenoles-del-aceite-de-oliva/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213726/ https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/health-news/study-oleocanthal-regulates-abnormalities-in-receptor-responsible-for-alzheimers/98739

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The carbon cycle of the olive tree

In a healthy ecosystem (e.g. an untouched forest) nature has established an ongoing carbon cycle with a constant supply of dead organic matter (branches, leaves) falling to the ground where it is being transformed back to become new building material and food for all successive plant life. With a highly specialised crop system like an olive grove, orchard or even veggie garden, we have to work very hard towards generating a carbon cycle. If we‘d only ever extract fruit, veggies or olives and never gave anything back to sustain a carbon cycle, the soil would be depleted of essential organic matter very soon and therefore having a negative impact on the soil and in future crops. Taking nature as an inspiration, it is important to observe and understand natural processes and then imitate them. The following 5 steps are showing the regenerative techniques we’re currently using to achieve this: 1. SPREADING ORGANIC MATTER The most abundantly available organic matter is produced by the olive tree itself in the form of leaves and branches. After pruning the trees, we put all the branches and twigs through a shredder and scatter the wood chips / leaves on the ground along the drip line of the tree. Along the drip line we’ll find the most active root zone. This is where the microbial activity is highest. The microorganisms that are present in the root zone now colonize the added organic material and thus enter into a nutrient exchange with the root system of the trees. This way, we return the lost biomass (from old leaves or pruned branches) back to the natural nutrient cycle. Why aren’t we simply burning the pruned branches like everybody else in this region? Even though shredding the branches and putting them back as wood chips is a much more laborious process, it is also exponentially more beneficial for the health of our soil. The act of burning organic matter is interrupting the carbon cycle as the carbon material is lost to the atmosphere and therefore can’t be used by the microorganisms to produce more nutrients for new plant growth.Plus, by adding organic matter to the soil, we’re actively boosting the plant’s ability to store atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in the soil (carbon sequestration) and therefore reducing the impact of CO2 as a greenhouse gas instead of adding more CO2 to the atmosphere by burning precious organic matter. 2. PRODUCTION OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE COMPOST (solid) The production of high quality compost (= full with microbial life, especially fungi) is the basic ingredient for a successful regeneration of any land-based ecosystem. With the active assistance of the present microbiology in a complete compost, we can re-stabilize even the most depleted soils and bring them back to their full, natural potential.We’re using a hot composting process to do this. It is an aerobic process that needs to be monitored regularly in terms of humidity and temperature. The compost building process involves layering three different materials: 1. MANURE – with a high nitrogen content, ideally from herbivores such as cows, horses, goats, sheep, rabbits (but chicken manure works, too). 2. GREEN – material with nitrogen content such as green leaves, grass clippings, green stems, kitchen waste, etc. 3. BROWN – carbon material such as dry leaves, dry branches, straw, etc.. By using the right ratio between these materials (normally 10% manure, 30% green and 60% brown) and a good water management of the pile (we want to reach 50% humidity level), we’re able to produce a high-quality compost that contains all the beneficial groups of  microorganisms (especially fungi). These microorganisms are going to build a healthy soil, transform minerals and organic matter in plant available nutrients, and protect the plant from pests and diseases.  The type of microorganisms can be determined both quantitatively and qualitatively with the help of a microscope in our soil lab. This is important because it means that you always know exactly which microbiology you are working with, as not all microorganisms are useful for every purpose. Depending on the type of application, the finished compost can now be spread directly onto the garden beds or around the fruit/ or olive trees. This will positively favor plant growth through the microbial activity around the root zone. In contrast to a classic NPK-fertilization process (where usually \”only\” certain elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium are added in the form of salts), the compost application has a far more holistic effect, as the microorganisms also provide the plant with all other nutrients and trace elements and protect them from pest and diseases. Like with the plants, these additional nutrients and trace elements will be able to nourish and heal our bodies in a holistic sense. We\’ll be writing more on nutrient-dense food soon, trying to outline how the beneficial microorganisms in the soil do affect the micro-biome in our guts and how important it is today to know where our food is coming from or how it is being grown. The image above shows two fava bean plants from our experimental bed in the garden. They were sown at the same time and had about the same height when they were harvested. The picture to the right shows a massively enlarged root ball. Also the growth of the stems (5 instead of 3) speaks for itself. 3. PRODUCTION OF COMPOST EXTRACT (liquid extracted from solid compost) If one cannot produce enough solid compost with the relatively labour-intensive hot composting process (e.g. for larger areas / systems), there is the option of working with compost extract. The solid compost is placed in a textile bag and \”swirled\” in a large water tank by blowing air into the water from below. This way, the microorganisms present in the solid compost such as bacteria, fungi strands (hyphae), amoeba or nematodes will be transferred into a liquid medium. After a short time, the extract can be applied directly or used for irrigating a garden or an olive grove (i.e. fed into an

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More fruit trees – Starting a food forest!

This amazing piece of land has provided us with medicinal herbs, fruits, and all sorts of edible plants. Most of them have been planted a long time ago by the previous owner; Teresa Fiorenza, a gentle old lady that probably has lived through hard times during and after World War II. Thank you for that, Teresa! We are blessed with a variety of perennial plants and trees such as loquat, artichokes, mulberries, dates, peaches, plums, apricots, almonds, figs, pears, apples, kakhi, jujube, pomegranates, walnuts, hazelnuts, lemons, oranges, mandarins, cedro and bergamot. What a treat to eat fresh produce directly from a tree or pick from the land…! But it doesn’t stop there. Continuing Teresa’s legacy and following our own path towards being self-sufficient, we started planting a selection of new trees around the house (such as the sub-tropical Moringa Oleifera and Ceratonia siliqua / Carob, some fig and oak). “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” ― Chinese Proverb In the previous orchard, we added two varieties of apricot, two varieties of apple, quince, flat peach (Prunus platycarpa), regular peach, mulberry and plum. Alongside a cliff in a more shaded spot, we have planted white/red/black currant, red gooseberry, blueberry and raspberry. In the flatter part of our future food forest, we utilize swales, a landform in the shape of a trench and berm running along contour (points of the same altitude) to catch as much rainwater for the trees and plants as possible. In our case we probably should call them semi-swales, as they’re interrupted and not perfectly along the contour line. Creating a \”food forest\”or \”edible landscape\” What is a food forest? A food forest, also called a forest garden, is a diverse planting of edible plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature. Food forests are three dimensional designs, with life extending in all directions – up, down, and out. A food forest does not have to be re-planted year after year. Once it is established, it is generally very resilient. Generally, we recognize seven layers of a forest garden – the overstory (canopy layer), the understory (smaller trees), the shrub layer (bushes), the herbaceous layer (grasses, medicinal plants, etc.), the ground cover layer (perennials like clover, etc.), the root layer (root vegetables) and the vine layer (climbers). Some people also like to recognize an eighth layer, the mycelial layer (mushrooms). Using these layers, we can fit more plants in an area without causing failure due to competition. A food forest must be organic. Forest gardens depend heavily on a healthy ecosystem and cannot be sprayed with herbicides or pesticides or have non-organic fertilizers applied. A healthy ecosystem will take several years to establish itself, especially in a city or open farm area. We have to be patient and let nature take care of itself (while providing the necessary food, water, and habitat for all the components of the ecosystem, otherwise they won’t come). Food forests are a new farming concept in our area, but they have been used for thousands of years in other parts of the world. A well-designed forest garden has many benefits: Planting densely and using ground covers to shade soil and suppress weeds is returning more yield on a given surface area. Utilizing nitrogen-fixing (i.e. leguminosae, etc.) and nutrient-accumulating plants (i.e. comfrey, etc.), “chop-and-drop” techniques, and returning wastes to the land will create healthy soils instead of having to buy and add commercial fertilizers. Planting a diverse array of plants will attract beneficial insects to pollinate the fruit crops and keep pest populations from exploding and causing damage. By utilizing several ground-shaping techniques we are able to keep rain water on the site. Depending on the topography, designing for specific placement of plants helps create windbreaks and micro-climates. Placing emphasis on trees, shrubs, perennials, and self-seeding annuals, the overall amount of work is greatly reduced. In his book “Gaia’s Garden”, Toby Hemenway recommends some of the following soil-building plants for orchards/food forests:  Function Soil building plants Nitrogen fixers Alder, autumn olive, bayberry, black locust, broom, butterfly pea, cattail, chamomile, chives, collards, common milkweed, false indigo, goumi, licorice, sea buckthorn, wild lilac, wisteria, wild lupine, sweet pea, bladder senna Annual nitrogen-fixing cover crops Austrian winter pea, bell bean, crimson clover, Fava bean, Fenugreek, Garbanzo bean, vetch, black-eyed peas, cowpeas, lablab, pinto beans, soybeans, Sunn Hemp Nutrient accumulators Alfalfa, lamb’s quarters, primrose, purslane, stinging nettle, yarrow, sunflower, dogwoods, horsetail Soil builders Rapeseed, Sudan grass, and crotalaria Resources: “Gaia’s Garden” by Toby Hemenway

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