My interest is moving from annual vegetable crops to tree crops and perennials. Perhaps the bonanza of pears from my Kieffer, Warren and Giant Korean, plus lots of figs from an old established tree have spurred me on.
With the summer heat deterring outdoor activity for much of the day, I have been reading extensively. Now that “Farmers of Forty Centuries” by F.H King (published 1911) is behind me, I moved on to “Tree Crops a Permanent Agriculture” by JR Smith published 1929 (freely downloadable) and enjoyed part one (titled “The Philosophy”) and read extracts on selected trees, all of which was very informative and relevant since the examples were taken from the southeast.
My knowledge and interest in trees was further expanded by a visit last week to Oregon including drives through large state forests and a 3 hour visit to the World Forestry Center. Located in Washington Park in Portland, the center’s mission is to “educate and inform people about the world’s forests and trees, and their importance to all life, in order to promote a balanced and sustainablefuture.” There is a wealth of information and I enjoyed the exhibits on different forests of the world and logging practices. Much emphasis was made of sustainable practices and yet it appeared to me that the practices they were promoting were not as sustainable as they could have been. It seems they monocrop i.e. after harvesting timber the new plantings are all of the same species. I wonder if this is truly sustainable? You don’t get diversity of plantings or of associated wildlife or other life forms, and, with no diversity it is much easier for a disease or insect attack to spread across the whole forest. A more diversified planting will produce a more varied canopy, encourage more diversity, with species perhaps supplementing each other and making better use of resources, and should be more resilient. Granted, when it comes to harvesting it is much easier to process similarly sized and similar tree species but in the long term is this the best practice?
I am now reading a very well written, insightful magnus opus – Edible Forest Gardens by Jacke and Toensmeier. Although I am familiar with a number of the concepts and there is some repetition, it is really a good read. I am also working on converting my fruit orchard to an edible forest garden by introducing lower canopy trees, shrubs, herbs and edible roots, and the book is a good reference. I just joined the Atlanta Fruits Yahoo group and there is a wealth of information in posts made over the past 10 years of what works and doesn’t work in the Atlanta area, which is proximate to my growing area.
Oh, I forgot to mention – I signed up for and am participating in a Coursera online course with 26,000 other students. The topic is “Introduction to Sustainability”. A 600 page textbook (current – published May 2012) is provided and each week for the 8 week duration there is required reading, lecture videos to watch and articles to read, plus quizzes to complete. And we are encouraged to participate in the forums where students from across the world (young and old) exchange information and views. And it is interesting, challenging and free!