Відео

Good point! Thank you for watching!

That's really unfortunate. I agree that we should avoid the paper than. To be honest you can use leaves or little twigs on the bottom as they take longer to decompose. Another source of carbon is straw. It should all still work pretty well even without the cardboard. Traditionally the idea was to use it on the grassy area so the grass doesn't pop through the cardboard and so you have a weed free garden bed, but if you do lots of layers of organic materials it will be still fine. Good luck!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! If the videos on permaculture water management make you feel there is a substance in them, and that the way we as permaculturists deal with landscape is logical and in harmony with mother Earth, then there is no reason to have any doubts. Just because we are in minority doesn’t mean it makes no sense. I strongly disagree with your statement that permaculture is ONLY for non-commercial production in homestead/gardening context. If that was the case, Bill Mollison would not travel around the world to share indigenous land management practices that are forgotten in modern world. A Designer’s Manual written by Bill Mollison has almost 600 pages containing landscape design solutions for every climate and situation telling you how to cultivate land in harmony with nature resulting in enhanced crop production whether for large scale or small-scale settings. Just because the majority of Permaculture channels are run by small gardeners, it doesn’t mean the Permaculture is not applicable to commercial production. Take for instance Stefan Sobkowiak (link to his channel: www.youtube.com/@StefanSobkowiak), he has a large-scale orchard in Canada and he applies permaculture principles to produce outstanding crops. Just because he doesn’t own all the land in Canada doesn’t mean other commercial farmers can’t do what he does. Here's a video of a farmer in the UK that started applying regenerative agriculture principles: ua-cam.com/video/QZn9Q_wAUsw/v-deo.html Results from not ploughing his field: tons of money saved on diesel that would be consumed by machines, better soil fertility by using cover crops and healthy pasture for his cows. Here’s a quote from Bill Mollison’s lecture: “There is another man who’s pushing his food jungle just out of habit. […] A few years ago he started to build out the edge of a rain forest, moving out into the grasslands. He went about 30 yards, assembling trees. He has some 600 species of tropical trees. As soon as he had his trees going, he started to put in vines and epiphytes. By the second or third year, when I saw him, he was over his head in food. All around there was the sounds of food thudding to the ground. Now he’s just gotten cracking. He had just assembled his species, and already he was in the embarrassing position where he could feed the whole coastline around him for miles.” If you look online, there are tons of examples of farmers slowly switching to sustainable land management practices. It is up to us what future will hold. If more people decide to buy groceries from local markets and from small farmers who still use manure to fertilize the soil, and realize even if the price is slightly higher - the local food is more nutritious - which means less volume can be consumed. So instead of eating 4 tomatoes sprayed with pesticides, they you can eat one organic tomato produced locally. The price difference is almost unnoticeable if you look at this in these categories. So, the consumers need to change too, not only the farmers. If it came to that, the whole economy would change. There would be no more profits for commercial agriculture, only for local production not necessarily on large scale, could be medium scale. It’s a terrifying thought to some people that food could be produced efficiently on small farms as it was pre-green revolution.

@@granvisio well, maybe im wrong and you right. But, what a see is different. Stefan s orchard is very small. That s almost homestead like operation. He dosent make any profit on food prodution, that is a "you pick" model. And his orchard is...barely permaculture. Just lines, not that many diversity, stone fruit trees planted with plastic mulch and irrigation, with a few nitrogen fixers in the midle. And he himself said in one of his videos that the farm was a "blackhole" before...youtube and workshops and merchandising come to play. Not comercial food prodution... When you say that permaculture food have 4x plus nutrition...well, no science in that, at all. And then there is this broad notion of permaculture, regenerative farmming, no till, and other names...many thing can be included, but then, anything can be anything. Nowdays food prodution in big ag is much more produtive that ever was, per acre, and in absolute numbers, because of all the science and tecnology (from tractors, to quimical aplications, to irrigation, greenhouses, etc). And comercial farmming dosent deal just with the prodution of food itself. Marketing, acounting, wharehouses, distribution, suply chains, gov regulations, etc...allcome into play. Permaculture dont deal with any of those things, because it dosent produces food comercially. So far its just homestead,landscaping and a bit of forestry. Non comercial. At least i dont known a single case.. unless one also considers joel salatin permaculture... From my own experience , what i see in the net, and other places i personally visit, living of permaculture dosent mean living of food prodution, means living of consulting, workshops, youtube, "rural tourism" etc. And thats all right. Different things. Different contex. Different objectives.

​@@srantoniomatos Thanks for your reply. Ok another example: Mark Shepard 106 acres. He and his clients profits from silvopasture, mainly from nut trees. I still believe you can make lots of profits from permaculture food production, because you don't need a large space! You need to understand you can have crops stacked one over another. I know Geoff's students achieved this on a commercial scale too. But I agree the data on stats and money is not present or we have to dig deeper. This doesn't mean it doesn't work. You say commercial food production is bigger than ever before....on what? hybridized grains, GMO food that withstand pesticides killing the soil and our health. It's insane to support/admire this once you know the truth how this food is made. The soils are washed away because of ploughing and erosion and there is no life in the soil. How long this can continue until we change? Besides commercial farmers rely on government subsidies to make a living, without these additional governments payments for their work they would be broke because of how unsustainable and how unprofitable monoculture is! This is a bubble that will pop one day. This makes me want to work with commercial farmers and do real studies. That's my mission. All I know is it can all be very simple, and very profitable. It’s easier to say oh I better give up cause, I will need to figure out marketing. These days a 15-year-old can help you with that. No excuses, sorry. If there is a will, there’s a way. And of course, is harder for people like us, when we start building from zero. To set up a profitable farm you need to have an upfront money that you invest but that’s like with every business. That's why you have more people doing permaculture on small scale because no big money is needed upfront to sustain your loved ones. And for many people this is enough. The farmers like the one in the UK, I showed you, they start to look for alternatives because the money makes no sense after they invest in equipment and buy all these fertilizers and pesticides. Some start to research and slowly change their practices for more sustainable for the better, money wise too! Bless you for showing your perspective, it inspires me to work harder.

@@granvisio apreciate your reply. Tanks. I lived in this dilemas for the last decade...also started with an idealist vision about it. I live in permaculture homestead. Do landscaping as a job (because i wanted to learn, and work, and live on the land). Have a bunch of friends, family and clients that work on all kinds of agro business. From nursery, to veggies, to orchards. Im can see hundreeds of hectars of professional comercial orchards around me, from my balcony... also can see miles of native forest, as well as miles of comercial silvaculture. So, speak from reality. Let talk about...mark shepard. Love him. The most realistic permaculturist i know. He dosent live of food prodution, and lives humble. He also does consulting, workshops, youtube, and real state development... And thats it, Mark and Stefan are the 2 examples everyone always talks about. Poor case for comercial permaculture. From my world experience, can tell you every professional comercial farmer would migrate to any kind of pratices (permaculture or whatever) is you can demonstrate to them, with numbers and rela life examples it work...but we dont have any. I tried. They asked me for that. I tried.. Its very nice to talk about diversity, staking funtions and levels, etc, but there is a cost to it when it comes to prodution, and, mostly, to complexity and cost of management. Belive that a few young people, very energetic, working on niche crops, and for niche clientel (rich people) can make a living with permaculture. But thats the exception, not the rule. Permaculture dosent appear as an alternative to big ag, just as a sub division of small scale homestead like, lanscape, public parks, etc. We have to be realistic and humble, if we want to do anything idealistc work.

Thank you for the comment! I appreciate it!

Since permaculture promotes sustainable food production systems that provide diverse and nutritious foods including fruits, vegetables, legumes and herbs, I think Permaculture can play a significant role in preventing malnutrition especially given that Permaculture practices focus on building healthy, nutrient-rich soil through techniques like composting and mulching. Healthy soil translates to healthier plants, which in turn produce more nutritious food. 😊

Great point! Thank you for watching!

It came from a conclusion that a berm was too high and was drying tree roots, which I think is unlikely. When it's raining water infiltrates better in berm. Thank you for the comment and for watching the video!

The people smell a rat.

@@granvisio not talking about the maker of the video.

Thank you for your input. It's important, so I'll pin this comment. It's a legitimate concern because the greater the rainfall, the more likely landslides become. While in humid environments, it might still be feasible to implement some earthworks, careful consideration is essential. To mitigate risks, it's wise to assess whether the land has a history of landslides and identify any soil types prone to instability. Additionally, strategies like redirecting water flow and planting trees can aid in stabilizing the soil and minimizing saturation.

@@granvisio All of these swale plans require a lot of planning, what kind of root structure do you expect out of the trees you are planting in your system, do you want do establish huge water retention before you have the root mass to retain that amount of water. Hopefully... people are really considering the implications in detail. Results really will fit the amount of proper planning and evaluation put into the plan.

Hi there! Thank you for sharing your view! I agree planning is essential. That’s why designing a permaculture system for a farm is not a quick and easy process. I will respond having in mind two scenarios since you responded to the comment about landslides. Scenario 1: When we’re talking about unstable, saturated soils - swales may not be the best solution. Rather one would need to work on water infiltration rates in soil by doing the so called “soil conditioning” and planting pioneer trees. These are hardy, local trees adapted to the conditions found on site. They grow really fast, and they can withstand the harsh conditions even when they are young. This is what they are used for in a Permaculture Design. Once they are established and water infiltrates better, we can then start thinking about planting productive trees along pioneers that are constantly being pruned, which material is used for chop and drop mulch to support productive fruit trees. Scenario 2: When establishing swales, it’s always recommended to plant pioneer trees first. Again, these will be local, native hardy trees adapted to site conditions. So, if we’re talking about drier climate like mine they will survive without additional irrigation and slowly penetrate the soil with their roots making “space” for productive trees. So, I always tell my clients, plant pioneers on swales, wait at least one year and then plant productive fruit trees - this is mentioned in the previous video where I presented general rules for constructing swales. They vary in sizes and dimensions and need to fit the particular landscape really well. That’s why consulting with an expert is invaluable before doing any kind of work. In terms of water retention, yes, all permaculture practitioners will tell you this is the ultimate goal. Ponds and swales effectively retain water, for later use, but the soil plays the most significant role in this process. Our goal is to keep most of the typical rainfall within the farm by leveraging the soil's capacity for retention. Any excess water, known as interstitial water, will naturally flow downstream and eventually join the streams. But trees are crucial - their roots manage water movement down in the soil. So, these strategies aren’t for your normal open field farm. The permaculture strategies are for farmers who want a biodiverse ecosystem with agroforestry components. Without hardy pioneers planted in the beginning, this is really difficult to achieve unless you have access to plenty of mulch and compost.

Landslide only occurs if you might make your swale too deep on a slope that is to inclined....you can also work the angle of the bottom of the swale to further prevent againstt possible slides....cya

Hmmm

@@gkes4617 swales are a valuable tool in Permaculture. Can't outright ban Permaculture so just ban swales, right.

Hi Antonio! Thank you for sharing your view! That's a really good point about access. I don't know if you watched Geoff Lawton's channel but he makes his swales really wide so a tractor can enter in the dry season to pick up fruit and spread compost. Unfortunately, this is not possible in steeper country. We don't have any machinery but sooner or later we'll create several bridges for access on swales with culvert underneath for water to flow freely in the swale. So yeah certain tweaks can be made but I understand it's not always ideal. I still think the rehydration aspects of swale makes it all worth it.

​@@granvisio yes of course i have seen geoff s videos, he has been my great inspiration on my permaculture journey. Agree with you, there are ways to minimize the downsizes. But there are downsides. Specially when people hurry to do swales without experience that would help them think about all consequences (over time) that an earthwork does to a system. Swales too close toghether, are another common mistake. Doing swales without observation (at least for a full year), and without thinking about general design and maintainance over time is usually conterproductive. Im talking from my experience. I have done this mistakes. Sometimes less is better.

@@srantoniomatos I agree with you 100%. Thank you so much for sharing this. I hope many people will read your comment. I always advise my clients to not rush and observe the site if they have moved to a new location. It has certainly helped me to understand the climate, water flows, consequences of winds etc. Unfortunately many people want to go straight to planting before even fully considering water design elements.

🤣that's a very important part of the video!

Wow! Thanks! This is a dream comment to receive! What a privilege! The next video will be more practical with actual drawings of the landscape :)

I don't know why youtube is not promoting your content although you have a quality and knowledgeable content Underrated Channel 🥺

Is it true that you should not dig swales on a 20% or more slope? If not, why? What should one do instead?

@@choudharymuhammadalijutt9574 Don't worry! To be honest that's my fault. I am not consistent at uploading. But I have realized while doing day to day projects is great, I want to make a bigger impact and affect larger community. So I decided to go all in on YT. It will only get better! I promise!

@inthegarden6556 You can dig swales up to 18 degree slope which is 32.4 percent slope. So to be clear the one that for example has 18.5 meter run and 6 meters rise. Anything steeper than that will make the swale berms unstable. On steeper slopes you plant trees on terraces, benches or in net and pan system. Visualizations of this and a lot of useful details about swale construction are in this video: ua-cam.com/video/_z3GHrBTd2w/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared

of design or implementation? This design hasn't been implemented yet.

Thank you so much for sharing! I've pinned this comment so everybody can see that this system works for the benefit of all, you as a farmer, animals and nature. Wonderful! Would you like to share your story with me in a video form? Email me at eva@granvisio.com

Hi there Zeeshan! Thank you for visiting the channel! I am unfortunately not fond of whatsapp nor facebook but I am working on creating a private community on Discord with a variety of topics so anyone will be able to access subject and information they want with a matter of seconds. More information is coming soon! Thank you for your interest!

I don't run a Permaculture Designer's Course (allowing you to obtain a Permaculture Designer's Certificate), but you should definitely check Geoff Lawton's course: www.discoverpermaculture.com/ it will be launched this month I believe! The next enrolment will be next year.

Glad you liked it! Thanks for the lovely comment!

Interesting question. So I understand that biosolids is treated sewage sludge right? So, we're talking about the product of the wastewater treatment process. In Permaculture we use reed beds (subject to permissions) to treat home generated grey and black water. The treated water can be then used to fill swales for example. I think this treated water is best used to irrigate trees. For vegetable production there is nothing better than home-made compost Imho. I would avoid any municipal treated water because god knows how they do it. If you can't install reed beds on your property to treat grey or black water, you can still use mulches - leaves, straw, hay and you can create or buy compost - that's the number one plant food.

That's wonderful! Tell me if you have any questions!

Hello ​I'm really interested in doing a Permaculture course this summer.😊

I don't run a Permaculture Designer's course (allowing you to obtain a Permaculture Designer's Certificate), but you should definitely check Geoff Lawton's course: www.discoverpermaculture.com/ it will be launched this month I believe! The next enrolment will be next year.

If they are small dams, with no possibility to keep fish preying on mosquito larvae, bat houses installed in vicinity will take care of the problem as well as shallow edges for frogs. If lizards thrive in your climate then put some rocks near the pond edges and they will help too, so will dragonflies - but you will need to plant vegetation that will attract them. I hope this helps!

@@granvisio, Thank You Very Much, Ma'am. 🙏🏼

That’s a great question, thanks! So standing water in swales shouldn’t remain for long because swales infiltrate water into the soil. Normally within few days the water should be gone which isn’t enough for mosquito larvae to hatch and grow. If you add biomass to the swale bottom, like straw, poultry bedding or any other type of organic matter, the water will be absorbed even quicker. To tell you the honest story, we have mosquito problem in our region. We’re on 650 meter elevation so as soon as the summer starts in mid-June the mosquitos are with us during the whole summer until October. It was the case before we created the pond and swales. When you drive 300 meters down, there are no mosquitos whatsoever. So, we thought nothing is going to change whether we have water features or not. We just got used to wearing long sleeves all summer when we work. Besides, usually when mosquitoes start to appear where we are, we have no more standing water in pond or in swales. It’s really dry throughout the summer, but rehydrating the landscape in spring really made the difference so we’re glad about how swales perform. There are ways to eliminate mosquito populations naturally and I should finally do something about this, as I advise it to my clients which is installing bat houses. They will eat hundreds of them per hour at night. If you have a possibility to create ponds and keep fish - they will take care of the problem in ponds. Additionally, lizards, frogs and dragon flies eat mosquitos so it’s a matter of creating a habitat for these lovely creatures. I heard that some people put garlic to standing water and that kills mosquito larvae. I hope this helps!

@@granvisio, Thank You Very Much, Ma'am, for a very detailed response. 🙏🏼

@@chrissanchez9935 anytime!

Thanks for the visiting the channel!

Hi! Thanks for the lovely comment. So glad you have a variety of trees and want to have more diversity. Can you specify your location because I understand that Sub-Saharan climate can have varying weather conditions depending on the specific location like coast, expanse of plateau or high altitudes.

Hi! Email me your query to eva@granvisio.com

No, it's on the valley floor.

Link and the disclaimer is in the description, QGIS and Google Earth can be used to read the files

Thanks so much for the enthusiasm!

Thank you for watching and for the comment!

I will put this idea to my list. I think it may be after the swale webinar. Thanks for this!

@@granvisio Gracias 😊

Thank you for watching!

@@granvisio I am learning a lot. Thanks four your videos

@@juancarloscruz868 It warms my heart! Thank you!

@@granvisio I am Sphanish, and I haven't found videos about food forest like yours, because the mediterranean zone is tough to cultivate.Sorry for my English

@@juancarloscruz868You are right it is tough, but with good design things are a little bit easier. Glad you're learning something new!

Albizia trees are highly valued in Permaculture for their role as pioneer species. With rapid growth rates, they quickly establish in disturbed environments, aiding reforestation efforts. These nitrogen-fixing trees improve soil fertility and prevent erosion with their dense canopy. Some species provide forage for livestock and contribute to soil health by shedding leaves for natural mulch. Their broad canopy offers shade, benefiting crops and creating favorable microclimates. However, if Albizia trees are considered invasive in your region because they were brought to the area from Asia and they make it hard for other native trees to grow, don’t use the. Instead try to look for native pioneer legumes in Hawaii like Wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis), Uhiuhi (Mezoneuron kavaiense), or Mamane (Sophora chrysophylla). I hope this helps!

Yes I do! Please have a look at my website: www.granvisio.com and contact me via eva@granvisio.com

Thank you for the lovely comment!

This is 15 acre property

Thank you Sara for the lovely comment! Glad you enjoyed the video!

Hi Muhammad! Thank you for the comment! Yes of course. Date palms can be replaced by other palms of your choice or any tree. These animations are just example of how we could combine different species to increase a biodiversity and resilience of the food production system. What are the benefits of palms? So, the palms are crown bearing. They provide a little bit of shade to trees underneath, just enough shade to diminish excessively high temperatures leading to heat stress and reduction of photosynthetic efficiency. Furthermore, palms have been a primary source of building materials, including thatch and carpeting, for centuries. This makes the setting ideal for extensive energy production, food cultivation, and providing materials for constructing dwellings. The palms like date palms, coconut palms or any other palms not only support understory species, by providing a shade and a windbreak, but they can also fix phosphate with a mycelium fungi attachment on the roots. Palms utilize a fascinating process involving mycorrhizal fungi to access phosphate-rich materials, typically sourced from rocks. The hyphae of these fungi transport the phosphate back to the plant's root system, exchanging it for starch produced through photosynthesis in the palm fronds. This process, known as plasmic streaming, involves the phosphate being encapsulated in a molecular form around the exterior of the hyphae. Consequently, when palm fronds and other detritus from palms decompose, they release phosphate-rich material into the soil. This organic matter, often slow to break down, acts as a classic, phosphate-rich mulch, providing a steady, slow-release source of nutrients to support plant growth around the palms.

​@@granvisioThanks for the thorough explanation. Awesome 😄👍

I am glad you found it useful! Thank you for the comment!

You're welcome! I will be soon updating the guide, so watch out for the email!

Thank you for watching it all and for the nice comment!