Sepp Holzer: How to get ORGANIC food all year round

High in the Alps, where the air burns clean, transparent sky, like hovering over the mortal world, is located the farm of Sepp Holzer. Its 45 hectares is a challenge to the agriculture of modernity. It's the opposite.

Let's say it's an experiment. Or eccentricity. And, perhaps, reconstruction of ancient agriculture. Or a model of an agriculture of the future.





For 40 years, Sepp Holzer, working on its 45 acres, against all the rules of agronomy has created a unique biological system consisting of ponds, the rocks and the mountain terraces, stuffed animals, birds, insects and fish; fruit, medicine, grass, ornamental plants and vegetables.





The master and mistress are engaged only in planting and harvesting. They have no farm machinery is just one tractor. Works here and only one employee.

They do not depend on electricity – they have their own power plant.

Do not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, irrigation, reclamation, etc. do Not fertilize and plow, not fighting with plant diseases and pests.

They breed mushrooms and rare plants, partly such that all the rules CAN'T grow in the mountains at an altitude of 1500 m above sea level.

Holzer managed to advance in this cold district plants, which usually grow in warmer temperatures, cherry, sweet cherry, lemon, kiwi and grapes.

For his organic vegetables, greens, fruits, fish, meat queues of customers throughout Austria. In addition, Holzer sell seedlings, conduct seminars, rent their guest houses create projects like farms, they are under the order, publish books and videos about their experiences.









What You see here is agriculture of the future – confidently started the Sepp. – Food production, which the world is engaged in today, is meaningless: too much wasted energy is extremely inefficient.

But really. Imagine how much wasted energy and effort on the development and production of hybrids, fertilizers, agrochemicals, machinery, fuel, how much the current expenses of the farms. And every year they increase.

– I am closely watching the development of world agriculture. And this is what I see: food production is in a constant struggle and confrontation. Man is opposed not only to nature, destroying species of plants, animals, insects that hinder his purposes, but man. People oppose each other, in fierce competition. One of the terrible troubles of modern crop monoculture. Excessive centralization, over-exploitation of land, excessive use of chemicals.

Monoculture is not a collaboration of people and nature, and the confrontation. One against the other. Someone wants to grow only canola, someone-only corn.

The world today needs people, a way of thinking which is in tune with nature. You need to learn to "read nature", to understand its language and laws.





What is permaculture

So long ago, Holzer began to create a farm according to the laws of nature. Subsequently, his system is called "permaculture".

The principles of permaculture focus on the rational design of small-scale intensive systems that are effective for embedded work and use biological resources instead of fossil fuels.

The basis of permaculture is design. Design, in turn, it is the relationship of the components. Therefore, based on the system – not the water, earth, wood, bushes, or animals themselves, but how these things are connected.

Holzer enables nature to produce something that it naturally produce. Although in a practical sense the design of Holzer – talented phenomenon. It is widely used traps heat, high flat ridge for protection from the wind, recesses for the accumulation of moisture.

 

The basis of all – water

Started by Sepp, which was designed farming in Alpine conditions, similar to the Siberian climate, given the fact that the main thing in agriculture is water.

Therefore, Holzer's farm is terraced, which prevents washout by rain of nutrients from the soil.





In General, the system of Holzer's ultimate landscape restoration, therefore, organized the hills, craters, grooves, as it usually is (already almost there) in nature. In this landscape the restorative power of nature start to work in full force.

In addition, his farm Zepp organized 72 small water reservoir (pond). This is a complex system, many ponds are interconnected. In lowland areas arranged recesses for collecting rain water, through pipelines it goes to the reservoirs. Simple mechanical devices ensure that emissions of water and create pressure in the system. This pressure is driven by the generator that provides electricity to the entire economy.

But, of course, most importantly, create multi-zone microclimate (in particular, Holzer has achieved on Sunny days, the water of the ponds reflects the rays and throws them on the slope, where there is insufficient sun), solved the problem of moisture (no vegetables, no grains, no fruit trees on the farm, Holzer does not require watering).

Under the organization of ponds Holzer was guided by the principles of nature: ponds should not have the right form. They should be exactly the same as the natural bodies of water with ledges, irregularities. Then, said Holzer, done right.

He also believes that a significant role in the system play the stones (the soil should not be cleared from them): with a lack of heat stones, heated, to improve the temperature situation in the soil, and in times of drought under stones kept wet. Stones are present in the ponds. Large, protruding from the water, here they serve the same function: heating warmer make cold mountain water.

By the way, initially the water for their ponds Holzer just bought, sufficient sources in the territory was not. Now Holzer's ponds – part production base. They are inhabited by trout, carp, pike, 30-pound catfish. Fish bred in natural conditions, without fodder, of course, exceptional taste and demand.

Constructed completely waterproof the dam. To this end, the land drops clay - in a few meters and surrounded by an earthen shell, the result is a natural water drive. The recess for the collection of water can provide a deep pond of 10-12 m. the System gradually stabiliziruemost in arid climates.

 

Animals on the loose

The organization of the landscape, Holzer devotes almost the main role when creating farms.

– When everything is arranged correctly as in nature, the farmer is greatly facilitated work – says Sepp. Maximum similarity with nature – that is his goal.

How animals live by yourself? Ducks, for example, live in a special hut which is in the middle of the lake. The entrance to their home protects water. First, birds need to swim a few meters, and then dive into the water to get inside. Predators are not capable of. After was applied the system was not lost any ducks. In winter, the water of course freezes, but natural circulation is organized so that even in the most severe frosts before the house of ducks remains non-freezing space.

The soil in the farm Krameterhof not been exposed to chemical preparations.

How to restore the soil after use of chemicals? The rougher the structure, the more the life in the soil and the more intense the recovery process. If the soil is permeated with deep roots if aeration is improved, the amount of poisons in the soil can be reduced, and the process of ingress of chemicals into the groundwater to stop.

The soil must be ploughed and closing up the seeds to sow green manure, mixed.

• Years of bitter Lupin, for example, is different because its roots go into the soil a few meters.
• There's also a good honey – sweet clover, which also gives greater biomass. This plant reaches a half meters tall.
• Legumes collect nitrogen. Bacteria nodules on their roots bring atmospheric nitrogen into the soil.
• It is also good to add vegetables, seeds of carrot, Jerusalem artichoke, radish.

 

Nevertheless, even with this method is that Holzer calls accelerated, the recovery period of the soil, according to his calculations, is 5-6 years. During this time, you can sell honey and honey seeds of bitter lupine.





So, moisture is retained and multiplied, the soil is cleaned and prepared. Now treatment? This is the farm of Sepp Holzer doing pigs, rare Iberian breed. "Pigs have a front plow and rear spreader, says Holzer. – If I correctly control the pigs, I don't need to plow machines stony or hard-to-reach fields, the animals".

Throwing the bait, Holzer wants the pig raked the soil exactly where needed. Fed the pigs in the trough, and scattered throughout the area that will be treated. Pigs plowed the soil to a depth of 20-30 cm! Some of the seeds they buried in the soil, and the part eaten. The shell grains dissolve in the stomach, and re - "planted" it in a more suitable for germination of the substance, and therefore grows faster.

 

Planting 45 crops at the same time

On the crop of Holzer should be discussed separately.

In his philosophical system is important to maintaining the agricultural diversity of nature (hence his categorical dislike of monoculture).

For planting mixes Holzer 45-50 seed plants.

In one bag – the seeds of vegetables, herbs, flowers, grains. In the end, what grows on the farm, is balanced naturally. Holzer claims that if your field is multipopulation, suddenly there is an abundance of weeds or insects, then you did something wrong.

The Holzer every weed in its place performs an important, positive role in the system. And even mice, which loosen and aerate the soil, and the abundance of different type of food keeps them from escalating to multipopulation.

The harvest of Holzer looks very humorous. Something like a mushroom, as in a wild pitch and then, stick cabbage or lettuce, there's large amounts of the same culture. But the taste and purity of this salad is impossible to compare one product industrial vegetable production.

 

Worms love coffee grounds

Earthworms Holzer is simply helpless. For this, he uses a box with a volume of approximately a cubic meter. Fills it with a loose substrate of straw, cardboard, earth, manure, shifting boughs, that the land is not compacted. At room temperature with a constant flow of oxygen earthworms reproduce well, while daily they are fed biological waste. Holzer argues that most worms like filters imiami coffee. And this is another important rule. Even the earthworms, the farmer learns to observe nature, that Holzer is the most important quality of Executive.

The technique of Holzer's built on the removal of artificial intervention in the natural process of development and fruiting plants. For example, he completely abandoned the pruning of fruit trees and of modern technologies of planting. Thus the branches retain elasticity and do not suffer even under the load of an abundant harvest.

The most important criteria of tree planting Holzer believes a well-chosen location (wet, dry, cold, windy) and soil in which is planted the tree.

In General, fruit trees – passion and the first specialty Sepp Holzer (education). About them would be to tell in detail, if not for the mushrooms. Mushroom production in Holzer is a big theme. The mushrooms he grows on the trees and on the straw of oyster mushrooms, honey mushrooms and forest mushrooms – boletus, boletus, chanterelles.

For the large-scale producer in the system of Holzer's significant, perhaps, two things:

• the first is the need for careful observation of nature,
• the second is the possibility of creating a microclimate with improved humidity through the system of ponds, is capable of functioning even in the arid areas. However, to plan and design their professional needs.published

 

Talked with Zep Holzer Yuriy Goncharenko

 

Also interesting: Sepp Holzer: permaculture — a Full saletoronto

Permaculture Sepp Holzer — 10 times more efficient than traditional agriculture!

 



Source: www.zerno-ua.com/journals/2011/may-2011-god/pustynya-ili-ray-zepp-holcer