From: Marsha Hanzi <mhanzi@...>
Subject: [polyculturepeople] Updates from Marsha Hanzi, Brazil
To: polyculturepeople@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 2:22 PM

Cory!   You´re in Florida now?   I would recommend  Chris Evan´s system- it worked great for us. I think you will find it in the archives of this list. Basically he plants out seedlings of longer-season crops (cabbage, peppers, etc.), beans at every half foot, throws out seeds of salad greens calculated to occupy the space and then fills the cracks up with quickies like coriander, fenugreek.  The key is to keep harvesting, making way for the next generation. It worked great for us with a twist: adding adzuki beans to the mix, they make tiny little umbrellas which protect the new seedlings from our tropical sun.   I will be getting big into polycultures this year ( with the rains in May).  Will keep this list posted of the new combinations.   One that worked especially well last year: amaranth, radishes, rocket, scattered over the surface ( also buckwheat but the ants ate that!)  planting squash every 2 meters with compost and one sunflower.  We planted late so the squash only produced flowers ( but vast quantities) but the rest produced well.   We hoed the seeds in with  bonemeal and goat manure ( which comes naturally pelleted!) and a bit of clay as our soil is so sandy. We covered it all with long cane grass which let enough light and space for the seeds to come up among the canes- something I highly recommend! Did not hoe or weed- just returned to pick! And that field today is clearly richer and more fertile than the land beside it which has never been worked.   I just received the DVD of Sepp Holzer- an astonishing example of polycultures in a near-siberian climate ( median temperature 4.5 degrees...) in the mountains of Austria. (www.okofilms. de) Happy almost Spring to everyone! Marsha --- On Tue, 2/10/09, cory8570 <cory8570@yahoo. com> wrote: From: cory8570 <cory8570@yahoo. com> Subject: [polyculturepeople] Introduction To: polyculturepeople@ yahoogroups. com Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 1:37 PM Hi, I'm a permaculture designer who recently relocated to Florida from LA. I had a food forest in LA that I was just starting to experiment with regarding polycultures. Mostly I've done them in my veggie beds. I worked with Adonijah Miyamura at Crenshaw High food forest and have seen a number of examples of food forests that had lots of interaction going on. I'm interested in discussing successes with tropical/semi- tropical polycultures in food forests. I've studied the coffee plantation version and also some of Marsha Hanzi's work in Brazil (which is amazing stuff!) Just from what was happening in my forest, it seems that there are many potentials for polycrop in semi and tropical areas. I've found that permaculturists often don't record their experiences with polycropping - I know I haven't and no one I know has either. That would be a good project for somebody. I'm also helping organize a permaculture course at the first Earthship in Florida starting at the end of Feb, more info at thepermacultureguil d.com - it's going to be a really good course with lots of extras above and beyond the 72 hour requirements, including workshops on native plants and other things. Cory Brennan