Furrows, Fallows and Composting

 I chose to examine the agricultural techniques that were mentioned in chapter 4 to gain a better understanding of the terminology and to explore how others achieve true subsistence-farming despite less than ideal conditions.  

Fallowing is a way of letting the land rest. It can be classfied into different periods, short; 1-2 year rest, long; 3-4 year rest. Likewise it can either be seeded; which implements rotational crops such as legumes, or white; which leaves the soil completely bare. Finally, it can include tilling the land, or leaving manure on top of the soil. Fallowing is especially important in mountain ranges where the Hmong people typically farmed due to the fact that land erosion was a big concern. Allowing the land to rest and recover, provides adequate soil formation, nutrient and water retention, and can also fight off pests and disease thanks to an interruption in their lifecycle. Fostering newly sprouted trees and allowing for native species to regrow in the land promotes more biodiversity in the long run.  

 

Furrows are unique in their ability to retain moisture and allows farmers to plant in mounds. Furrows are just narrow trenches that stretch across fields, creating something similar to a tributary system in the fields that allows water to flow to the plants. According to some published studies I came across, alternative furrow practices are the most widely used and most efficient in terms of water management in Ethiopia. Furrows can include having a boundary wall built along the sides to control water flow and mitigate excess soil erosion.  

 

The final piece that I’d like to discuss is the importance of composting. Having truly been exposed to this in my times spent at either the monasteries or bioecological farms in MX I began to realize this is one of the easiest ways to help rejuvenate the land. Composting in essence is just returning the “waste” back to the land, “one man’s garbage is another man’s gold.” Not only granting the soil a chance to develop a healthy topsoil layer, it also promotes the presence beneficial macroinvertebrates in the soil. The EPA suggests adding 3 times the amount of brown materials such as twigs, dried leaves, paper, cardboard and untreated wood chips all rich in carbon, to the green materials which are nitrogen rich like tea, coffee, food scraps and grass clippings. If allowed reach to temperatures of 130-160° F it will kill off any pathogens living within the soil. Checking for adequate moisture will ensure the compost pile heats up to the required amount, in addition to turning over the pile you could potentially have a ready to use compost in as little as 3-5 months.