Harvest of an old #maple tree.
We’ve sugared this tree (for syrup) for a few years but it’s never given much in the way of sap. It’s estimated to have been around 60-75 years and has now lived past its prime. It was overhanging a section of neglected, overgrown land that we have been re-clearing with the intention of creating a silvopasture for livestock and various fruit trees.
The harvest of this old tree will provide at least a cord of top quality firewood and the ramial branches will then be chipped into the surrounding land as organic matter, high in nutrients and an effective promoter of the growth of soil fungi – both reducing soil compaction and adding a long-term source of fertility.
In addition to providing heat for our home (about a month’s worth of wood), it will enrich the ground it once towered over for many years, benefiting future production and future harvests on this land.
Many people mistake #permaculture, #regenerative agriculture, and #sustainability to be about protecting nature at all costs. But rather we should be thinking holistically how to support the various systems and strive to create overall healthier, more productive and diverse environments where the land is gradually improved *through* working it, producing on it, and creating from it – rather than simply extracting from it.
While conventional #farming is aimed at extracting value from a single piece of land, regenerative farming is focused on using the whole of the land to implement a wide multitude of systems which all work together to potentate each other.
We harvest firewood, forage mushrooms, produce wood chips when clearing brush or cleaning blowdowns, we use leaf litter to create compost in the gardens. All of these facets are integral to helping the various ecological systems work together to produce a *larger net gain* than simply tilling a field and planting some seeds.
https://video.nostr.build/89a183f8b3d961b87f32ef200384418a187bcda5da2b038b44f3e80813500269.mp4
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