| Stacked Poly-Culture |
|
Over 180 different species of fruit, nut, or otherwise edible plants create a multi-layered closed
canopy orchard that mimics the natural rain forest which surrounds it in both structure and biodiversity.
This is a different form of agriculture than the tractor based mono-cropping, or vast mono-crop orchards that
are currently cultivated on a wide scale here in Belize. Stacked poly-culture allows greater soil fortification and
maintenance of fertility through providing protection from the raw elements of rain, sun, and wind. The
biodiversity also minimizes impacts from diseases and pests, and assures that different plants are utilizing and
recycling different nutrients leading to more balanced soil health. In addition, biodiversity ensures food security
as our friends and colleagues at Maya Mountain Research Farms have so beautifully demonstrated. A
permaculture system like this one is less disruptive to all of the plant and animal species around it. By creating
a safe haven that acts something like an anthropogenic biological corridor for the myriad species of flora and
fauna here, we have been lucky enough to occasionally sight Scarlet Macaws and other now rare birds such as
the Currasow.
There are many layers throughout our planting and their types and density vary throughout the planting. For
the sake of explaining the system we have borrowed rain forest vernacular. The top or Emergent layer is
composed of protective native species such as Allspice, Cohune, and Ramon (breadnut). These trees are
sparsely spaced to allow light into the lower layers. They provide extra shade during the dry season which helps
the lower layers conserve water as well as creating a wind buffer in tropical storms. The next layer is the
Canopy layer which is made up of species such as Avocado, Breadnut (polynesian), Mango, and Moringa. As
in a natural rainforest, this layer contains the highest proportion of food bearing species. Next is the
Undergrowth layer which is less demanding of sun to produce well. Here we have myriad species of Banana
and Plantain, various edible palms, and chaya trees among others. Finally we have the Forest floor layer,
much of which was naturally present in the rain forest before cultivation and is simply tended along with our
own plantings. Many medicines are found here. We have also planted many edible species in this layer such as
Coco, Pineapple and Ch'uk. Since some of these species do better in more sun we have made artificial light
gaps in some areas by excluding some layers.
As we have pointed out before, the greatest proof of the success of this type of agricultural system for the
tropical Americas lies in the surrounding rain forest itself, nature’s original stacked poly-culture system. In a
natural rain forest most of the biomass of nutrient is tied up into the forest itself. In leaf, twig and bud the vital
nutrients that assure continued fertility are used, and then recycled in one form or another at a sustainable rate
that ensures ongoing productivity. This is also true of our biodynamic orchard. As it comes to maturity, the
excess portions of the fruits, nuts, leaves, and roots are fed to the free range chickens. The birds transform this
‘waste’ nutrient back into fresh high protein eggs and manure used to fertilize the orchard and gardens. What
the birds don’t eat, or we don’t use on the gardens, is churned back into the cycle of life by beetles, butterflies,
and bacteria of diverse origins and tastes. It is truly a closed cycle and with the addition of Terra Preta, nearly
100% of the nutrient is caught up in the cycle making the efficiency of this system very high!
canopy orchard that mimics the natural rain forest which surrounds it in both structure and biodiversity.
This is a different form of agriculture than the tractor based mono-cropping, or vast mono-crop orchards that
are currently cultivated on a wide scale here in Belize. Stacked poly-culture allows greater soil fortification and
maintenance of fertility through providing protection from the raw elements of rain, sun, and wind. The
biodiversity also minimizes impacts from diseases and pests, and assures that different plants are utilizing and
recycling different nutrients leading to more balanced soil health. In addition, biodiversity ensures food security
as our friends and colleagues at Maya Mountain Research Farms have so beautifully demonstrated. A
permaculture system like this one is less disruptive to all of the plant and animal species around it. By creating
a safe haven that acts something like an anthropogenic biological corridor for the myriad species of flora and
fauna here, we have been lucky enough to occasionally sight Scarlet Macaws and other now rare birds such as
the Currasow.
There are many layers throughout our planting and their types and density vary throughout the planting. For
the sake of explaining the system we have borrowed rain forest vernacular. The top or Emergent layer is
composed of protective native species such as Allspice, Cohune, and Ramon (breadnut). These trees are
sparsely spaced to allow light into the lower layers. They provide extra shade during the dry season which helps
the lower layers conserve water as well as creating a wind buffer in tropical storms. The next layer is the
Canopy layer which is made up of species such as Avocado, Breadnut (polynesian), Mango, and Moringa. As
in a natural rainforest, this layer contains the highest proportion of food bearing species. Next is the
Undergrowth layer which is less demanding of sun to produce well. Here we have myriad species of Banana
and Plantain, various edible palms, and chaya trees among others. Finally we have the Forest floor layer,
much of which was naturally present in the rain forest before cultivation and is simply tended along with our
own plantings. Many medicines are found here. We have also planted many edible species in this layer such as
Coco, Pineapple and Ch'uk. Since some of these species do better in more sun we have made artificial light
gaps in some areas by excluding some layers.
As we have pointed out before, the greatest proof of the success of this type of agricultural system for the
tropical Americas lies in the surrounding rain forest itself, nature’s original stacked poly-culture system. In a
natural rain forest most of the biomass of nutrient is tied up into the forest itself. In leaf, twig and bud the vital
nutrients that assure continued fertility are used, and then recycled in one form or another at a sustainable rate
that ensures ongoing productivity. This is also true of our biodynamic orchard. As it comes to maturity, the
excess portions of the fruits, nuts, leaves, and roots are fed to the free range chickens. The birds transform this
‘waste’ nutrient back into fresh high protein eggs and manure used to fertilize the orchard and gardens. What
the birds don’t eat, or we don’t use on the gardens, is churned back into the cycle of life by beetles, butterflies,
and bacteria of diverse origins and tastes. It is truly a closed cycle and with the addition of Terra Preta, nearly
100% of the nutrient is caught up in the cycle making the efficiency of this system very high!
