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How can empty and barren land become a garden?
Truth, life, tranquility, silence - all this is part of the EARTH, and when you abuse it, your whole essence of life changes. And when you begin to revive the piece of land you have in your hands and realize that you are capable of turning it into a garden of paradise, you allow the Creating Power of Life to flow through you.
Young producers do wonders with Aleopathy and no-till
With these thoughts in mind, a group of young people started working almost four years ago to turn a desolate, barren, depleted land into, if not paradise, a beautiful and fertile garden.
The starting position was almost desperate. They began with buying desolate vineyards and fields around the village of Veslets in Vratsa and immediately started cleaning them. Then, however, they were confronted with the misunderstanding of the locals, who complained in the eco-inspection that they were destroying valuable vegetation. Of course, their claims were not confirmed, and the enthusiasts continued.
However, the most serious test turned out to be the soil itself- compacted, clayey, with severely disrupted structure, poor water infiltration and drainage, surface wetting and erosion due to excessive mechanical treatment. After years of fertilizing with mineral fertilizers, and the long history of previous maize and wheat crops left the soil acidic pH- (4.5-5.5). The lack of organic matter in the soil and the balance of the soil microbiota also had to be addressed.
To enrich the soil, they began to pile up half-decomposed compost little by little.
"The goal was to increase organic matter and accelerate the activation of biological processes in the soil. To ensure the effectivness of the process, the fertilizer spread was sprayed with a concentrate of effective microorganisms”, said Svetlin Ivanov, who is one of the young men involved in the ambitious agricultural project from the very beginning.
"We knew what a serious challenge this was. Chemical- mechanical agriculture had led to the sterilization of the soil. And without more serious measures, we realized that this would inevitably lead to a loss of fertility. After even just a few years, such a practice makes it difficult to return to a sustainable farming style without causing crop losses. However, we did not want to give up. We told ourselves - enough but only for now! And we went on!", Ivanov is frank.
Soil lime followed. They made it with ground rock left over when limestone blocks were cut.
The next step was deepening, which provided more oxygen in depth to allow the process of deeper biological structuring of the soil to begin. The treatment direction was oriented perpendicular to the slope, as an anti-erosion measure.
The planting of over 2000 trees was done by everyone with the help of their families.
Now The Walnut Ranch in Veslec is a fact. Young people continue to look after every sapling and inspect the area with drones as all the modern farmers do around the world.
"We practice sustainable, organic and regenerative agriculture, which makes it possible to achieve greater productivity per unit area and more profitable nontheless, compared to the chemical-mechanical conventional agriculture. Our project is based on the need to update the approach of working with land and agricultural business models so they conform with the environmental, climate and social needs of the present. Perhaps that's why nuts are at the core - because they are age-old trees and symbolize exactly what we want to do - a step towards sustainable existence and development in the future, "the enthusiasts explain.
According to them, the peculiarity of the Walnut Ranch is that it is not just a walnut garden, but a multi-layered project, created with a holistic approach according to the principles of permaculture and regenerative agriculture. And they are convinced that models like theirs benefit all parties involved - both nature, people, and business.
Source: www.agri.bg
Truth, life, tranquility, silence - all this is part of the EARTH, and when you abuse it, your whole essence of life changes. And when you begin to revive the piece of land you have in your hands and realize that you are capable of turning it into a garden of paradise, you allow the Creating Power of Life to flow through you.
Young producers do wonders with Aleopathy and no-till
With these thoughts in mind, a group of young people started working almost four years ago to turn a desolate, barren, depleted land into, if not paradise, a beautiful and fertile garden.
The starting position was almost desperate. They began with buying desolate vineyards and fields around the village of Veslets in Vratsa and immediately started cleaning them. Then, however, they were confronted with the misunderstanding of the locals, who complained in the eco-inspection that they were destroying valuable vegetation. Of course, their claims were not confirmed, and the enthusiasts continued.
However, the most serious test turned out to be the soil itself- compacted, clayey, with severely disrupted structure, poor water infiltration and drainage, surface wetting and erosion due to excessive mechanical treatment. After years of fertilizing with mineral fertilizers, and the long history of previous maize and wheat crops left the soil acidic pH- (4.5-5.5). The lack of organic matter in the soil and the balance of the soil microbiota also had to be addressed.
To enrich the soil, they began to pile up half-decomposed compost little by little.
"The goal was to increase organic matter and accelerate the activation of biological processes in the soil. To ensure the effectivness of the process, the fertilizer spread was sprayed with a concentrate of effective microorganisms”, said Svetlin Ivanov, who is one of the young men involved in the ambitious agricultural project from the very beginning.
"We knew what a serious challenge this was. Chemical- mechanical agriculture had led to the sterilization of the soil. And without more serious measures, we realized that this would inevitably lead to a loss of fertility. After even just a few years, such a practice makes it difficult to return to a sustainable farming style without causing crop losses. However, we did not want to give up. We told ourselves - enough but only for now! And we went on!", Ivanov is frank.
Soil lime followed. They made it with ground rock left over when limestone blocks were cut.
The next step was deepening, which provided more oxygen in depth to allow the process of deeper biological structuring of the soil to begin. The treatment direction was oriented perpendicular to the slope, as an anti-erosion measure.
The planting of over 2000 trees was done by everyone with the help of their families.
Now The Walnut Ranch in Veslec is a fact. Young people continue to look after every sapling and inspect the area with drones as all the modern farmers do around the world.
"We practice sustainable, organic and regenerative agriculture, which makes it possible to achieve greater productivity per unit area and more profitable nontheless, compared to the chemical-mechanical conventional agriculture. Our project is based on the need to update the approach of working with land and agricultural business models so they conform with the environmental, climate and social needs of the present. Perhaps that's why nuts are at the core - because they are age-old trees and symbolize exactly what we want to do - a step towards sustainable existence and development in the future, "the enthusiasts explain.
According to them, the peculiarity of the Walnut Ranch is that it is not just a walnut garden, but a multi-layered project, created with a holistic approach according to the principles of permaculture and regenerative agriculture. And they are convinced that models like theirs benefit all parties involved - both nature, people, and business.
Source: www.agri.bg
