087 – Replacing Irrigation with Permaculture

Paul presents on replacing irrigation with permaculture. He shares about the Sahara Desert, and the relationship between trees and rainfall. Irrigation washes away nutrients. Sepp Holzer brings back the lakes in Spain. Geoff Lawton greens the desert in Jordan. Willie Smits in Borneo carefully measured everything and brought back rainfall. Bill Mollison plants honey locusts and brings back a community. Paul shares about hugelkultur and polyculture. Plants near a tree can get water. Trees bring back creeks. Paul shares about nettles as a nitrogen indicator, and raising humidity for more morning dew. He talks about the value of terracing, and reducing wind. This also increases edge. Swales keep water in. Paul advocates more seedstarting to allow taproots and minimize transplant shock. Paul talks about paddock-shift grazing and the benefits of having animals in a system. Paul shares about Allan Savory’s work. Dew ponds catch water, and they can be a dip in the ground or positioned rocks that cool and condense water. Lastly, Paul shares about shade-loving plants, and David Bloom’s work with shade optimization.

discussing the podcast

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