𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲
The garden is my playground to experiment with ideas to restore nature. Today we planted a ‘seedbomd’ of various tree species, protected by a semicircle of very useful cactus. The idea derives from agroforestry principles founded by Ernst Götsch, created by observing nature and catalyzing natural processes. The idea came to me through Manuel Castro.

𝗛𝗼𝘄?
First we cut the leaves of a prickly pear, stick them in the ground in a semicircle and plant seeds of various tree species in the middle. We made the circle face South-East, in order to protect the trees from the sun in the west and the dominant north-west wind. As preparation we made the soil a little loose and mixed in some compost.

𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:
The prickly pear Cactus (opuntia ficus indica) is a very resilient plant that can grow almost everywhere. It has a special function: it absorbs water from the air and brings it to the soil. The cactus provides water for the tree seeds to develop, even in difficult circumstances. Later on, when the trees are well developed, the cactus will leave the micro ecosystem again, having fulfilled its purpose.
From hereon a small forest can start to develop. In the meanwhile, we can harvest the fruits of the cactus; use the palm for high quality biomass to use as mulch for the trees and use the palm for medicinal purposes.
This strategy is very valuable in our region, given the recent destruction of the wildfire. This method can help us start diversifying from scratch and revitalizing the land.

Please note that right now is not the best time to start planting actions. In the fall of this year, when more rain is expected, planting actions will be effective.
As for our experiment: we will water the area for the first period.

Later on we will do another similar experiment, only this time we use only 3 cactus leaves, but this time bigger ones. The rest of the process is similar.

Thanks goes to the kids that helped out today!