Natural Farming

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21 Comments

Comment by Turrence on September 10, 2009 at 7:35pm

Corruption! I smell a conspiracy

Comment by Kama Burwell on September 9, 2009 at 2:20pm

Check out the article about using broom as an asset - in the latest Organic NZ magazine, written by none other than ... Adam's dad.

Comment by Richard on September 9, 2009 at 1:35pm

Hi,

To reiterate Linne'a's post. Broom is your ally not your enemy. As suggested Broom is a legume that invades degraded landscape (i.e pasture) to return it to forest. By planting useful species amongst it you can essentially use it to nurse and protect your future food forest.

Geoff Lawtons How to Grow a Food Forest DVD gives an excellent explanation of how to use "weeds" like broom to your advantage in building your permaculture system.

If the broom is growing in a place where you don't want it, DON'T spray it as you can still use it. Broom is a fantastic source of biomass for the compost heap, as it is full of nitrogen, so pull it out and/or cut it back and put it through a mulcher . What you get is an awesomely rich fluffy material that can be used to heat up a compost pile or mulch around your fruit trees.

Comment by Sophie Jerram on August 17, 2009 at 4:12pm

You guys are simply brooming with ideas, thanks v much
I can't help but think that introducing one species to wipe out another has had some bad history but I'll try it all.

Comment by Turrence on August 17, 2009 at 3:15pm

Just use the round up on the farmer and kill two birds with one stone.

Comment by Adam Guyton on August 17, 2009 at 2:53pm

Actually those Harlequin Ladybirds are much more effective at the same job. That's what makes them really good, and really bad at the same time. They totally out-class normal ladybirds

Comment by Adam Guyton on August 17, 2009 at 2:51pm

There's all sorts of bio-control options for broom, ask your local council about broom mites, In southland they visit your land and release them (absolutely free of charge i believe) They're effective but occasionally i think they need to be re-introduced.

Comment by Linnéa Lindstroem on August 17, 2009 at 10:37am

Along the lines of permaculture, I'd change the fencelines as to exclude the most "broomy" areas and plant native trees in between the broom. Broom, member of fabaceae, (from Wikipedia) "host bacteria in their roots within structures called root nodules. These bacteria, known as rhizobia, have the ability to take nitrogen gas (N2) out of the air and convert it to a form of nitrogen that is usable to the host plant ( NO3- or NH3 ). This process is called nitrogen fixation. The legume, acting as a host, and rhizobia, acting as a provider of usable nitrate, form a symbiotic relationship."
As its role is to make the ground available for trees and forest, I really hope you can find a way of supporting it in this, rather than trying to exterminate it...
Best regards and good luck with the project!

Comment by Sophie Jerram on August 16, 2009 at 10:40pm

H'Okay Turrence thanks for your rev up! I have just returned to Welly from a week on some land we have in Central Otago which we dream about converting from beef and lamb farming into a permaculture haven. First step, we need some alternative pest control for broom as I can't persuade our tenant farmer to not use roundup. Any ideas?

Comment by Turrence on August 16, 2009 at 7:46pm

Does it preform the same useful functions as the current ladybirds?

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