Haven’t posted much from my outline lately. This segment is on zone 2:
C. Zone 2: The Food Forest and Small Animal Husbandry
Orchards and Small Livestock
Orchard System:
• Food trees mixed in with non-food trees to confuse pests and encourage pest predators
• Nitrogen-fixing trees should also be included. (leucaena, acacia)
• Combined poultry/ground cover planting for manure resources
• Ground mulch plant species
• Barrier plants around trees to compete with grasses
• Fire and wind protection needed (select appropriate species).
Small livestock for Zone II:
• Bees
• Poultry
• Ducks
• Geese
• Pigs
Bees
• Careful placement to avoid stings, windblast
• Mid-season honey (Buddleia, brambles)
• Pollen and early honey (willow, rosemary, Echium)
• Late flows (leatherwood, forest trees)
Poultry
• Placement of poultry house and range for best advantage (manures, scratching for insects)
• Seed species
• Pod and acorn species (Lucerne, coprosma, lycium, oak, locust, carob)
• Cover from predators (thorn and shelter)
• Choice of bread for situation (light breeds, heavy breeds, color, behavior differences)
• Greens (comfrey, oxalis, chicory, cleavers)
• Vines (passionfruit)
• Fruits (all fruits)
• “Medicines” (oxalis, cleavers, dandelion)
• Grit/sand/shell
• Water
• Chicken “tractor” in fallow gardens or fields to remove pests, scratch out seeds, deposit manure,
help in fire control (making bare ground)
Pigs
• Forage: jerusalem artichoke, comfrey, Lucerne
• Kitchen and market scraps
• Oak: acorns
Domestic Animals and Wildlife Management Small Livestock for Zone II
• Bees
• Poultry
• Ducks
• Geese
• Pigs
• Pigeons
• Rabbits
Bees
• Careful placement to avoid stings, windblast
• Pollen and nectar sources
Poultry
• Choice of breed for situation
• Seed specifics
• Cover from predators (thorn & shelter)
• Pod species
• Placement of poultry house & range for best advantage
• Greens
• Grit and dust
• Vines and fruits
• Termite breeder
Pigs
• Forage
• Kitchen and market scraps
• Pods
Livestock Management
• Best yield strategy is a polyculture of adapted species. Native, especially “soft footed” animals
1. Intense cultivation
2. Heavily mulched
3. Selected and grafted species
4. Dense planting
5. Multiple stories and stacking
6. Multi-purpose paths for collecting produce, herbs, eggs, fruit, etc.
7. Small animals
a. Chickens, bees, ducks, geese
b. We will make an assessment to see if the needs of the animals chosen are matched to their yields and whether or not they are integrated the entire zone system and design
c. Daily care and housing for animals
d. Animal health and healing
References:
-Barclay-Levy, J. de, Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable, Faber and Faber, London, 1986.
-Barnes, Burton, Forest Ecology, John Wiley and Sons, NYC, 1980.
-Demerow, Gail, Barnyard in Your Backyard, Storey Publishing, North Adams, Mass, 2002.
-Fukuoka, Masanobu, The Natural Way of Farming, Bookventure, Madras, India, 1985.
-Mollison, Bill, Introduction to Permaculture, Tagari Publications, Tyalgum Australia, 1991.
-Mollison, Bill, Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual, Tagari Publications, Tyalgum Australia, 1988.
-Taylor, Richard, The How To Book of Beekeeping, Linden Books, Interlacken, NY, 1977.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjNGhEzmNdk&p=C6B2245180B85B66&playnext=1&index=7