The beginning of all systems
What happens when you plant bare-root, young trees in the Brandenburg Desert? Unfortunately, not very much.
While working on our first Syntropic Agroforestry Systems, we realized that we were reaching our limits with the existing options for planting trees. It was clear that we would benefit from using species with genetics that are climate adapted to our soil, to increase adaptability and diversity. This you cannot buy in this quantity and quality. For this reason, the next logical step was to start our own tree nursery, with Johannes at the helm, in the spring of 2021.
Our tree nursery is not a typical one, it is a Syntropic Hybrid Nursery. Here we incorporate the concept of Syntropic Agroforestry into an established fixed system. In practical terms, this means alternating permanent rows of trees with temporary rows where we grow the young trees. The permanent rows establish a microclimate in which the grafted trees can grow for a short time. In this way, the young trees plants receive all the important information from the intact ecosystem. Another reason for our own nursery is that it allows for the maximum adaptation to our location. Here the young plants learn to live with the drought and low nutrients and can grow to adapt to it.
"I try to prepare our trees as well as possible for their use in our fields. They are neither pampered nor fertilized - otherwise they would not survive in Brandenburg's sandy desert. "
Johannes Harms
Nursery Manager
"The goal: A Garden of Eden. With diverse and resilient trees."
From pouches and plums
We plant all our trees in root pouches before they are planted in the temporary tree rows in the nursery. The cylindrical pouches are permeable and allow the exchange of information and nutrients so the young trees can communicate with the soil. Root Pouches allow optimal root growth and provide the chance to remove the small trees after a few months out of the system. We then plant them into a new agroforestry system.
We want to grow high quality trees that are as well prepared as possible for our fields. These trees are the basis for our agroforestry systems, which we want to be as diverse as possible so that they survive the next centuries. And bring diversity and life back to our soils!
In the future, we hope to graft 25,000 trees per year, in order to propagate herbaceous plants and soft fruits for our systems, and advance root stocks.
