Natural Sequence Farming

Hi Clem,

Bearing in mind what Duane has written about legalities, here are some videos of Peter Andrews which you might find useful:

Controlling Water 1/2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76fWInus5YQ

Controlling Water 2/2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQRpZBy09oA

Building a Dam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGK9LoFrq8Y

Contours http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q35Xhm0fUg

I found these on Youtube. The audio is not perfect but hopefully will give you some idea to go on with.

Regards,
Julene

Also this is a scan of a diagram from BFTB – in the chapter about Contours. Clem, do you have the book?




I too find the contour aspect of NSF the most difficult to understand of all the concepts.

Earlier in this post, KP wrote about "clear, well designed animated graphics". I wonder if it would be possible to get something like that happening to illustrate contours? (PA might need to sit down with a computer graphics person.)

Also, Duane, would it be possible for PA to do more videos demonstrating how to make a contour?

Regards,
Julene

Also here is the link to a post devoted to countours - perhaps you have already seen it?

http://naturalsequencefarming.com/forum ... .php?t=501

Hopefully, looking at all these resources will help with ideas.

Hi Julene,

Thank you for all those links. I do not have Peter's books but that issue has been addressed and both books are on the way (although there maybe a shortage of the newer book - Beyond the Brink). I have not seen the video clips and look forward to viewing them. I am not in Australia at the moment and my internet connection is too slow for Youtube clips.

I had previously read the link "Post subject: All ideas for contour lines!" but it seemed that the only examples were from brettml for a property that was relatively flat. Again there was much discussion on NSF contours vs Permaculture swales. I can't really see the difference and in my case I need a swale/contour on the higher ground because I get a lot of rainfall runoff from adjacent properties. The runoff is concentrated in a fairly short area and the swale/contour will allow me to spread that inflow of water across my property up to 500 or 600 metres away.I will also need another one or two lower down to hold back the runoff from my own property.

My goal will be to stop all rainfall runoff from my property so that after a rain event there will be no water running from my property into the creek. Well, at least not on the surface.

Perhaps they will be permaculture swales and not NSF contours but whatever they will be, they will stop rainfall runoff and hold and spread it to allow the runoff to soak into the soil.

Regards,

Clem

Can we take this discussion re contours back to the original thread http://naturalsequencefarming.com/forum ... .php?t=501

I will post something there.

Well, I thought we were still on topic as the main thrust of the topic was that we should stop rainfall runoff into the creeks etc. That topic prompted me to query just how to get started on preventing that runoff. But sure, it has now turned to the contours.

Hi all,
i found the following site ( links to a pdf from a stream management conference from a couple of years back)

http://www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/new ... in_151.pdf

It is research about valley chokes in the Upper Wimmera catchment in Victoria. It caught my eye because it talks about remnants of the old Australian system that are still intact in this region, and how important it is to preserve these valley chokes. I know Peter addressed farmers last year at nearby Stawell. Hopefully there is some nsf work going on locally as a result of Peter's visit.
cheers

Hi Andy

Many thanks to you for putting this post on the Forum. It adds very strong evidence to what Peter's message has been talking about.

Three KEY simple processes for ALL ecosystems INCLUDING farming*:

*Water,
*Matter and
*Energy ..............are the three basic requirements for any *ecosystem to thrive.

This is the KISS approach that Peter's work encompasses.

I have recently read Peters book and now have some understanding of how his system works.
One thing to bear in mind is that it was a lifetimes work for Peter to achieve what he has, and to put in to practice a farm wide system will probably require decades of experimentation, trial and error. Its no simple task to replicate what he has done and I suspect many have already put it in the too hard basket.....at least until the practices become more widespread and local advice can be more easily found.
The simplistic slogans, and endless ranting of the theory we see on these pages are probably of little help, as is calling the whole thing "simple" when it is far from that.
I dont own a farm so I have no opportunity to put the ideas into practice, but I would now welcome the opportunity to try a few things for myself on my parents farm; alas they have sold out and retired.
But I think about what I would do as I know the farm well. I would start small and concentrate my efforts on one area. Unlike Peters farm, the farm is not in a run down condition and is highly productive, so any work does not fall into the category "if I dont do something about this, Ill go broke". That means any work and expenditure would be second to the normal running of the farm. To simply drop everything and concentrate on getting the system up would likely send me broke.
Others may adopt a different approach according to their circumstances.
Those with small holdings- hobby farmers, retirees, etc may be restricted by the boundaries around them and the infastructure such as roads, plantations etc which will limit what is possible. And if your block is mainly forested then things like contour channels may be difficult to put in. Obviously if you own only a small portion of a floodplain (for example), on your own your options are limited. But there are things you can do, even if it just to prove something to yourself such as leaving those thisles DID increase soil fertility, and others may benefit from your trials.
Good luck to those actually out there and doing it...most posters here are like me and are not, so practical advice, what worked, what didnt, is like gold at the moment.