It is unlikely that at least one peasant on our planet is known as well as the one we are talking about in this article. Sepp Holzer created his own path that leads humanity to a completely new form of agriculture. And this form is based on complete unity with nature. According to this person, only an understanding of the world will lead people to success.
Sepp Holzer: biography
The life path of a person that you learn about from this article cannot be called easy and cloudless. But already from early childhood, this figure showed some special observation, as well as considerable ability to conduct business. Sepp Holzer, whose photo is below, was born into a family of mountain farmers in 1942.
At the age of eight, he already knew how to grow wonderful roses, giving them special vaccinations. All the boy’s neighbors asked him about this, and he helped them for a small fee. As a result, by the end of school, Sepp Holzer became a rather wealthy young man and managed to buy a moped. Already at the age of nineteen, the boy's father decided to transfer to him all the land under management.
The beginning of managing a young farmer cannot be called successful. And although he clearly followed all the instructions described in various literature, he soon lost a large amount of the proposed crop. And only the path of trial and error led him to the right conclusions and successful results. Sepp switched to organic farming and successfully follows his rules on the territory of his own estate Kramerthof, despite the fact that he was once fined and miraculously escaped prison for his technology.
Today , revolutionary agrarian Sepp Holzer conducts seminars on permaculture, not only in his own estate, but around the world. However, he successfully continues to work on his expanded farm in the Alps. It now already covers more than forty-five hectares, on which gardens are located, as well as seventy ponds. This place is the most consistent example of the use of permaculture and annually gathers many people who want to find out what kind of method this is and why it is so necessary.
What is permaculture?
This is a kind of design system, existence in unity with nature, which should not only satisfy human needs, but also benefit all living organisms.
Today, agricultural land, as a rule, is developing at the expense of the ecosystem of the planet. They deplete water supplies and lead to soil destruction, provoke climate change and contribute to food shortages. That is why one of the most important questions asked by Sepp Holzer is how to get an abundance of necessary products without harming the environment.
Basic principles of permaculture
Permaculture as a social movement with its own rules is based on three basic principles. They are considered to be the most important, since a new agricultural system begins with them, which, in turn, will lay the foundation for a new society that will flourish, and not just make ends meet.
The first principle is to take care not only of living organisms, but also of non-living systems. The most important thing in it is the great value of life in all its manifestations.
The second principle calls for the creation of a sustainable system with environmental cleanliness in which prosperous people live. This method of housekeeping is based primarily on caring for a person.
And the third principle tells us that we should not be greedy. If at least something appears in excess of you, then you should immediately get rid of it, give it to the one who needs it. And it doesn’t matter what it is: resources, energy, time or information.
Basic concepts of permaculture
Permaculture must be sustainable. This means that its energy is replenished faster than consumed. Look around, look at nature, its wild systems. All of them draw energy from the sun, and at the same time they should not worry about its renewal.
Also, all systems can boast a significant variety of species. This helps a lot to get a good result from the whole system. Therefore, in
agriculture, the system must be planned so as to bring it as close as possible to the wild. So that all its components, interacting with each other, lead to the best overall result.
Permaculture of Sepp Holzer
The creator and founder of permaculture is Sepp Holzer. He has his own special approach to everything. This farmer loves the plains for the opportunities they offer in ecosystem planning.
But he does not approve the specific composition, but states that the best option would be to use everything that is available, depending on natural conditions. The permaculture of Sepp Holzer is known almost all over the world. With his seminars, Holzer travels to different countries, sharing his own experience with everyone who wishes.
What is a high ridge?
The beds according to Sepp Holtzer, whose photos you will see in this section, are called high ridges. These are structures that are able to create microclimate zones. This means that all plants growing on them have great advantages over all others.
In the process of their construction, a large number of organic materials are used, which, gradually decomposing, produce heating of the beds from the inside, as well as nourish the soil. But they have one more interesting feature. Each such bed greatly increases the area that can be used for planting.
What can be grown?
Garden beds according to Sepp Holzer, reviews of which are good enough, allow you to grow almost all kinds of vegetables. Each of them will be provided with food thanks to the internal structure of the garden.
Here, everything will depend only on how much this internal nutrition is enough and how quickly it will reach the plants. It is about these moments that it is necessary to take care at the very beginning of the construction of the high ridge.
By the way, weeds also grow well here. Holzer suggests pulling them out and leaving them in the garden, with their roots up. So the plants dry out and cannot germinate again. And the ongoing mulching using straw, hay or leaves helps in this matter.
Process of creation
When starting to create a high ridge, the first thing to do is draw a wavy line in the place where this ridge will be. Now you need to dig a moat, the depth of which should be somewhere about half a meter. The bottom of the resulting recess is filled with various organic elements. It can be logs, leaves, branches, grass and more. All this should not only fill the pit, but also rise above it by fifty centimeters at least, since in the future it will serve as a support for the entire structure.
Now you should fill the hill itself. Its height should not be more than an outstretched arm. Otherwise, it will be very inconvenient to care. The land for the hill is dug out next to the ridge, forming a hole in which logs and branches are also laid to provide additional moisture and nutrition. Falling asleep a hill, you should first stomp along its middle. So the base will be compacted, and the top will not crumble.
The hill is covered with straw or leaves, and then with thick branches, which should be so long that their ends are intertwined from above. Thick stakes are driven into the ridge at a distance of one and a half meters from each other. The edge of each of them should rise above the hill by ten centimeters. Long branches and stakes are laid on them, which should hold the entire structure.
A great advantage of such beds is their care and harvesting.
And in this and in another case, a person gets tired much less, since everything is at the level of an outstretched arm and does not require constant inclinations to perform certain actions.
Sowing
As soon as the beds have been created, immediately proceed to sowing. You can not delay so that drying does not occur. Seeds are mixed with each other, and small ones are also mixed with the ground.
Sowing occurs in tiers. At the very bottom, pumpkins, sunflowers, cabbage, and also peas and beans will be best. Vegetables with long roots - carrots and parsley - take root well in the middle, along with zucchini. In the process of growth, they will produce water for the "neighbors". Tomatoes, cucumbers and salads - a little higher. And at the very top there are plants that can endure drought. For example, peanuts. Wells are made with a peg and two or three seeds are placed in each.
After studying this article, you learned who Z. Holzer is, what contribution he made to the development of agriculture by developing his own unique ecological system. We figured out how to create beds according to Sepp Holtzer, how they are useful for humans and what their general advantage is. Such an agricultural system is designed not only to improve the quality of life of working farmers, but also to help mankind reunite with nature, learn to receive from it everything that it can offer, and this, believe me, is not at all small resources, if you manage them wisely and learn not only take, but also give everything that is superfluous and redundant.