System Boundaries P .2 the spread of the plant confined to desired areas. These sterile cultivars can be propagated vegetatively. • Borage Borage is a versatile “nurse crop,” known to assist a variety of plants in their growth, as well as repel a number of pests. • Nasturtium Nasturtium, which is also an edible plant, is known to repel woolly aphids, whiteflies, and an number of other pests. Studies have also shown that it attracts predatory insects. • French Marigold French Marigold is perhaps best known for its ability to fumigate the soil of harmful nematodes, with the effect persisting for several years afterwards. • Hyssop Hyssop is a purple flowering herb said to increase the yields of certain target crops. Livestock and Mushroom Selection We used a combined qualitative and quantitative methodology to select the appropriate mix and scale of livestock and mushroom integration into the Polydome system. Qualitative (Primary) Factors 1. Material and energy cycling: maximize endogenously sourced materials and energy and minimize non-productive outputs. 2. Beneficial interactions: design and manage for biodiversity that increases productivity while improving resilience. In the case of livestock and mushrooms, this may need to be more passive than it is for crops and includes aspects like passive heating, CO2 enrichment, and macro nutrients flows managed in compost. • • • • • • • • Pest control Nutrient cycling CO2 enrichment Passive heating Biological diversity/resiliency Nutritional diversity Economic diversity Habitat Qualitative and Quantitative Factors Based on the primary selection, we modeled the financial implications and market size to determine the appropriate scale for each component (within an order of magnitude). 4. Annual economic productivity per square meter 5. Established market demand (sometimes this is quantitative, sometimes qualitative). Aquaponics Aquaponics is a form of aquaculture that combines the cultivation of aquatic animals (typically fish) with aquatic and/or terrestrial plants. Aquaponics improves the efficiency of both aspects of the system because the biological wastes from the fish cultivation provide the organic nutrients and irrigation for the vegetables while in turn the outflow water from the vegetable component is clean enough to recirculate to the fish component. Essentially, aquaponics uses water as the medium for cascading nutrients within a relatively closed loop system. A properly staged aquaponic system can provide harvests throughout the year while reducing nutrient spikes and troughs. The proposed aquaponic system focuses on the beneficial relationships between a key fish spePolydome: High Performance Polyculture Systems 63 3. Economic diversification: adopt a portfolio approach to species selection and spatial orientation that reduces the amplitude of seasonal revenue fluctuations and minimizes exposure to market volatility. Pagina 62
Pagina 64Voor club bladen, online brochures en onderwijs magazines zie het Online Touch CMS systeem. Met de mogelijkheid voor een online shop in uw gidsen.
473 Lees publicatie 163Home