Ancient Wisdom, Modern Solutions!

 Our Ancient Ancestors understood the wisdom of gardening using permanent or semi permanent "beds".  They utilized the Conuco, mounds and of course did not use plows or tillers that continually turned over and disrupted the Soil.  We do have some Conucos on the Land that we care for but what can be seen here is a different sort of Conuco, same concept, same benefits, but different application that suits the slope of the Land and our needs in a temperate climate.


All around rural areas we see fields being plowed, some of these fields are flat (which does minimize the damage done in terms of erosion) but most have a slope, and when it rains, streams of muddy water wash off the fields into the rivers bringing all the chemicals applied to the fields into the rivers and eventually into the oceans.  Since we are on a hill and have almost no flat areas, we use "swales" and raised beds (or elongated Conucos) that are formed "on contour".  Being "on contour" means that the pathways between them are level and catch the water that comes down the hill.  This water slowly sinks into these "clover walkways" and becomes available for the plants in the elongated Conucos to take in over a prolonged period of time.  There is a lot of attention these days given to catching rainwater off house roofs to be used in the garden, however we can take that concept to a much greater area through the use of the swales and Conucos.

 Very low impact, these beds do not require timbers, or other framing structures but involve a re-shaping of the natural hillside.  We also have here the challenge of rocky soil that does not have very much top soil (something that is not unusual, most gardeners are challenged with either very compacted soil that has been abused for many years, soil that is very high in clay or other soil challenges).  We created our elongated Conucos by layering manures, composts, straw, leaves and other beneficial substances such as wood ash from our fire, and other special things, including some Ceremonial ingredients.  Then we simply left the beds alone over the winter for the Natural Magic to take place, as they formed in place compost heaps.

 As the weather warms we checked the beds and found this beautiful rich soil, filled with worms (always a good sign), which has a beautiful soil structure (fluffy, easy to work with, easy for roots to penetrate).  This soil absorbs more water from the rains and retains more water for longer periods of time.  This soil is a solution for Earth Changes that can involve periods of either extreme rains or extreme droughts that are unpredictable and can devastate crops or require the use of huge amounts of precious water to be irrigated onto them.  This soil drains water better when there is "too much" rain and retains water better when there is "too little" rain.  These beds will never see the ravages of a plow or tiller and so will continue to form a microscopic world of wonder of Fungi, Micro-organisms and beneficial animals that will year to year allow our plants to thrive more and more.

 "Dirt" is seen by too many in this society as bad, negative, ugly and to be avoided, but there will come a day and there is here a day when people in general will need to once again come to appreciate and love the Soil as our Ancestors did.  An important point in this sharing is that we "did" relatively little and Mother Earth responded with so much.  We gathered up our bits and pieces of cardboard plus ones gathered from the local food co-op, layered them on the Earth then cleaned up our horse fields and put the manure on, raked some leaves, put them on, put more manure, put some straw on, and then watched.  We saw the rains fall, we saw the Sun shine, we saw the frost freeze the beds solid, we saw them thaw, we saw the snows fall, and now we see the result of all those elements combined.  


In many ways our journey in honoring the Spirit and the Ancestors through cultivating the love and caring for Mother Earth that they lived every day has involved more mental transformation than anything else.  We have been led by the Ancestors to discover so much, and so much of the wisdom has been to embrace creative thinking and the wisdom of the Ancestral agricultural ways.  In the photo below you can see the beautiful soil that has been formed in just one winter by working with Mother Earth rather than against her!