Panos Manikis' Natural Farm - Edessa, Greece

A silent tour of a Fukuoka inspired natural farm. Trees and vines receive no pruning, vegetables and other groundcovers are broadcast into existing vegetation which is later cut, no fertilizer or chemicals used in any way. This forest farm is 2.5 hectares in size and contains over 120 varieties of edible species including jujube, paw paw, apple, quince, medlar, grape, persimmon...

[@francie7699]

that's a terrific video showing vegetation actually sprouting through the clay balls...so interesting...

[@lucafidani]

gracias por compartir esto, desde la patagomia un saludo

[@empjohniv]

I have seen a lot of strong trees where I grew up that were completely pruned. There is a problem of harvesting from them as they are often rather oddly shaped and demand some climbing. But they are generally very healthy.

[@KeylineVermont]

Hello Charlie
Glad to hear from you. In terms of details, I don't have much to share at this point as it's been some time since I was last there. I'd highly recommend Dave Jacke's Edible Forest Gardens Vol. 2 for species details though it's geared more directly to North American ecosystems. Also, visit the Plants for a Future database for an extensive searchable directory of multifunctional plants. I hope you find something useful in that.
Best wishes
Mark

[@KeylineVermont]

Very good point. I agree - I think the concept of natural farming is beautiful, but I believe that humans can be powerful allies to plants and animals in our application of good management to landscapes - pruning being one key area

[@KeylineVermont]

es mi placer! mucho gusto

[@Tossdart]

Nice to see. I find people on You Tube to be mostly not interested in gardens. I have so few visits but if I said watch my pink panties lol. Gzillions a day. I hold out small hope there are too few of us.

[@KeylineVermont]

The primary difference lies in the philosophy and approach to agriculture. The intent here is to intervene in 'natural' systems as little as possible. Manikis would broadcast seed mixes every so often but otherwise, aim to glean a yield from the vegetation available on the site. A significantly oversimplified description of Fukuoka's Natural Farming system focuses more on what you do than what you don't do - no fertilizers, chemicals, weeding, pruning or tillage.

[@JustBeingNiceGR]

If you have big trees that have been pruned, there is nothing you can do but keep pruning them. If you suddenly stop, they will die. You can apply the no-pruning principle on baby trees grown from seeds and let them get their natural form.

[@CharlesFraser]

hey there - have you any more info on this one please? We are growing a forest garden in Italy with a simular climate. Any contact info or websites, species matrix ect would be hugely useful for Europa - Praises and thanks, love Charlie

[@phantomcreamer]

I know that seedballs will degrade and spread out a little, but why weren't smaller seedballs used in order to acheive a better spread of the seeds? There could be a few generalist and tenacious plants that will be found in every seedball and outcompete all the others, causing reduced biodiversity of plants that grow versus the biodiversity of the seeds in the seedball. I would suggest smaller seedballs unless some specific application is needed.

[@CharlesFraser]

dear friend if you have any more info on this garden and what they have their it would really help us with out forest garden in Italy we are growing,, any contacts or species matrix please
many thanks
loads of love
Charlie

[@gizliliman1]

where can i find long videos about this farm and his methods?in english

[@KeylineVermont]

I don't know unfortunately. Good luck though

[@The.Art.Of.Gardening]

Hi my friend here is 9 parts with Panos at his farm explaining the methode with english subs th-cam.com/video/R0N_hZeW2v0/w-d-xo.html