THURSDAY, JAN 26, 2023: NOTE TO FILE
Module 3-21
Seasonal cultivation
The global food market wherein fruit and vegetables incur extensive food miles, has changed human eating habits and diet as a result of eating out of season. This global food market is reliant on extensive value chain logistics, facilities and infrastructure, all of which results in CO2 food mile emissions. What was once seasonal food is now available anytime, everywhere, worldwide, albeit, with a loss of nutrient vitality, as measured with Brix units. Humans have therefore lost the seasonal taste of food, as well as, the nutritional value of eating freshly harvested fruit and vegetables. One of the key drivers of Regenerative Agriculture is to support local markets by delivering seasonal products.
For seasonal cultivation, farmers need to adopt crop rotation regimes and deploy planting guilds that support and complement each other. An example of crop rotation is shown in Table 4.7 wherein legumes, which are nitrogen fixing plants, precedes the planting of potatoes, which are heavy soil feeders. The legumes therefore naturally fertilize the soil with nitrogen which is made available to the potatoes.
Figure 4.7: The “3-sisters” – corn, beans and squash, (source)
Table 4.7: An example of a crop rotation regime
A classic example originating from Central America are the “3-sisters”, which is a guild of maize (corn), beans and pumpkins, as shown in Figure 4.7. The maize is a heavy feeder, hence the beans, a legume, to provide the nitrogen, whilst the broad leaves of pumpkins maintains a living green cover over the soil in order retain moisture in the soil. The 3-sisters guild is timeless and does not require any external inputs.
Module 3, lesson 22
