Eco Factor: Permaculture garden thrives on harvested rainwater.
Researcher Geoff Lawton of the Permaculture Research Institute has created a miracle by converting a desert into a lush green area, which grows food trees and mushrooms in the salty soil no one ever thought to be irrigable.
About two kilometers from the Dead Sea, the area required unconventional farming practices that involved the use of plastic strips and tons of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers. Lawton had a different mindset, he wanted create a lush forest of edible plants without polluting the area with harmful chemicals.
The research team created a system to harvest rainwater into swales, which were bordered with mulch. On the uphill side nitrogen-fixing trees help shade the water reservoirs and prevent evaporation. The downhill side was used to plant fruit trees including citrus, date, palm and pomegranate trees.
The idea started to excel with the first figs starting to grow in just four months. The team also found that the salt levels were dropping and mushrooms had started to grow underneath the mulch, making them believe that the ecosystem had created deep, extremely fertile soil.
The findings have made the research team believe that they can re-green the Middle-East or any other desert in the world, relying on organic materials and the use of rainwater.
Via: EcoWorldly
