Agroforestry för svenska förhållanden 2024 - Flipbook - Page 35
a natural balance between the beneficial insects and
pests. There are also a number of beehives for pollination of trees and shrubs, and last but not least, there
are the chickens.
The chickens are kept all year round in small groups
in mobile chicken sheds that move to a new pasture
every two weeks. The chickens eat caterpillars, worms
and weeds closest to the trees and shrubs where
machines cannot reach. They stir the soil and help
spread their natural fertiliser. The chicken sheds and
a few rows of trees at a time have electric fences to
protect against predators.
Both the crops and the animals’ water are infused with
lactic acid bacteria to improve plant and soil health,
and gut flora of the animals.
“We are fortunate to have a
special ant living in our
orchards that eats the larvae
of the codling moth. Codlingmoths are otherwise a big
problem in organic fruit
production as they bore into
apples and eat the cores.”
shade the ground and help to retain moisture in the
soil. The nettles are picked and sold to wholesalers.
Weeds are controlled by machine and hand pulling.
For a balanced plant nutritional status, which contributes to mechanisms in the plant’s resistance to fungal
disease and pest infestations, so-called plant sap analysis is done continuously.
Bilden: Berkshire grisar. På gården lever
också ett antal unggrisar som vid tiden för
intervjun bearbetade marken i en hage med
sly. / Photo: Berkshire pigs. There are also
a number of young pigs on the farm who
are currently working the land in a pasture
covered with brush.
- Marcus & Anna, Stora Juleboda Farm.
The apple orchard
The organic and KRAV-approved apple cultivation has
more than twenty different varieties of food and cider
apples. Together with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, they have also developed their own
apple varieties [29]. The apple cultivation has been
diversified with blueberries, and trees and shrubs that
fix nitrogen have been planted for natural fertilisation.
In the ground layer, hogweed and nettles grow, in
some cases several metres high, accompanied by
milkweed and other flowers. Nettles and other weeds
The apple orchard has drip irrigation from their own
pond. Challenges of the site are the very sandy soil
and late frost nights in spring.
Research & outlook for the future
The farm has participated in a number of research
projects that have provided new lessons and fuelled
the desire to experiment [29]. Eventually, Marcus and
Anna want to build a knowledge centre at the farm for
biodiversity and organic farming.
