Wednesday, March 18, 2015
ALLEY CROPPING DEFINITION
If it is farmed with care, the land will go on giving us enough food to eat for thousands of years to come.
One farming method is to mix trees and crops on the same piece of land.
In Africa, this is called alley cropping. Rows of quick-growing, deep-rooted trees are planted a few yards apart, with rows of crops such as sorghum in between.
The trees help to prevent the soil from being blown or washed away. Their leaves rot and add to the humus in the soil.
Humus is made from dead plant matter. Tree shoots provide animal food and fuel for cooking. The trees and the sorghum take different nutrients from the soil, so they can grow side by side.
Labels:
alley,
cropping,
definition
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