Carbon Farming at Stone Barns

I attended a lecture at Stone Barns last night on a topic I have never heard before-- carbon farming. The speaker was Dave Jacke, author of Edible Forest Gardens and is a teacher of ecological design and permaculture. He talked about how to apply the principles of ecology to the design of a home garden of any scale that basically mimics a forest ecosystem, which can provide a multitude of benefits including "food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, farmaceuticals, and fun" while minimizing or completely eliminating negative outputs into the environment. Because his idea is to mimic a natural forest-- whether it be in backyards, rooftop gardens, or acres of land-- it takes much less work than managing a vegetable garden or farm.

Rooftop forest garden in the UK

I'm not sure how I can apply these principles to my own home in Brooklyn, but I'm hoping to start with a better plan of my garden this spring. I learned a lot from my experiences last year, but I'm also realistic about my work schedule, so I'm just going to keep my balcony garden simple this time around. 

I hope to be able to go to more lectures at Stone Barns, since it's relatively close to the city and the center hosts a lot of interesting events about food and farming. Although I'm excited about my new job, I still want to continue learning and be a part of the farming community in some way. Coming up, there will be another lecture on carbon farming focusing on soil this Wednesday. Also, Joel Salatin, the farmer who Michael Pollan talks about extensively in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma and who is featured in the film Food Inc., will be giving a talk on February 4th. However, that one's already sold out!