MICRO FARMING HOW-TO – TRENDS – VALUE-ADDED: A micro-sized woodlot can be a valuable business asset for the eco-micro farm and those involved in small scale farming. ATTRA – National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, PO Box 3657, Fayetteville, AR 72702; Phone: 1-800-346-9140 — FAX: (479) 442-9842, http://attra.ncat.org offers a publication entitled “Woodlot Enterprises.”
“Backyard Woods,” from the Arbor Day Foundation is a small guide showing how to plant a safe, earth enhancing forest for owners of one to 10 acres. The Foundation states that 49 percent of the earth’s forests are in private ownership, and those that own backyard sized woods make up 60 percent of all USA private forest landowners. Smaller parcels of wooded areas individually and collectively make a big impact on the planet.
Then learn to coppice: Coppicing is an old European method of harvesting firewood without killing the trees, and while maintaining the health of a diversified forest. Various information is appearing on the web, you’ll have to search in your area.
Backyard firepits are extremely popular, but so is “going green” and saving trees. A micro farm’s ecologically stewarded woodlot can provide eco-friendly firewood (dense hardwoods properly cured produce the least pollution), along with being a carbon bank and wildlife habitat which helps attract customer loyalty. A woodlot can also be an agritourism draw for birdwatchers or for workshops – teach coppicing workshops – a rare and valuable skill. Plant “U-choose” tree seedlings around the edges as another crop for sale, and if you’re in the USA, plant native mountain mint in the sunnier edges for honeybees. Value-added products such as natural bug repellent and carpet freshener have been made from this plant, and deer don’t care for it. — www.MicroEcoFarming.com