Hi everyone, The last months were crazy, from 0 infrastructure to building and planting 800 meters of syntropic lines here in Portugal. I documented most of the process so people get a good understanding of the amount of work that goes into a project like this :) Hope you enjoy it, watch it here: https://youtu.be/rRQdmMZHpdo

After a year and a half of thinking about it -and after visiting Scott Hall on his farm, as well as the Permadynamics family in New Zealand - I finally took the leap and planted an infestation block of Acacia saligna. In this video, I am breaking down what Infestation actually means, and why it can be such a powerful lever - especially in brittle climates (Arid, Semi-arid or Mediterranean climates) Infestation isn’t a standalone method. It’s the first step in a broader framework called Successional Accumulation, a concept developed and coined by Scott Hall. The process unfolds in these three stages: - Infestation - Stabilisation - Succession We’ll dive deeper into each of these steps here on the platform as we go ! What I’ve found is that this approach is far more practical at scale than trying to plant everything all at once - especially when you’re limited in water, amendments, or access. And Scott covers his experience with it on his platform. It’s a way to work with constraints instead of fighting them, and it can significantly reduce costs while setting up a long-term resilience strategy. I’d really love to hear your thoughts. What species have you seen that could play a similar role in your climate ?

The thing that has changed the most, while I have been learning and experimenting with syntropic planting is the space between rows , row width, and what is planted(or not) in between the rows . I think now I'm settling on narrow 60cm wide rows 4m apart with pasture in between to start , followed by a inter row of vegetables the second year for two years, then soft fruit/berries.

Just throwing up an idea, buckwheat is a plant that thrives on poor soil and heat, it is also a source of one of the best mulch straws, which turns soil black. Has anyone seen it grown as a placenta crop before starting tree rows?

Recently viewed the regrowth on the two year old rows that you cut early spring and it resonated with me, we're much further north,but this year's growth is exceptional and has me quite excited.