Gardening, farming, and other forms of agriculture are some of humanity’s oldest endeavors—and yet there’s always something new to learn. Recently there’s been a great deal of interest in syntropic agriculture—also called syntropic farming/gardening, agroforestry, or forest farming. We weren’t familiar, so in grand Gardzen fashion we dug in and did some research to learn a bit more about this fascinating approach to agriculture, gardening, and landscaping. With surprisingly deep roots and a potentially powerful future, syntropic agriculture is worth exploring so join us as we dig deeper to learn more about it!
Defining Syntropic Agriculture
Let’s start by defining what syntropic agriculture is, and what it isn’t. At its core syntropic agriculture is a kind of permaculture, meaning that it’s an approach to gardening, farming, or landscaping that aims to work with nature and natural principles to create a sustainable result. In syntropic agriculture, the goal is to be self-sustaining. Syntropic agriculture makes extensive use of polyculture, IE planting different types of plants together. The inspiration for syntropic agriculture came from observations of the Amazon rainforest and the ways in which dozens if not hundreds of species crowded into the same space and yet all found ways to thrive. Syntropic agriculture strives to create agroforests, spaces in which trees and food-bearing plants all grow together.
This may sound like a tall order, but it’s actually fairly accessible with a little planning and may benefit gardeners with outdoor spaces.
Principles of Syntropic Agriculture
When we started reading up on syntropic farming and gardening, one thing became immediately clear: there are no hard and fast rules for syntropic agriculture. Rather than a set of steps, rules or regulations, syntropic gardeners and farmers follow a set of core principles and adapt them to their needs, climate, and environment.
According to one source we consulted, the three basic principles of syntropic agriculture are these:
- Keep soil covered at all times
- Plant intelligent consortium
- Synchronize pruning to stimulate growth
So, what do all those mean in practice? This first principle “keep soil covered at all times” is obvious, and something that we at Gardzen advocate to all gardeners. Uncovered soil can be damaged by the sun or erosion and is especially prone to taking on weeds. By keeping the soil mulched or covered with some organic material, we can help it retain water, a healthy biome of microorganisms, and support the nutrients that our plants need.
The phrase “plant intelligent consortium” is less obvious in its meaning, but equally important for the success of a syntropic agriculture system. The “intelligent consortium” is a collection of plants that grow at different rates and fill different roles, meaning that the system begins to produce food quickly but also continues to do so for years to come. Modeled on the succession cycle found in many forest environments, this can be achieved by planting things that grow at different speeds, to different heights, and with different lifespans. You may choose to plant fruit trees—which grow tall and take years to establish themselves—alongside berry bushes and annual veggies. Akin to the sustainable “three sisters” system used by some Native Americans and First Nations people, the goal is to build a collection of plants that support each other in a natural and sustainable way. However, while “three sisters” agriculture is based around beans, corn, and squash and therefore seasonal, syntropic agriculture makes use of some or all perennial plants in order to foster a longer lasting garden system.
“Synchronize pruning to stimulate growth” brings us back to pruning, one of our favorite gardening topics and the subject of much discussion in gardening circles. In the context of syntropic agriculture, pruning is even more complex than usual so we’d like to emphasize that we’re explaining all of this to the best of our knowledge—syntropic gardening is new to us, too.
As we understand it, “synchronize pruning to stimulate growth” means that appropriate plants should be pruned early—before flower development—in order to promote rapid growth rather than their reproductive cycle. This is (roughly) the large plant equivalent of pruning the suckers on your tomatoes to encourage growth in the rest of the plant; by redirecting that energy away from the plant’s reproductive efforts you encourage new growth and rapid expansion. This allows you to rapidly create a food forest, with different layers and types of plants reaching full size and maturity at once. Obviously this isn’t intended to apply to your annuals, but for anything perennial it is an option to consider within the context of syntropic agriculture.
Syntropic Agriculture: The Gardening of the Future?
There’s a huge amount more to say about this subject, and we’ll be reaching out to some experts and established syntropic farmers to learn more. In the meantime, syntropic agriculture is an intriguing approach, and we’re glad we go to learn a bit about it. This sort of sustainable approach, working with natural principles to build something lasting, may just be the future of gardening, farming, and landscaping.
We always ask this but especially with this topic: if you have any experience or knowledge of syntropic agriculture or if you use syntropic principles in your garden, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you and learn more about your gardening methods!
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