Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence, France, August 2023
Marion has set up a micro farm on eight hectares of farmland in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to grow aromatic and medicinal plants. She has decided to plant trees to improve water flow on her plots, support biodiversity, protect the soil, and produce fruit. Once the project is well underway, she will open to the public to run workshops on the environment and agriculture. Several products will be sold on the farm: dried fruits and plants. She will also gather wild plants to supplement produce from the micro farm.
At the beginning of 2022, she first planted a hedge along the edge of the plot to isolate the site from the impacts of conventional farming methods used by neighbours. She didn’t carry out her entire planting project over the winter of 2021-2022 because she was pregnant. After giving birth to a baby girl, she was able to take over the project again at the end of 2022, planting nine rows of trees on the plots, including pistachio, mulberry, and pomegranate. The planting was done with the help of friends, as well as a planting guide and technical support from A Tree for You partner the French Agroforestry Association (Association Française d’Agroforesterie, AFAF).
Instead of the 33 species initially planned, to date Marion has already planted 63! Such variety will boost biodiversity and diversify Marion’s income. During a follow-up visit in October 2022, recommendations were made to plant in mounds to achieve higher recovery rates. Marion has counted 46 dead plants out of the 524 planted to date. They will be replaced in the autumn of 2023 during the final planting phase.
The causes of death are mainly linked to the successive droughts that have affected planting in this sensitive area. Marion watered the planted trees four times with around ten liters of water per tree during the summer of 2022, which was particularly dry. Further watering is planned for this summer 2023.
Catch up with you in the autumn to plant the final trees!
