Dario Cortese

🚜 Next season, 60% of our sowings at @ortoforesta will be F1 hybrids. This shift from our usual focus follows autumn trials with undeniable results: in our regenerating system, many F1s offered superior uniformity and disease resistance. We must be honest about field data, even when it challenges our ideals. 🧬 F1s are the offspring of two inbred parent lines. This triggers "hybrid vigour", but thi comes at a cost: the offspring won't breed true. ⚠ To produce these hybrids,

A Note on the Scientific Context:   The "Growth Pulse" is a foundational concept in syntropic agriculture, frequently observed by practitioners in diverse contexts. However, the specific chain of events following impulse pruning in agroforestry systems has not yet been confirmed by direct peer-reviewed studies. The following article synthesizes findings from isolated plant physiology and soil science research to propose a theoretical framework that explains these field observ

🗣️ There is a recurring argument in our field that farms relying on WWOOFers or volunteers are undermining the economic stability of professional agriculture. The logic suggests that if a farm cannot afford to pay full wages for every hour of labour, it is a failed business model that shouldn't exist. 💸 I find this critique ironic because it ignores the rigged game we are playing. Industrial agriculture is propped up by massive State subsidies (CAP) and artificially cheap f

🗣️ Lately, within the ecological small-scale farming movement, I have heard efficiency discussed with increasing frequency. Allow me to develop a line of reasoning on this topic. Bear with me, for this is a somewhat lengthy argument. 🏡 Many of us feel that, as smallholders, we struggle to remain economically viable because we lack access to economies of scale. Furthermore, we cannot—or rather, we choose not to—employ shortcuts such as synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, w

I’ve never really understood holidays. The concept just escapes me. Why would one keep all the work to one side of the year and all the...