Agriculture zero¶
Jonathan Minchin
14-16 November 2023
Contents¶
The week we took the Agriculture Zero class with Jonathan we participated in two activities:
Valldaura visit¶
Wednesday 15th November 2023, we met at 10am in the Mundet metro station to begin a little hike through the Collserola Park into Valldaura. Jonathan only gave us 2 instructions:
-
Download the INaturalist app and collect as many species in it as possible.
-
Scream “ecotone!” every time we see a change in a specie, a edge, a transition.
Through the hike we stopped a few times to comment what we were seeing and Jonathan explained many interesting things about the nature that surrounded us and the sites we saw.
When we got to the Valldaura house, we explored it together. We began in the quarantine room (built by MAEBB students from previous years), then we entered the house and met the current MAEBB students. We explored the green house and the carpentry lab and got a bit of an idea of what was going on in Valldaura.
Before lunch, we were asked to help the students with the self-growing food garden, that has been abandoned for so long. We were happy to help and get our hand a bit dirty.
Essential oils experiment¶
On Thursday 16th we did one of two experiments using a traditional alambique to produce essential oil out of the laurel leafs some of our colleagues collected the day before at Valldaura.
1.Fill the vase (bell chamber) with water.
2.Close the tap (matter chamber) and seal it with flour dough.
3.Insert the laurel on the top, inside the matter chamber.
4.Incorporate the hat, or condensation chamber on top of the alambique.
5.Seal the joint between the matter and the condensation chamber with flour again.
6.Screw the cooling coil tube.
7.Fill the cooling chamber with ice.
8.Make the water in the bell chamber boil.
The result from a full bag of laurel leafs was a small portion of laurel essential oil 4.1 i 4.6
→ 
Our colleage Nicoló made a cool video about the process:
Soil analysis¶
Also on Tursday 16th, we split into 4 groups and started anaylizing a type of soil Jonathan gave us. In my case it was soil from Delta de l’Ebre, south Catalunya.
We had 4 ways of analyzing the soil:
1.Texture: we followed the map to determine what kind of soil we were dealing with. In our case it was Loomy Sand.
2.Ph: we measured the Ph of our soil and other parameters with a simple test with color coding.
3.PO4: with the help of a simple test we analyzed a sample of our soil mixed with water to determine the level of PO4.
4.NO3: with the help of a simple test we analyzed a sample of our soil mixed with water to determine the level of NO3.
The final result of our soil is the following:
Reflection¶
My reflection on the Agri Zero seminar reflects a mixed experience. While the topic didn’t fully align with my core interests, I found myself more engaged when the discussion shifted towards rural communities, their connection with nature, and the exploration of ancient methods. These aspects added a layer of relevance and intrigue to the subject matter for me.
However, the broad nature of the class left me wanting more depth in a specific area. It felt like a surface exploration, and I yearn to delve deeper into a particular aspect. Despite the overall general nature of the seminar not resonating with me entirely, I did find pockets of interest that I’m keen to explore further on a more focused level.
One highlight was the visit to Valldaura, where I was captivated by the concept presented. The integration of sustainable practices and the potential for collaboration piqued my interest. I would love to learn more about Valldaura and possibly explore opportunities for collaboration, as the innovative concepts introduced during the visit left a lasting impression on me.