Living Terraces
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 1:34PM 
In farming environments with slopes, heavy seasonal precipitation, and poor soil structure, there is surface runoff. This runoff is bad because it is a direct loss of water to the plants and furthers soil erosion. By terracing the garden beds, we can combat this problem by creating boundaries where surface water has a place to infiltrate the soil. This will help detain water and allow water to penetrate to deeper plant roots.
Our spin on conventional terracing is to make the terrace walls out of straw bales inoculated with fungal mycelium. The bales are wrapped in burlap to act as a moisture barrier and a small barrier from competitive organisms. The bales are placed like bricks in the desired shape and backfilled with soil. Because of the strength and net like form of fungal mycelium, the mycelium will hold the decomposing straw bales together. Stakes driven vertically into the ground will provide the wall with resistance to soil pressures. The fungal colonies could survive for a couple years depending on decomposition. Eventually, the bales would shrink and lose nutritional content necessary for fungal growth.
The benefits are three fold. First, as the fungi eat the straw bales, they will produce mushrooms for food (once, possibly twice per year). Second, as the fungi break down the bales, the bales become nutrient rich organic matter that can be tilled back into the soil to improve soil quality. Third, these terraces are temporary and movable, so any farmer can change the setup as they need.
This system could vary by region by manipulating the fungal inoculants species, its grown medium (straw, logs, etc.), and what is done with the used substratum. On a farm with livestock, it may be used as food.
Brennan Cassleman and Danny Tappel
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