Quinta das Abelhas was founded in November 2019 by Marc Leiber to concretize his vision of creating a study and education site for Syntropic agroforestry in the mediterranean climate. It is our main showcase project, where a large part of our practical expertise was developed, and where we offer trainings and workshops, as well as voluntary events for collective planting and management of agroforestry systems.
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The site was mostly composed of a traditional Portuguese oak savana called 'montado' with very large spacing between oak trees. The soils are considered very poor and are granite based, therefor lack a large array of plant nutrients. The site was chosen for it's low fertility and the fact that a common feedback was that it would be impossible to develop a successful fruit bearing agroforest.
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By 2024 we have successfully established eight distinct agroforestry systems, containing around 150,000 trees, that cover a total of three hectares.
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For more information about the project download this PDF:
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The main crops we are cultivating on this site are: Figs, peaches, apricots, almonds, plums, wine and table grapes, mullberries, sweet acorns, citrus, olives, and walnuts. Aside from these we also make an effort to always plant seasonal vegetables and staple foods to feed ourselves on the farm.
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At Quinta das Abelhas we offer seasonal workshops and guided tours
for which you can register at the following pages:
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Below one can find pictures from different moments in time to get an idea of how the project has developed so far.
Quinta das Abelhas
January 2020 (Wet season)
In these images one can see the property as we found it at the beginning of our project before planting anything.
Summer 2020 (Dry season)
With the Agroforestry test field of the farm already planted the usually very dry summer seemed greener than winter and the first harvests give a promising idea of what is still to come.
Winter 2021 (Wet season)
During the winter of 2021 two additional agroforestry plots were installed. This time the already acquired techniques improved the implementations effeciency and results. The already implemented plot continued to be taken care of and produced new vegetables again.
Summer 2021 (Dry season)
With the three Agroforestry test fields already in place this was our greenest and most productive summer yet.
Winter 2022 (Wet season)
The winter of 2022 was the first of two consecutive drought years. Even in the face of lack of rain the installed plantations continued developing well and we realized the implementation of one new field. In this year the change in the soil fertility became very notable as we started having very productive pastures between the tree rows. This had never been the case. In this season we also opened the doors for the very first on farm workshop that was taught by Ernst Götsch and Marc Leiber.
Summer 2022 (Dry season)
The summer of 2022 brought the achievemnt of a number of milestones with it. For the first time we were effectively able to walk in the shade of the trees planted in previous years, some of which by now stood between 2-3m tall. We also started to have first fruit harvests from our trees.
Winter 2023 (Wet season)
The winter of 2023 was one of the most challenging years on site so far. After severe floods in December 2022, and one last rainfall in early January, we experienced no significant rain for the remainder of the season (until October 2023). From January until March we had a total of 26 frost events, 18 of which were consecutive, in which we experienced temperatures of up to -6 degrees celsius. Coupled with a prolonged failure of the irrigation system these unfavorable climatic conditions were also reflected in the development of newly planted plantations where for the first time we experienced lower success rates of plants (60-70% instead of the normal 95+%).
On a positive note, the already established agroforestry systems continued developing very well and for the first time we had to do a heavy coppicing of the emergent trees, pruning them back to a height of three meters. The organic material from the eucalyptus trees was processed into essential oils before being mulched with the fruit trees.
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Summer 2023 (Dry season)
After a very challenging winter we experienced one of the strongest drought summers so far. In spite of this it marked the year where a lot of the fields for the first time began to really take the form of a young forest and completely shift in their presence in the environment.
Autumn 2023
Since so many things happened within the Autumn of 2023 there will a section dedicated to images from this period here. The largest field of Quinta das Abelhas so far was installed within a 5 day planting event where 45000 trees were planted with the help of about 20 people. Immediately after the installation we were blessed with abundant and regular rains that helped all the newly planted plants to grow very well.
Winter 2023 (Wet season)
Contrary to the preceding winter, the winter of 2023 was extremely mild, with abundant and regular rainfall. The humidity and high temperatures in January and February lead to very impressive growth, especially on the newest field. By the end of February fava beans seeded in October were about 2 meters tall. The already older fields also took this chance to finally turn into completely formed young forests.
