permaculture

124 Facilitator’s Handbook for Permaculture Workshops

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Presentation : How to use legumes

Method : Facilitator presentation and group brainstorm

Tools : Images that help explain how legumes work

References : PC Book MOD 4 - Healthy Soil

Objective : Participants know how legumes work and how to use them

Nitrogen is an essential element for healthy plants. It also helps fruit production.

Legumes are plants that put nitrogen into the soil. There are many different legumes in

Indonesia, including annuals (complete life cycle in 1 year) and perennials (complete life

cycle in 2 or more years).

How legume plants put nitrogen in the soil

Bacteria in the soil called Rhizobiu attaches itself to legume plant roots which “fixes”

nitrogen from the air into the soil in small storage balls called “nodules”. These nodules:

• Are attached to the plant roots.


• Are the size of match heads or smaller.


• Provide nitrogen for the legume plant.

When legumes die or shed their roots extra nitrogen nodules that the legume plant has

not used goes back into the soil and are available for other plants to use.

The facilitator can encourage a discussion with the participants about:

• Other products legume plants can provide.


• Other functions local legume plants can provide.


• Techniques for using both annual and perennial legumes.

The answers listed below are only supplied as guidelines for the facilitator should the

participants need help or prompting for ideas and discussions.

Besides nitrogen fixing, legumes provide many other products and functions:

• Products - Food, animal fodder, mulch/compost material, timber, firewood, medicine.


• Functions - Windbreaks, living fences, shade trees, trellising.

Annual legumes can be grown together with vegetables, annual crops and with trees.

Techniques for using annual legumes:

• Rotation of crops.


• Green manure crops.


• Annual crop integration.

Perennial legumes can be grown together with annual crops, fruit trees and other trees.

Techniques for using perennial legumes:

• Living fences.


• Legume tree terraces.


• Perennial crop integration.


• Pioneer trees.

See the “Legumes” section in PC Book MOD 4 – Healthy Soil for detailed explanations

of the techniques and other tips about using legumes.