Climate and geology, their influence on Almería agriculture.

Almería has a Mediterranean climate, with pleasant temperatures and low and erratic rainfall. Almeria has the highest number of hours with sun in Spain per year. It is a windy place.

These climatic conditions influence the different kinds of agriculture in the area.

It's an area of contrasts. On the one hand we have desserts and on the other forests and water.

Agriculture by “balates”

Before “balates”

After “balates”

What are the balates?

The terraces are breaking ground on a slope based on vertical walls. These constructions keep rain for watering the plants and for avoiding to lose crops and land.

Types of farming

Depending on the dimensions various crops can be planted:

1000-2000m2: They can grow vegetables and the occasional fruit tree, usually for family use.

2000-5000m2: The area was occupied mostly by fruit trees and some other vegetables. Some of the products were already marketed.

5000-7000m2: As there was enough space fruit trees and vegetables were grown and a small greenhouse was built. All of them can be marketed.

At first these crops were planted directly into the ground without any protection. Later, to protect the crop from the wind, they built up fences with kind of rods around plants. Vines were also used as a roof. From that they began to think of structures to improve crops.

After a few years, in order to grow in all seasons, the first greenhouses were built.These structures are intensive agriculture elements that let us to control the best climatic conditions for growing crops.

Greenhouses

There are different types of greenhouses, but the most widely used in Almería is the traditional one.

Greenhouses have evolved trying to develop ecological agriculture and biological control.

In the 70's there were no greenhouses, but nowadays there are more than 27,000 hectares covered by greenhouses in Almería.

The ground extraction from Las Norias, that was taken to use in greenhouses, was the caused of the appearance of the Wetland "Balsa de El Sapo", a biotope which houses various species of endangered birds, a great example of balance between the enviroment and intensive greenhouse agriculture.

Thank you for your attention!!

Thank you for your attention!!