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  • From: Steve Bonney <steve@sustainableearth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Drainage
  • Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:27:12 -0500

I agree about SOM to increase drainage, and also the importance of earthworms to drainage. However, water has to have a place to go. My farm receives an average annual rainfall of 46 inches and even in dry periods, water does not percolate, even through the A horizon which has about 2.5 % SOM. My apple trees are on 18" berms, and when I dug holes for more tree planting in early December, water stood in the holes at the old surface level upon which I built the berms Standing water generates anaerobic conditions. So it is a chicken and egg situation. In order to foster the proper biological activity, the soil must have air in order to build SOM.

I am the product of a PhD program in soils at a land grant (agricultural and mechanical) university, and have always opposed the quick fixes of industrial agriculture -- drainage is one of those. However, in the industrial paradigm, drainage systems are implemented to work the land during wet periods and to increase yields -- with little or no regard for increasing SOM. I know it seems anthropocentric to start moving soil around -- Wendall Berry advises against it -- and I view my farm as a managed ecosystem, but there seems to be no other options for lowering the water table. And I am retaining the water on the farm to grow plants and fish, so it doesn't seem to be a blatant violation of holistic principles.

Steve
Field and Forest Eco-farm
Indiana USA



On 1/2/2012 5:56 AM, Dieter Brand wrote:
Will those with experiences of soil drainage in wet
climates please share those experiences, observations and
advice.
Steve,

I’m in a semi-arid climate. If we do get rain, it is usually between
November and April. In a wet year, some of my fields are water logged for
almost 5 months. In the beginning, I dug some drain channels and even buried
drain pipes and gravel. I will not do that again. The effect was minimal.
I have very heavy clay soil with little OM. That is the reason the soil gets
water logged. The only way to remedy the problem is by increasing SOM – at
least in may case. It takes time, but it is the only sustainable way. A
clay soil rich in humus can absorb huge amounts of water without getting
water logged. It also has good drainage.

Dieter

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--
Steve Bonney
Sustainable Earth
a 501(c)3 not-for-profit membership organization
to promote sustainable farming and food systems





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