Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Jun 26, 2007, at 8:18 PM, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:

>  I've never found a necessity for
> 'drenching' the beds.  Oh, that's exactly what I used to do.  What  
> else was I to do?
> The water from the pump was delivering a torrent of water, what was  
> one to do
> with it?  Drench everything, of course.  But when I began to pump  
> water by
> hand, I began to pay much closer attention to how the plants used  
> it (and did a
> lot of reading and research on the subject).   What I used to  
> accomplish with
> 500 gallons of water, I can do with 20 gallons now.

And well done, I say. Feeding your family is number one priority.  
Learning skills that accomplish that is homesteading at its finest.

This subject has possibilities beyond the obvious, water being  
essential. Consider the effects of rain, now a drizzle, now a  
thunderstorm. Consider the soil community. A drought kills or drives  
the gazillion life forms deep into the earth, thereby depriving the  
top soil of their essential work. Consider that a deep well may  
contain lots of dissolved limestone, which initially feeds the soil  
but over the years will poison it. Only shallow surface water and  
rainwater cleanse the topsoil.

As for how one chooses to acquire water, my priority is to always  
have more available than I need. So I am happy to use any gift of  
nature, like a hill behind the garden, or gift of technology, like a  
pump, however powered: electric, solar, ram, bicycle, donkey.  
Heartwood currently uses an electric pump and I am happy with it.  
When there was a leak in the underground pipe and the pump ran  
continuously the electric bill rose only thirty dollars per month.

I am having some thoughts on the interconnection of human efforts. A  
community of ten can certainly do more than ten individuals each  
starting from scratch, and each doing all by hand. If one of the ten  
builds a pump that all can use, then why carry the liquid in a pail  
or use a manual pump? How far one wishes to extend the community is a  
choice. I choose to go as far as it takes to get my abundant water.

One more time, and don't expect me to ever stop: all you wannabes out  
there, remember these water discussions when you are looking for your  
land. Cheap land without abundant water may well become the most  
expensive land you will find. Water is essential. Do not live where  
it is not abundant.