Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Aliza" <realfood@wonderfulfarm.com>]

In my area you can get soaker hose material and make your own soaker design 
instead of using the long hoses.  I strongly prefer soaker hoses too.  Our 
summers are baking with little moisture so I either sprinkle or soak and 
with my heavy clay soaking is the way to go.

Just a thought.

Aliza
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 10:34 AM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Group Encourages Relocalization of Food


> The drip tape thing has been problematic for me. Too slow. Soaker hoses
> seem to put more water where it's needed faster. My main hangup is the
> length of beds. Due to a compound slope I made 3x8 beds to be able to 
> level
> each bed more easily. But soaker hoses are too long for 8' beds. I 
> normally
> water a row of six beds one day, then on to the next row of six and so
> forth to the end of the fenced garden. In that mode I need to distribute
> water evenly to six 3x8 beds at once using a timer, and then move the
> feeder hose to the next row of six beds. And I need to cut my time spent
> watering in order to quadruple production this year, but all the other
> methods I've heard of involve some time. I need to spend the time seeding,
> mulching, transplanting, and harvesting, not watering. No time weeding
> mulched raised beds. And it may take three different markets to unload all
> our produce, which means less time in the garden. Ah, the challenges of a
> semiarid climate ;-)
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>
> On 2/5/2008 at 11:40 AM bruce smith wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > Thanks for all the encouragement.. I just ordered some native edibles for
> > my
> > forest garden project.  Beach Plums, Persimmons, and pawpaw's..
> >
> > I will be taking out some Norway maples in my small woodlot and replacing
> > them with  Shag bark Hickories, and a Black Walnut.. Black walnut will be
> > going at the very Back corner of my lot replacing a dead American Elm..
> > Fully aware of the Black walnuts issues and researching under canopy small
> > trees, shrubs, vines, perennial edibles, and mushrooms that will be
> alright
> > to plant under it.  Any suggestions?
> >
> > I will be planting sekel and a couple other pears within the areas I take
> > out the Norway maples.. Under canopy small trees persimmons, shrub layer
> > beach plums, red currents, service berries, mulched with wood chips.. With
> > Wine cap mushrooms.. Vine may be Grapes and or Sandra Berries..
> >
> > I have a Sloping hillside which is planted on top with Bush cherries and I
>
> > will be putting horse manure and wood chips down soon.  Putting up a small
> > hoop house soon and getting more rain barrels.. Setting up a gravity feed
> > water system seeing I am on a South East running slope.. I will utilized a
> > sears pump to run water to a good size water tank with a tap at the
> bottom.
> > each of the beds will get drip tape added this year..  Equipped with quick
> > disconnects..
> >
> > The celery is up that I seeded and I will be buy onion seed ASAP..
> >
> > The Garlic I planed last fall looks like it is doing well..  The weather
> is
> > mild and then cold and then mild again.. About 43 degrees F today in
> > SouthEastern CT.. zone 7?
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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>
>
>
>
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