Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Re: Embankment

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Jeffrey Newman <newman@bcinternet.net>
  • To: permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Embankment
  • Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1998 20:55:49 -0700

Dan,

I knew there was a way to make something that would last! Now I have to
begin. You
will likely hear from me again as I begin something brand new for me. Not
sure how
much I can do before winter sets in. We're having our first frosts and the
snow could
be settling within a a month.

Thanks again.

Jeffrey

Elfpermacl@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 9/25/98 3:50:54 AM, newman@bcinternet.net wrote:
>
> <<Dan (that was your name amidst all the other information?),
>
> Thanks for the specific starting points. It's after midnight and I feel like
> starting
> right away!
>
> My trees/logs are Douglas Fir. Will they last in such a wall?
>
> Jeffrey
>
> Elfpermacl@aol.com wrote:>>
>
> Snip
>
> Yes, I'm Dan.
>
> I have no idea about the rot-rate of Dougas fir. I'm from the East of North
> America. However I am under the impression that you don't have quite the
> problem of wood melting into the ground where Douglas Fir grows as we do
> here
> in Florida, where I live. (Where hickory I cut and stacked just a year ago
> is
> punk at the top of the pile even!)
> You have species of poplar, aspen, that grow with douglas fir if I
> recall
> Ansel Adams photos correctly. These are stolonaceous sprouters, they send
> underground shoots along that sprout up. Cut the main shoot to force more
> suckers. Plant this in the wall as soon as it is constructed and it should
> hold, assuming you have the moisture for aspen. Westerners may have better
> species suggestions. You probably want to mix in some tap rooted species to
> act like giant push-pins to hold the wall in place. I've seen pines in the
> Philippines with the soil eroded around their roots--always an opportunity
> for
> information--that were like this. They go straight down like a crow-bar
> into
> the soil, with an array of powerful radial roots ever yard (meter) or so.
> You
> need something like that if your wood rots fast. If you have a dry climate,
> you wood will last longer but it will be h arder to get stuff established.
> Don't neglect the obvious like agave and cactus if you have a sunny
> exposure
> on the wall. These are good barrier plants, limiting traffic. Depending on
> your minimum temperatures, you might also consider an exotic, Jujube, which
> sends down deep tap roots, forms thickets, is thorny, and produces great
> food
> (not that there's anything but good to say about nopales). A little
> observing, reading, and poking around and you can come up with a good match
> of
> species to make your wall as permanent as anthing can be that is trying to
> simultaneously defy gravity and erosion (*wind AND water). It should last
> longer than you do.



--

*******************************

Jeffrey Newman
My personal web site is at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/5759/

My ICQ number is: 9879310





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page