permaculture

[Elfpermacl@aol.com]

Hi Jeff:

Yes, cacti drop out at about -20 F, a b it warmer than you describe.  Good
ribes climate and there are roses, etc, with agressive root systems that will
hold soil.  I have a database of plants that I did for a slightly moister
climate of the same temperature range in Canada as apart of a design.  I
looked at about 1,000 species in making my selection.  (Includes some
greenhouse species, too, as that was part of the design.)  Email me privately
if you are interested.

Sounds like you are building your wall upside down!  The into-the-bank logs go
ON TOP of the parallel to the bank logs.  Then the weigh of the back fill
pushes the short logs into the bank down and holds the lateral logs in place.
There is no point to doing it the other way.  

If you build it as suggested above, the binding log that goes into the bank
will hold two overlapping laterals as well as one, but with just a bit more
fuss about how you position the binding log.  (otherwise it will rest on only
one log instead of both that overlap.)  Normally, you have the logs that go
into the bank slant back from the edge down a bit, maybe 20 degrees at a wild
guess, so that there is extra weight holding them.  Where logs overlap, the
angle of rest for the binding log is more nearly level, so it pushes on both
laterals about equally.

If that is unclear, let me know and I'll try again.  If you have started your
wall upside down, I recommend that you dig it out and begin over.  It is
important to have the pressure holding the laterals in place.  Withyour
system, they are just balanced there.

For Mother Earth, Dan Hemenway, Yankee Permaculture Publications (since 1982),
Elfin Permaculture workshops, lectures, Permaculture Design Courses,
consulting and permaculture designs (since 1981), and annual correspondence
courses via email.  Copyright, 1998, Dan & Cynthia Hemenway, P.O. Box 52,
Sparr FL 32192 USA  Internships. YankeePerm@aol.com  

We don't have time to rush.

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