permaculture

[John Schinnerer <eco_living@yahoo.com>]

Aloha,

> Just a question or two on water management/land grading.

My thoughts are similar to Oz Felix'...I like the planting idea, if you
can find species that handle wet feet and have multiple other functions
useful in your situation.

I'm not clear on how steep your hills/slopes are, but I'd also be
looking at ways to use keyline strategies (long gentle drains, subsoil
ripping if you can access the equipment, etc.) to move water away from
the problem areas before it gets there.  That is, intercept flow as
high as possible and "encourage" it away from the points of
concentration (your boggy hollows) and towards drier areas (typically
ridges, or into ponds to hold it up high for drier times).  

Get Yeomans' keyline book if you haven't already got it, or borrow it -
"Water for Every Farm," P.A. Yeomans.  Rodale Press has it,
http://www.rodale.com/, they've got a toll-free ordering number
somewhere...

Final thought - maybe one or more of the boggy hollows is a pond site? 
I mean, sounds like they're partway there already, if ponds in any of
those places are an advantage rather than disadvantage...?

cheers,


=====
John Schinnerer, MA
--------------------
- Eco-Living -
Cultural & Ecological Designing
Food - Shelter - Community
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net

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