Hey Marjory,
I have a friend who was very excited about using these in southern California, so I did a little research. As usual, a lot of new technologies are overpromoted, with wild claims. This device would definitely help if you have the right climate. In other words, if you have any Summer rain or dew, this box would help collect and release the water over time, plus shade the seedling and conserve the water, acting like a mulch. Unfortunately, many arid climates (especially Mediterranean ones) don't have much Summer rain or dew, so these boxes wouldn't be much better than mulch, or mulch and a tree guard. In my climate (nothern California inland Mediterranean), just spreading oak leaf mulch over grass results in many oak seedlings where none existed before. However, if you are interested in productive fruit or nut trees, just getting a seedling established is only the beginning of your irrigation problems. My climate requires dumping water on the
trees forever if I want a reasonable harvest, something the waterboxx would
provide no help with. You probably know most of this, already, but my friend
didn't.
Rain
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