Sean Eriksen

I learned over the past couple years of experimenting here in central Washington that my soil is relatively sandy, and since we get minimal rainfall in the growing season, the only substantial runoff happens off impermeable surfaces (roofs, roads, etc), so making water catching swales is ineffective for watch catchment purposes. I would plant things in sunken beds to shield from evaporating winds and to take advantage of any small amounts of precipitation, though. For dryer areas like this I would plant within the swale basin, in wetter areas I would plant beyond them, or on top if the water pools up and could cause root suffocation. My 2 cents..

Hey all, I’m near Leavenworth WA and in the process of establishing a food forest of sorts, with various heartnuts, walnuts, apples, pears, almonds, plums, mulberry, currants, gooseberry, and various other native and cultivated edible perennials. What I’m lacking is good sources of nitrogen. I don’t have much access to animal manure currently, and I don’t have any nitrogen fixing plants, other than some volunteer alfalfa.

I’m hesitant to plant a bunch of black locust because I’m on 2.5 acres adjacent to a creek and it would be ideal conditions for them to spread throughout the entire area. Perhaps that’s something I want? Some people in this area frown upon black locust, although I think it has many beneficial properties, and it’s too dry around here for it to really spread like it would in western Washington. But it’s also kinda a thorny struggle when they’re young trees. I could be convinced to try them if someone’s had strong positive opinions about growing them for this application though. But, are there alternatives that might do the nitrogen fixing job just as well? Has anyone tried the native Ceanothus plant interplanted among cultivated trees? Seems a bit rough and hard to maneuver around. How about Siberian Pea Shrub? I’ve tried several times growing those and they don’t seem to grow all that abundantly. Otherwise I’d be leaning towards nitrogen fixing ground cover, which would be some kind of vetch, peas, clover, etc. I’m trying to stay away from annuals for this particular use. Does anyone have any suggestions and experience with this conundrum in this bioregion?

Thanks
-Sean

Thanks for the responses y’all. I’m a little west and uphill from Wenatchee so we get about 20ish inches and more snow. But nonetheless it seems like irrigation for at least a few years with most things will be essential. I shall experiment….

Is it possible to grow fruits, nuts, veggies, and/or grains in central Washington without supplemental irrigation?? I know you can get some established with irrigation, or you can plant native seeds, but has anyone had success actually planting trees/shrubs in this type of climate without the need for supplemental irrigation? Is the idea of a dry food forest possible? How many years after making swales and cover cropping would it take?? Would it all need to be next to a pond or a creek? Or is it even possible?? Or should I just set up drip irrigation to establish things for a couple years before removing the irrigation?? Should I sew cultivated plant seeds and see what can survive?? Should I try it all!?? Probably….

Asking for opinions, insights, and experienced wisdom.

Thanks!

I live in central Washington state, a temperate climate with snowy winters and hot dry up to 100F summers. Sometimes no rain for 3 summer months and the rest of the precipitation is mostly all winter snow aside from occasional drizzles with rare rainstorms. About 25” per year of precipitation. I am building swales across the 2.5 acres with a mattock and shovel.

The greatest philosophical debate within my mind is whether to plant trees and seeds and things on the land uphill of the swale, within the swale, on the berm, or at the downhill base of the berm? So much variety of opinions out there, I’d just like to see what people think for this particular climate.

My goal is zero supplemental irrigation, minimal inputs, play the slow game, and grow high calorie foods.

Looking forward to responses. Thank you in advance.

Hi all, I have high amounts of iron in my well water, including small flakes and sediment. I’ve got a salt-based filter for water entering the house, but I’m looking to set up a drip irrigation system using 1/2” poly tubing. Seems I should get a cleanable mesh filter to install ahead of the drip tubing so it doesn’t quickly clog right? Would probably end up going thru tons of salt if I attached the salt filter to the irrigation system. Maybe? I’ll be drip irrigating about 300 feet of trees/shrubs/annuals in a semi-arid climate. Does anyone have recommendations for filters to use ahead of drip lines in this scenario? I’ve been recommended steel mesh filters that can be removed, cleaned, and reused. Trying to figure out which one would be best.

Thanks,
Sean

Semi arid climate, typical hot drought summers, snowy wet winters. Best techniques of growing most food with minimal irrigation?

Hey y'all. I've got a site in central Washington, about 20" precip per year with most precipitation from October-March consisting of snow, which then melts and the weather turns very hot and dry throughout the summer, including high wildfire risks. The site has a slight slope down toward a creek about 400 feet away. I'm trying to grow fruit/nut/native trees/shrubs and staple vegetables like corn, potatoes, beans, and squash. High calorie foods. But, I want to do it with minimal irrigation, ideally none.

Question is, with this section of land, would you recommend one of the following:

a) rent an expensive excavator, gather tons of logs, and make giant hugelkulturs on contour
b) hand dig swales, fill them up to just about ground level with logs and brush, then cover with soil to act as natural berms, then plant into those with trees/shrubs
b) dig swales on contour, but plant things within the swales rather than on the berms because the climate is so dry and so sunken beds would actually be more beneficial
c) dig swales, plant trees on the downhill slopes of the swales, then with the 15 feet between the swales plant vegetable crops and bite the bullet and run drip irrigation to them
d) dig swales, plant trees on the downhill slopes of the swales, then run chicken/rabbit tractors between the swales until eventually the soil is so rich you can dry farm veggies in between the swales
e) rent expensive excavator, and without previous experience doing so although many hours spent reading and watching youtube videos on the subject, try to dig pond on south side of these hugelkulturs/swales/etc.
f) something else

Open to any and all ideas. Here's a drawing of the landscape. Extra info: I've water dowsed and got readings of potential water underground going through these dotted lines on the land. Previous land owner said they had two water dowsers out who both said there was a large underground spring in that southeastern line specifically. Haven't found much indicator plants for this yet, other than wild ancient apple tree along road that is one of few areas not previously mowed (i've only been here one year). Also, my drinking water is currently heavily filtered due to extreme iron amounts. Having a better source of water is of interest. IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS WHO'S GOT EM??

I live in Central Washington, with very hot dry summers and *usually* very snowy winters, sometimes 10ft total over the winter. Zone 5b or so according to agriculture science folks. I recently bought a 100 year old house that has a fieldstone rock and mortar cellar that's about 7.5-8 feet tall and has a two story stud framed house above it in great disrepair with multiple punched out walls and additions. The cellar stays about a constant 50 degrees and has the typical humid open ground feel. There's a storm cellar type of door leading up to ground level. On the uphill side of the house the rock wall is at ground level (not ideal, since the sill plate has rotted out and was replaced by previous owner), and on the downslope side the rock wall is about 2 feet above grade. The side with the door faces south, the uphill side faces a busy street, and the downhill side faces a creek. On the north side, the outlet plumbing to the septic tank is about 7 feet high on the rock wall. Electricity comes in on the uphill side to a panel that's in the cellar as well. Instead of trying to spend lots of $$ on repairing the house, I'm very inclined to make use of the subterranean thermal properties of the cellar and live somewhat underground. I like the idea of using cob and I like roundwood. Both of which materials I can find within 10 miles, and have experience using.

My rough concept currently is to deconstruct everything down to the foundation, build a short post and beam shed roof a few feet above the top of the foundation, infill the walls with cob,  and somehow insulate the roof ideally without fiberglass.

Big questions, though, are how would I get plumbing drains to travel downhill and out? Would I make a loft that has the bathroom and sink? Should I just make it an entire story on top of the foundation? I've heard cob can be hard to heat and might have condensation issues in cold climate? How steep do i need the roof to be to account for snowload, and if it's so short above the grade then won't it all pile up at the base of the roof? I'll likely dig a swale around the house to help with drainage, but there's minimal signs of any water seeping in to the cellar in past years which is good. And if I try to heat with a rocket mass heater or a wood stove, would you put that in the cellar or on the upper level?

Open to any and all ideas. I think there's ton's of potential to take advantage of a thick stone cellar especially in this climate. Eager to hear if others on here have suggestions. Thank you.

Hi all, I'm creating a public food forest-inspired garden in Central Washington state. (Roughly Zone 6 USDA Hardiness). My largest question is how do I irrigate this thing?? I'll be growing some native plants, but also many fruit trees/shrubs/vines/groundcover/herbs. It's on flat land, we get minimal precipitation in the growing months, and we have access to irrigation canal/city water in abundance. Ideally I could dig swales, and gravity feed or flood the area, but I don't think either of those is possible given the flat and sandy soil. At this point I'm resorting to using drip irrigation on timers. If y'all think this is the best strategy, the second question is, what kind of drip irrigation materials to use? I would ideally create a twisty curvy garden that has more rounded pathways with guilds of plants in between, but that presents a challenge with how to run irrigation lines that way.  The other option is to do relatively straight rows and run irrigation along those. What is everyones thoughts on this, and perhaps what kinds of irrigation materials would you suggest using? Thank you.