Deep planting- What, and how deep

I found some interesting information while researching, only yesterday- apparently, I haven't been planting my corn deep enough to not have to use irrigation where I live. Where I am, near the Bradshaw mountains, is always dry and windy (and this time of year, hot and windy- hot wind sucks) and around June the top 3 or 4 inches of soil become inhospitable to anything other than the nasties that grow deep down into the soil, sometimes several feet. As it turns out, corn can be planted at this depth to directly access this moisture.

The numbers here are from this University of Arizona article I found while looking into Hopi dry farming with the exact thought process of "they did it with no irrigation in drier parts of the state, what am I doing wrong here?" : https://resilience.arizona.edu/news/man-working-sustain-hopi-dry-farming-arizona

And I found that beans are planted also at much lower depths in these soils, from a presentation here: https://sehd.ucdenver.edu/renegalindo/files/2014/10/Dry-Farming-.pdf

So, as an idea for a thread- Any numbers on other crops? Corn, beans, squash and melons are already covered with the above (in case the links get taken down, 6-18" for corn, 3-4" for beans, and 2-4" for squash and melons), but what about other crops grown here? Chiles, tomatoes, cotton, tobacco, and the ever-useful sunflower are the big ones, but any others are incredibly helpful too. Please chime in, even if it's with anecdotal experience- It can't be tested if it can't be known about, so please feel free to infodump here. I love reading permie infodumps anyhow.

I have very little relevant experience (nothing particular with drought-adapted seeds, just pre-soaking & pre-germinating unadapted seeds).

This is really important work, from your first reference:

"Dr. Michael Kototuwa Johnson is a Hopi descendant and practitioner of Native American land practices referred to as dryland farming, a tradition of his people for over two millennia. ..

"Dr. Johnson plants his heritage, arid-adapted seeds as deep as six to 18 inches, depending on the soil moisture left from the winter’s melted snow.

"When Hopi corn germinates, the seed grows a thick root downward, searching for water that lies deeper in the ground, and sends a shoot upward toward the surface.

"These seed adaptations–called elongated epicotyl–are missing in conventional varieties and unique to Hopi corn biodiversity, leading to its resiliency for two millennia."

I have read about the Hopi deep planting methods. If my memory serves well, the practice depends on having the right variety. It will also depend on your exact soil type; a little extra clay or stone can make the practice much less viable.

So you will have to experiment with your own plot and the seeds you can source. You can dig a trench that gets progressively deeper with markers planted along the outside of it indicating depth at each point. Plant your seeds--all sorts that you want to try-- the length of the trench. It won't be long before you'll know exactly what seeds can be planted at which depth.

Just be sure to mulch. It will dramatically improve results.

And let us know!!

From the article it sounds like this method is for Dry Land Farming so unless a person lives in Dry land country with snow this method would not work.

The point of plating deep is to find the moisture left by the melting snow.

Anne Miller wrote:From the article it sounds like this method is for Dry Land Farming so unless a person lives in Dry land country with snow this method would not work.

The point of plating deep is to find the moisture left by the melting snow.

Lucky, not a problem for me! We get both monsoon rains which recharge soil moisture around July and snows which come between January and April for the first parts of the year. I was planning on combining this with other methods, like the monsoon plantings found in O'Odham cultures.

Nathanael Szobody wrote:I have read about the Hopi deep planting methods. If my memory serves well, the practice depends on having the right variety. It will also depend on your exact soil type; a little extra clay or stone can make the practice much less viable.

So you will have to experiment with your own plot and the seeds you can source. You can dig a trench that gets progressively deeper with markers planted along the outside of it indicating depth at each point. Plant your seeds--all sorts that you want to try-- the length of the trench. It won't be long before you'll know exactly what seeds can be planted at which depth.

Just be sure to mulch. It will dramatically improve results.

And let us know!!

I do have some Hopi seeds that we got to grow at one point, being Hopi Blue and not the Hopi White I've found he grows they may have slight differences. I'll have to try that trenching method, as well as individual holes, as I would have to get all the planting done in one day before the soil I'm putting back over them dries out. I don't have much for mulch except rocks, so maybe a stone mulch could work, or maybe a mix of stone and straw. I might also try making some varieties of my own, here, by just planting deeper year after year with things like cotton (it would be lovely to have a fiber source that isn't wool as I'm not sure I could handle sheep on the property I live on currently). Our soils are somewhat silt heavy and sink moisture rapidly, as well as hold on to it well so that isn't a concern for me. And I absolutely will post results when I get them!