Growing corn in drylands

I would like to add my experience here.

I did a LOT of research on dry farming in the West. I was basically told that dry farming was impossible, especially with corn. All the local "experts" said it was not possible. That really irked me, because the local indians use to grow maze, pumpkins and beans\peas here no problem. If they could do it, why can't I?

So in my research, I ran across the writings of a Mormon Professor out of Utah. His name was John A. Widtsoe and his book is called: "Dry-Farming: A System of Agriculture for Countries Under a Low Rainfall." You can print\read the book for free, but in a nutshell, he explains that most desert soils have a LOT to offer. They are EXCELLENT moisture retainers, high in fertility and have the amazing ability for water to cling to the microscopic particles in the soils. He explains that Western soil is NOT what you see on the surface, (hot, sunbaked, brick like soil) but what's about two inches down that is truly amazing.

I then researched how it was that local Indians grew corn- and was amazed. (No pun intended.) The locals use to grow in arroyos where the water would fan out after coming down a mountain side thunderstorm. They would plant incredibly deep- up to 18 inches!!! This ensured access to what I dubbed, "Widtsoe's Water Vault." They would get HUGE harvests this way and often had no need to grow again for several years.

The other locals, the Apaches, would grow near a water source such as a creek or spring. They would shape their growing beds into squares, looking very much like waffles. They they would go round with a simple bucket and water each square in the morning before going hunting or visiting the neighbors, etc. (The Apache were never as evil as Hollywood made them out to be. Only a minority were truly interested in warfare, torture, etc. Instead they really did want peace and to be left alone.) That water would pool a bit at the surface and slowly work it's way down into the soil. The result was crops that could go a whole week in the hot summers with no more water. (Maybe longer- I never did try to push the envelope.)

So I combined both schools of thought with a bend towards automated harvesting, and created deep trenches. I went about four inches down and simply carved a straight line trench out of the moist soil in late winter. Then I would plant my corn four inches deep. (The farmers here in North Dakota freak out at that. They claim it would never germinate, but nobody here has tried it more than two inches deep, so how can they know?) So that meant the roots were eight inches deep on my corn. At that depth, the ground is ALWAYS moist and due to Widtsoe's hydrostatic tension principals, will wick moisture in both directions! So when it did rain, the trench filled with water and concentrated moisture at the corn's root system. When the sun dried out all the surface water, only the crust forms a dry, hard barrier. That barrier is like a vault door- it won't let moisture pass in either direction except under specific situations. It takes the concentrated moisture of the trench system to soften the barrier enough for water to pass downward. However once the moisture is down there, the soil forms it's own "skin," preventing moisture loss due to sun and heat. (Incidentally, the same concept causes flash flooding in the West.) But now the corn has access to deep deposits of moisture. As it uses the moisture in the soil, the ground wicks water from down below. It really is amazing.

So I would like to offer this same concept to those living in hot drylands. We may not need the wood or the organic matter. We may only need the understanding of the locals to do what the Indians did and take advantage of Widtsoe's water vault concept.

Makes total sense too. The local vegetation has tap roots from three to six feet long!

I would love to work with some desert dwellers to prove out my results! So if you want to try, then hit me back and I will do everything I can to help. I have a brief document that outlines the concept that I made in a grant proposal for the Arizona Grains Research Council. In it, I explain the concepts and the practicalities of it. Anyone is welcome to it.

Also, it works great in regular climates too! I tried it in my North Dakota garden last year- had a full crop of corn. All the local farmers got a shriveled crop last year- too dry.

Jeff

Forgot to mention, the trench system blocks wind evaporation too! I do hope I can get a few people to verify the concept. Would love to present it to USDA and others for use in Africa and other places where poverty is high and food is scarce. But I need proof it will work in various desert climates\soils.

Jeff, can you link to your sources? Like, about how the Natives used to grow their maize there. I'd be curious to see what you found, specifically.

James,

I will be happy to post what I created for the Arizona Grain Council while applying for a grant. That should allow you to find the resources I used to piece the concept together. The AGC was to offer me a grant to further improve the methods used, especially to develop no till tractor tooling that could be used to carve the trenches with minimal disturbance of the soil.

About 75% of what I gleaned, came from the 1911 Department of Agriculture study of New Mexico Indian pueblos corn growing methods. Further, there are some low grade photos in the report showing their methods, including the planting stick that they would use to punch a whole up to 18 inches deep in the desert floor. It further documents that they would place up to a dozen corn seeds into the hole. Lastly, the study documents the huge quantities of corn harvested using this method.

The other 25% was from Widtsoe's book, "A System of Dry Farming for Countries Under Low Rainfall" In the book, Widtsoe documents the physical principals of Western soil and hydrostatic tension that the Indians used in their planting methods. I then developed the trenching method combing those methods into a concept that works with mechanized farming.

Lastly, I am not sure where I found the bit about the Apache Indians using waffles, but I remember being struck with the idea of combing all three disciplines into one method as soon as I saw the Apache waffles. Sort of all came together in my head right there, in a form that could be used with mechanized farming methods. The advantages are manyfold, even where moisture is not scarce. I found that one could apply fertilizers and mineral treatments in vastly smaller quantities, because they only go directly to the plant and not the entire ground. Simply add the fertilizers to The trench concentrates them upon the crop, not upon the spaces inbetween. Weeds are not a problem then, as the crops grow so fast, they choke out the weeds in no time. I had no pests to deal with in the desert either, other than a slightly annoying moth that would attack maybe one ear out of 50 with a huge green caterpillar. Fixed that using a natural pesticide from the Neem tree grown in India. I never got corn rust, smut or so many other of the pests that must be sprayed against. Corn is just not natural to the desert- so there are very few pest species. Combine that with the cheap nature of land in the worlds deserts, and one potential has a farming revolution on their hands!

Let me conjure up my copy of the grant proposal and a link to both sources in my next post.

Jeff

Sorry it was not the 1911 Department of Agriculture study, but the 1918 Department of Agriculture study that documents multiple corn growing methods of the "Corn Cultures of the West." One of those methods is the Hopi method, whereby long sticks were used to plant corn bushes in arroyos that would collect summer thunderstorm water, as well as trap that water via Widtsoe's understanding of the hydrostatic tensions of Western soils.

Search the following text string and you will find multiple copies of the study: Yearbook of the U.S. Department of Agriculture- 1918

I took only the Apache and Hopi methods from the study and combined them into one, but there is a treasure trove of understanding in the report of how Indians all over the West dealt with the challenges of Western seasons and soils. The Department realized that this unique form of agriculture was dying- the children of the Indians wanted to be modern farmers or live in the cities. It did not help that the Indians were treated as children and given their food by the government. Truly this was more damaging to the Indians than relocations, forced marches, and reservations- combined. When someone else feeds you, you become a dependent, rather than a people. Look at the photos and you will see only old men and women- no youth.

Yet the Indian mind is so sharp, it was able to divine the very nature of nature itself- and live by it. It truly goes to show that the human mind, across all cultures, is a marvelous thing. Further that science has always been with man, that is to say science in it's purest form. Observation, hypothesis and experimentation to prove out theory. Indians did not call it science, but science it was nonetheless.

Mr. Widtsoe's book is available free as well. Just search the following text string: John A. Widtsoe & Dry Farming - A System of Agriculture for Countries Under Low Rainfall

There are multiple copies for free. Project Gutenberg is where I got my copy from. I printed it out and it's always by my desk. Truly a great read for ANYONE wishing to understand how water and soil work together- regardless of their locations in the world.

Lastly, if you implement any of these methods PLEASE do keep me informed! I seek to teach but also to learn from others and their experiments with the trench methods I developed. I feel like this method is still in its infancy. I was interrupted before I could develop the tooling by an economic downfall. Any help and thought is welcome. I did design a very simple tool, should anyone desire to test it with modern tractors and machinery. I offer everything freely- one should never profit from the basic human right to eat the bread of life from their own hands.

Attachment should be here on the post, let me know if you can't see it or download and I will be happy to email it to you. It's only nine pages long, a true record in brevity for me!

Jeff

Jeff Rash wrote:Mr. Widtsoe's book is available free as well. Just search the following text string: John A. Widtsoe & Dry Farming - A System of Agriculture for Countries Under Low Rainfall [...] Lastly, if you implement any of these methods PLEASE do keep me informed!

John A Widtsoe was the director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Utah State Agricultural College. He later became an apostle of the Mormon church. To those not familiar with the culture of this area, holding both of those posts makes him one of the most influential men that has lived in the Rocky Mountains. His methods of dryland farming were widely adopted during his lifetime, and are still being practiced by the great-great grandchildren of the farmers that adopted his recommendations.

As a beekeeper, I love dryland alfalfa, because the second (or third) crop might not get harvested so the plants bloom and bloom until killed by frost.

Joseph,

He was truly a brilliant man and called out the future need for dry farming in semi-arid and arid lands. He thought it would happen closer to his own time, but modern transportation and yield enhancing chemicals set his predictions back in time and scale. Now with food stocks stressed to the limit by the rise of the Chinese consumers desire for luxury meats, arid lands look more and more attractive. Throw atop that the use of corn for fuels and one can see the people of the earth hanging by threads. (The Chinese have a HUGE appetite for pork and buy nearly all their feed stocks from here in North Dakota and the general region. Pork thrives on corn and so does ethanol.)

His predictions that the Western dry farmer (and other arid farmers the world over) would come to prominence has come true a 100 years later. Desert dwellers are learning how to make a profit from food grown using DRY farming methods on their land. I really see this as the path to freedom for many economically depressed peoples the world over that live in arid climates.

My greatest hope is that many who now live in true poverty across the globe can take their desert lands and raise their own foods- while not harming their lands with our "modern" farming methods. Land and self sufficiency in food IS the very basis of freedom. America was a farming nation at the time of our separation from England and the Founders envisioned a nation of free and prosperous farmers. This should be the goal of our Western governments foreign aid, rather than generating dependencies upon handouts.

I believe it is a fundamental right of mankind to eat the bread of his own hands and that when you do, your are truly heading in the direction of freedom. If you look at suppressed populations and radicalized societies, they are nearly ALWAYS forced to turn to their masters for the bread of life- and they must tow the ideological line if they wish to be fed. Freeing them with food then, should be a goal we pursue as a world.

Sorry, food and its production by the individual and by families is something I get passionate about. Please don't let that take from the genius that was and is Mr. Widtsoe and his amazing insights.

Jeff

The people in my village have been dry farming for 154 years. I estimate that only about 1/3 of our cropland is irrigated. Without irrigation we can grow small grains or forage. It has been our experience that those are not crops that convert a poor farmer into a middle-class farmer. The farmers with access to irrigation can grow corn, vegetables, and fruits. Grain and forage crops yield about 3X more on irrigated land than they do dry farmed. We run cattle or sheep on the badlands that are too steep or rough for farming. The land used for animals is greater than our cropland. Last I checked it cost 800 dozen ears of corn to pay the property taxes on my farm... Seems to me like it's the taxes that keep poor farmers down.

Fascinating! I wonder if, instead of the obviously failing hugelkultur method in the ever-dry and rough (grazed) Israeli land, I should experiment with planting 3 correlating plants inside holes, as well. There is activity inside the ground, as noted. Plenty even, we got moles!

I've noticed before, though, that often when I put seeds inside the ground, bugs will get at them. Did any of your research mention how the natives faced the voracious bugs, Jeff? Or did they just sow plentifully enough, so that enough seed caught?

Yes, when it is dry, lezards eat ALL what goes out green and tender.
At a small scale, we all put plastic bottles around seeds places and little seedlings...

What is so special there in the hot desert?
Here it grows with little water because it is NOT HOT.
But I do not see any humidity underground. Appart from irrigating of course.

What about the crust you mention?
I have heard so much that you have to brake that crust, because it facilitate evaporation, and you say the reverse here.
Might it depends on the quality of the soil?

I will be honest James, I had a heck of a time with pests until I learned to work with the moisture cycles. It was three to four years before I understood and began to work with my local moisture cycles.

You see at first, I followed the directions on the corn packets, which told me when to plant in my "zone." This was total disaster as the rats and mice ate the corn as it was emerging. I came out one morning to see my corn emerging from the ground, about an inch tall, only to return the next morning to find it eaten to the ground. It would make one last valiant attempt for emergence- and the rats would return again. Not one corn plant made it that first year. But I found the concept so intriguing, that I just had to know how the Indians outsmarted the rats. I realized what was happening is that the rats (desert rats) and mice were eating the corn shoots for their moisture- not their calorie content.

Understanding that it was moisture the pests were after, I did some more research into when the Indians planted, for they certainly had no issues with their harvests! Turned out I was planting far too late. The rats and mice were starving for moisture at that point and would eat any green thing they could find.

Next time I planted in late March, with emergence in early to mid April. This is exactly the same time as the Spring rains and there's lots of moisture for the rats and mice from other sources. They actually don't seem to bother the corn in the least at this time of year, apparently it's not a prefered crop for them.

All deserts with the exception of maybe the most harsh, have some sort of moisture cycle. In Arizona, we can get quite a bit of rain, but it all comes in droves- then waits another nine months before raining again!

I suspect Israel and the surrounding regions are much the same. If I were going to teach you to use this method, I would first test your moisture vault during the driest months, (most likely now) by digging a hole. Odds are good the top is like digging through concrete, but somewhere between two to four inches, you will will suddenly notice a difference in the earth. It will become far softer, cooler and loose. The hard soil is the vault door and the soft soil is the moisture vault. You want to plant down to this level, so the roots will always have a moisture source. I find that a four inch trench depth along with a two inch corn planting in the lowest part of the trench, seems to be a near universal.

I would start small scale, maybe four trenches six feet or so in length. They can be made by hand if they are not longer than six feet. Dig down about four inches, then plant your seed two inches deep in the middle of the trench. I actually found the corn grew better if each seed was planted six inches from the other. I thought such a method would stress the moisture vault too much, but I was looking for limits anyway. The serendipitous surprise was that closer plantings cause each seed to grow faster. I suspect that each plant is much like the average person and very much wants to keep up with the Jones's! I also noticed, though I can't prove it, that the corn took on a symbiotic nature when planted this close. It seemed to grow as one, pollinate as one and bare fruit as one. How a simple corn plant knows what it's neighbors are up to is beyond me, but I am convinced that they do! So while it sounds like it's a great way to stress the plants and the soil, they actually grow far better close together at a six inches apart, than a foot or eight inches. (Tried both of those too, not as good a result as six inches apart.) The other thing I noticed, to my amazement, was that denser corn creates it's own atmosphere! My dogs first clued me to this, when they would disappear into the fields during the hottest part of the day. They would emergence later, not panting or thirsty and looking well rested. Puzzled, I crawled in with one and sat down. WOW, was I shocked! Had to be 70 degrees Fahrenheit with about 60% humidity! (At a typical daytime temperature of 110 Fahrenheit.) It was a literal oasis in the middle of one of the most brutal deserts known to man. So pack the corn in tight and don't worry about overcrowding. Corn likes it's neighbors. This is born out by my observations here in North Dakota. Farmers corn fields are always stunted around the edges. But one level in, the corn thrives.

I would suspect that the traditional Indian planting date of April 15th is a near universal. All frost is gone by that time in deserts, (usually) and it is a peak "wet time" for most deserts and semi-arid lands.

Another tip on keeping corn from pests is the use of what I call "corn dogs." I had five dogs during this time. (My wife is a serial rescuer, lol) They worked as a team to keep the corn pest free. They naturally love to hunt and any four legged pest deciding it wanted my corn risked its life running the gauntlet of my "corn dogs." Best breed so far was and is a Springer Spaniel. Wonderful dog, she would hunt all day in the hot sun, flopping into a pool of water for about 60 seconds and then back on it. All the other dogs would watch her from the corn field, then jump up and pursue whatever she had scared up. (She use to point grasshoppers too- wish I had a video!)

The small loss in crushed corn was minor. The dogs seem to stay atop the mounds, avoiding the trenches. Only a few corn stalks were ever destroyed- certainly worth it for day and night pest control. Even had a dog that ate rattlesnakes. He was immune to their venom after his second bite. Each dog had a "snake bark" that was a call to the "Guy" the "snake killer." Guy would come running to that bark. Before I could even realize what was happening, he was there and engaging in combat with rattle snakes. (We had really nasty Mohave Greens by the way.) He would grab the snake mid section, thrash his head back and forth with the snake in his mouth and then fling the snake 15 feet or more in the air. He would then run like hell! The poor snake would come down in pile, too stunned to defend itself. Guy was then all over it.

It's truly amazing how all these disparate intelligences come together on a farm. There is a rhythm, an unspoken understanding, a collective intelligence if you will that all starts with an understanding of the land, the weather and the natural cycles. It was a great time and place and I hope to return to it sooner, rather than later.

Jeff

Pffff Frost. Over here? Nope. The Mediterranean sea is too close.

Actually, a lot of plants I seed seem to die either before shooting out - seeds eaten by bugs, or when young - roots eaten by bugs! It might be more of a local thing to my region, but maybe it's still a cycles issue. That's a fascinating way to look at it. Just seed some every month, and see which month takes the best.

Sadly, instead of becoming better plant growers, cultures over here just focused more on grazing sheep and goats. I love my cheese, but it's just no excuse. Not to mention the grazing doesn't let any cultured plant take. o-O Only the wild herbs and grains seem to be hardy enough.

James,

If you are lucky enough to have a year round growing season, then all you really need to do is establish your moisture cycles. That's not hard to do. Look up the areas average rainfall by month from the internet. In your case, you are looking for a 90 day window in which moisture is at it's peak in rainfall. Plant at the start of the cycle and plant in a four inch trench, with the seed around two to four inches deep and you should see good results.

If the corn does become stressed for moisture, your watering needs are dramatically reduced because you only need to water in the trenches, not the entire field. A fraction of water normally used in agriculture will be easily sufficient for the corn.

Consider growing corn silage for the sheep and goats thereabouts. It super easy to do, you have a built in local feed market, corn silage requires no added yeast or bacteria and it lasts for years if properly stored. Plus, you have no shipping costs. Alternatively, you can have the sheep and goats graze the field after you harvest. You have no stubble to deal with, nothing to burn, (hate when the farmers here do that! Why not just plow it back in? Plus it stinks to high heaven of ammonium nitrate they use for fertilizers here!) and you get free manure to enrich the soil.

I think you are on the right track. I want to encourage you to start small, observe what happens and expect failure. In fact, you should be joyous at failure, because that's what leads you to an understanding of how best to work with the nature of your soils.

Lastly, don't be surprised if you suddenly find the nature of the earth in your area changing. There's something weird about working with nature, something that can't be proven, though many farmers know it instinctively. The land becomes a friend almost, as if it tries to work with you. You will notice a sharp reduction in pests and other ailments, once you bring your methods inline. Pests seem to love it when things are out of balance and tend to disappear or sharply reduce once things are in alignment.

Avoid plowing often, as I found that a really good way to create a lot of dust and disrupt the moisture vault. The only time it's justified in my opinion is when working organic matter into the soil and during peak rains.

I am looking forward to you trying this out James! Be sure to look up monthly rainfalls before you begin and plant at the beginning of the rain cycle.

Jeff

PS, one more thing about corn silage, you don't need a mature crop. Even a crop that's only a 1/4th grown will make for excellent corn silage! So if the rains are light in any given year, you can harvest at any given point- and still make $$$$ from your corn crop as silage. Oh! And don't forget about "corn dogs" and "corn cats!" You would be amazed at how they control pests.

Oh, I won't be doing anything very meaningful, other than tiny research. Israel is notorious for the lack of land availability. There's no option for land here. At all. Nothing. Not even trying anything on public land... no place is untouched. Unless you're inheriting it, which is very rare.

There's only one month in the year where rainfall is at its peak. About January. The rest of the year is strictly dry. No summer rains: (I'm more into the hills, which could go as low as half the rainfall in this chart)
http://en.climate-data.org/location/2900/

Also, the grazing I mentioned is done by regional Arabs. It's not possible for me to own animals... super expensive and bureaucracy. The Arabs have their herds from before the state, so some are still at it. They are let to graze around here, once a year, to trim the herbage. And it's in-season, so anything grown on public land won't make it. All local councils are also bound, by law, to send people with machines to trim everything that wasn't grazed. It's stupid, I know.

Anyhow, I will try these methods on a 1m square plot, just to see how anything catches. Just like I did with my failed hugelkultur bed.

James,

End of October looks like your perfect planting season then. Since you don't get any freezes, you can grow anytime. Corn will be in silks and ears at the peak of your moisture cycle. (That's when corn needs the most water.)

1 Meter is certainly enough area to experiment with. My first patches were about that size. Plus if you have to water it, watering a small plot is far easier.

As to your growing situation, I have heard things are rough, both with land availability and government rules. You are welcome to move to America, we have plenty of desert and the land is "dirt" cheap, so to speak. Places in Kingman AZ are nearly being given away. There was a huge building boom there about 6 years ago. Then the bubble popped and now there are too many houses and nobody to live in them.

Jeff

Ah, on a personal note, I'm actually not welcome to move to America. You guys over there are very unaware of how difficult it is for anyone to move over. o-O It's pretty much impossible, for me. Your gov' won't let me.

I'll try your advice. I'll get a small variety of seeds, and setup for the coming Autumn.