Humus well question

Saana Jalimauchi wrote:
Oh my.

I met a new person about...    ...     ...     ...      ....    .... .....

It was soooo clear to me right away that this is something I want to do, to go from wool to sweaters with permaculture natural textiles..! Anyone else had that experience too?[/b][/size]

I don't quite have time to watch the humus well video now, but was trying to describe it to others earlier this week. Anyone want to help me with a rundown?
What good does a humus well do (benefits)? Why should one buy and watch the video? Does it create a warmer micro-climate?

Digging a well or a pond, filling it with humus, or carbon-rich materials that will eventually compost, is that the basic idea? Another form of in-ground water battery?
Do you dig it at an inflection point, or can one go anywhere?
If you've got a very sand/silt soil on a mesa, can you dig a humus well, fill it, and will it benefit the dry landscape around it?

I'd love to know, sooner rather than this summer, as we're currently discussing them here now... thanks, y'all!

Kate McRae wrote:

I don't quite have time to watch the humus well video now, but was trying to describe it to others earlier this week. Anyone want to help me with a rundown?
What good does a humus well do (benefits)? Why should one buy and watch the video? Does it create a warmer micro-climate?

Digging a well or a pond, filling it with humus, or carbon-rich materials that will eventually compost, is that the basic idea? Another form of in-ground water battery?
Do you dig it at an inflection point, or can one go anywhere?
If you've got a very sand/silt soil on a mesa, can you dig a humus well, fill it, and will it benefit the dry landscape around it?

I'd love to know, sooner rather than this summer, as we're currently discussing them here now... thanks, y'all!

A humus well is a great idea and now a reality at Wheaton Labs by Paul, the giant doofus :) It's a simple way to manage water and improve soil on a dry hillside. Here's how it works: within a terraced system, we put down an impermeable layer like plastic or thick clay that water can't get through. This layer ensures the water goes into a trench or outlet we dig.

Layers of organic matter and dirt cover the impermeable layer, and over time, the water and organic matter create a humus-like sponge that stores water underground, which you can use when needed.

The cool thing about this system is that you can build it anywhere, regardless of the geological conditions of the site. If you have bedrock or a natural impermeable layer on a hillside, then the spring terrace by Sepp Holzer is a similar system. This system engineers a spring where there was not a spring before and also creates a very fertile hillside that will keep improving in water retention as the vegetaion and trees grow. The surrounded area will become more humid as well.

If you want to find out more, aside from the movie, there are some plans we did for Low Tech Laboratory 1 that explain both systems in detail: Spring terrace and humus well plans

Alan Booker also did a webinar about it: Alan Booker's Spring Terrace Webinar Recording

And in this movie you can see Eliot building the humus well at Wheaton Labs: Humus Well Movie

Here is an excerpt of the Humus Well Movie that shows a few of the elements of creating it. A few of the most important elements appear to be: leveling with one downhill corner lower to drain the water collected; plastic to collect water before it soaks in to the ground; and a layer of organic matter to help collect the water. Personally, I need to work on my leveling skills.

Tina Wolf wrote:Here is an excerpt of the Humus Well Movie that shows a few of the elements of creating it. A few of the most important elements appear to be: leveling with one downhill corner lower to drain the water collected; plastic to collect water before it soaks in to the ground; and a layer of organic matter to help collect the water. Personally, I need to work on my leveling skills.

Tina, thanks for posting that video!
I understand the concept now - and will watch the full video when I have enough time to really study it.

I would love to do a side by side test with and without a liner.
I get why one is used, but I hypothesize that the carbon would hold a lot of water on its own, especially at a low point in the landscape. In fact, I'm itching to try some on a plateau instead of an inflection point, to see if they'd have a positive effect on the surrounding soil and vegetation. Some friends of mine have soil like that of the lab, but a hectare or so is a big flat open plateau, and they're doing a good job planting a nut/fruit/berry/herb forest on it, in island guilds. But the first years are a struggle for the plants, and I'd love to dig five 500-1000 sq ft ponds, say 7 ft deep or so, fill them with branches, logs, wood chips and biochar, and then see how the surrounding islands of plants do as compared to those without a humus pond (instead of a humus well, I guess).

Oh, the things I will do when I've checked off my current to do list... again, thanks for all responses to my questions!

I think it's the same as sealing a pond...use clay and pack it in. I plan on just packing mine because we have lots of clay and it is almost like a road...the water just sheets off/doesn't percolate down through it.