Gaines County Texas-Greening my part of the Seminole Draw.

Here is a picture I took at the end of July on the hole dug for the water diversion from septic tank. And front yard Aug 2, 2017 after a rain.  Other then that this year in the front yard I tried growing alot but nothing grew, but at the same time I did the back yard and same stuff and things took off.  Come July I started working nights stepped out around 2 am one morning and realized I had 25 rabbits feeding and then knew why the front didn't take off.  So Currently working on putting a T-Post Fence around this front area.  Though first Two post took my energy.  Going through Rock is a pain.

Great work James. I love seeing how verdant everything appears after the desert rains & around your hand-dug ponds & swales. You really are bringing life back to your plot.
When you mentioned that you were working mostly with hand tools -as opposed to large equipment- in the desert I immediately thought back to the notes I took from Bill Mollison's 1983 Permaculture Design Course:
Observe & Interact
"Page Ranch, University of Arizona: He (Page) brought barren, overgrazed dry prairie farm back to life. He went out during the rain events (about 5 times per year) making small V-shaped marks in the land with a spade (shovel) directing the water down into prairie dog & gopher holes. That resulted in a tremendous germination of gathered seed, some of which they put down in the holes. The prairie dogs had to evacuate the lower levels of their tunnels. His ranch came back into production. It was the only vegetated ranch in the area! He did hundreds of small things on foot. The farm was over a square mile or two, he used only a spade, he moved very little & he was very old. The desert is riddled with holes (eg. Scorpion holes)!
So observations may lead you to small moves which have very large effects over very large areas. I think it is the way that people who don't have a lot of energy [oil] manipulate the environment.
The desert's life is below ground. If you can turn the water down there too. These animals lift the hole slightly up above the flat desert surface, so all you have to do is take a spade and shave it off. Take off the surplus and the water will pour down those holes. Now you've got the water. It can't evaporate & it can't get away from the tree roots. It can only go down there [into the hole]." - Bill Mollison, Permaculture Design Course, 1983

I am working the best I can with the tools,  right now I started working on a t post fence to get it up to keep the rabbits out of the front area where I had planted a lot last year but rabbits decided to eat the fresh sprouts before they had a chance.  At first I was thinking it was a Locust problem, but as you see in the picture above in the area that has a fence to keep rabbits coming from the west side those planted in one month had grown pretty well.  I actually had a bunch of cantaloupe and honey dew that grew along with the sunflowers.  Even with 14 dogs the rabbits are so abundant that many still can get up to the house and feast while by dogs lay around full.  Though driving the first 4 T-Post into the ground took about an hour to pound into the ground so I have my work for me on nearly a 300 foot parameter.

Here is an video I have from October last year with and update after a rain with my new swale I finished with the existing swale from two years ago.  Nice to see how fast a place changes with a basin and swale system to hold back water.


One of my projects I am going to be working on this year is putting up a huge pile of wood and other vegetation brought in from local landscapers in the area on the west side to put up a wind block for this area to help out against our 50-80 mph winds we get.  One more year till I have my truck paid off so maybe I can work a little faster on some other projects but with work the past 6 month taking more of my time that is another thing that keeps me slow going out here.  but nice to say where I have touched things are a whole lot better then what I started with.

Looking good!  We're also seeing an almost miraculous effect from swales and basins.

Well since it hasn't rain in several weeks decided to fill my swales.  Will at it weeded an area for future basin and using the cuttings to cover the newer swale.

Ready for April to get here to be free of truck payments.  Then maybe things will really get going.

Somehow I lost track of this thread. The progress look great!!!

Mike Barkley wrote:Somehow I lost track of this thread. The progress look great!!!

    Part of that is this year I kept being put on night shifts at the jail cause people keep quitting so it seemed more work was jailer and not enough day time to work as I was sleeping most of the summer.  Just hopefully this year will be more productive as I will have more funds available to get some stuff I have in mind worked on.  Only so much one can do alone.

Hey James I found a website from TAMU which might be of use to you.
Outstanding Shrubs for Texas

This can be useful resources to plan wind breaks to conserve water.

Just found this thread, hoping you are still at it! Any updates for 2021?

James, it is great to hear from you. You have come a long way since you first started posting.  You have accomplished a lot!

I love your flowers from April 2019!

Well Last year and this year has been hectic with work as people keep quitting left and right so I been working to much.  That and last July I had a minor tear in a rotator cuff in my arm so I really didn't do much so pretty much doing a catch up on cutting weeds down from last year as some how they grew taller then my cargo container.  Other then that Things are progressing well and have a good supply of logs, wood chips and other organic material three lawn care personnel keep bring out to my place.  It sure has changed over time for sure. as you can see around the house the difference in color around the house

Well still working quit a bit but have things back under control on the growing process.  working full time and doing this alone is a big chore.  But I have gotten the dog pen and pond cleaned up and dug the trench out to where it is now knee deep.  In the two years of towering weeds found a Mulberry tree that has made a home by my home.  In which I need to dig out and relocate as it is up by the house.  Chopped down the weed forest in my septic tank area and western portion near house.  while digging out some of the muck and dug a deeper hole for the start of the dog pond inside the fence.  I do have a friend that has now moved just to the north part of this area so will be figuring out where to design a better yard for it after they finish the construction of RV pad and cover.  Not much can do on this view for it due to leech field but the more west view has plenty of space to do more.  possible figure a pipe to draw water underneath to expand the water around and then make a hundred foot or more swale to have rains help keep it all full as well.

Well Colder weather and Working to much is keeping me from doing what I really want.  But I have moved the Mulberry tree that was planted by a bird on my house the other day and started working on a drainage pond to drain water off my road quicker.

Well I have now dug close to a 50 ft length of the basin that is planned for my driveways mid point basin.  Luckily compared to the basin near my house I am able to dig deeper before hitting my caliche layer.  I also started laying out a section of limbs that will be buried by the dirt that is dug out of area.  It will take me a long time to do this with shovel and pickaxe.

Well between windy days and working I got out the other day to plant some asparagus crowns and was amazed at how well my soil after a few years of turning caliche rocky land has become in this West Texas environment.  I have gone from 1/2 inch of dirt to who knows how deep in caliche to now getting a shovel all the way to the caliche layer now in soil.  I also like that I am seeing earth worms as I was putting in the crowns.

James Everett wrote:Well between windy days and working I got out the other day to plant some asparagus crowns and was amazed at how well my soil after a few years of turning caliche rocky land has become in this West Texas environment.  I have gone from 1/2 inch of dirt to who knows how deep in caliche to now getting a shovel all the way to the caliche layer now in soil.  I also like that I am seeing earth worms as I was putting in the crowns.

I just read your entire thread start to finish. You are doing an incredible job! I’m kinda wondering have you looked for holes to divert water to like a previous poster suggested?

Gierlothnir Wodanson wrote:I just read your entire thread start to finish. You are doing an incredible job! I’m kinda wondering have you looked for holes to divert water to like a previous poster suggested?

As far as the areas I am expanding out from no I have not yet.  The area is around my house near the edge of the draw where almost all the topsoil has be eroded down in to the draw leaving the caliche hardscape that I am chipping away at and building up soil on top of.  the further away from the draw I am getting deeper soil/sands I am seeing the potential for holes to do this in.  Even down in the draw itself I see many holes that I can divert water to as well I am just about 2 years from being debt free to where I can to larger scale project then what I can do alone right now.

Now If I knew of others around the area that was interested in helping that would be good, but for now taking advantage of a few landscapers that have brought several loads of organic material over the past few years that is currently rotting up on the norther part of my land.  Most of the other land that's not in my zone one area at the moment I have been just buying 5 lb bags of seed each year to spread amongst some of the mesquite and other plants quail, dove, rabbits, and other animals have brought in over the years that are already growing.

Well so far another busy month mainly moving around picking up the stuff my dogs have drug around.  I took a short video of the area on the area I have people dropping off organic material.  Other then that seeing what has been coming back alive and getting an idea on what to do next.


just a short video showing how much stuff I need to get moving around my place that keeps piling up.

Edit: My neighbor to my west border has her 13 acres with a trailer on it and small shop up for sale.  I am not sure how much she has it up for but if some one is looking for land in Gaines Co Texas is looking for something to work with.  I will say this though most of it is in the draw and small portion is up out of the draw is where the buildings are.

I was born in Seminole, grew up down the road in Andrews. I just wanted to say how good it is to see someone in that part of the world taking care of the land!
When I was there it was taken for granted and abused by the petroleum companies and status quo agriculture. A strong wind from the north and the sky would turn red with sandstorms from the endless miles of cotton farms up that way.
I know sandstorms still happen but if more people were managing resources like you are doing more sand would stay on the ground.

After reading the whole thread I wanted to suggest a couple of things.

When watching the video of you flushing the sand out of your well I was thinking you might want to think about putting a French drain by your house so water that comes out of or out of the house doesn’t wash away soil under the foundation. It might prevent a costly repair in the long run.

You mentioned the rabbits eating your vegetables. Have you considered making raised planting beds? You could make them high enough to discourage the rabbits, fill them with compost, and put them near the house to block the wind. If you use shade cloth extending from the house blocking about 25% of the sunlight that will help you grow during the hottest part of the summer.

I’ve never tried this one myself (I’m in Florida now) but if you wanted to try growing cool weather crops, like lettuce, you could find salvaged windows to set on top of mounded grow beds. The mounds help regulate the temperature and the glass keeps the critters from eating the crops. But the way the weather fluctuates in that area you would probably have to open the windows when it gets too warm. I don’t know if this idea would be practical for you but I thought I would mention it.

We always grew great tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and melons just 30 miles down the road from where you are. And others in the area grew okra, cantaloupe, peanuts, and black eyed peas. You’re doing great with managing the runoff and greening up the land. If you can outfox the rabbits and grow heat-loving plants you’ll be set!

Kel Rock wrote:After reading the whole thread I wanted to suggest a couple of things.

When watching the video of you flushing the sand out of your well I was thinking you might want to think about putting a French drain by your house so water that comes out of or out of the house doesn’t wash away soil under the foundation. It might prevent a costly repair in the long run.

You mentioned the rabbits eating your vegetables. Have you considered making raised planting beds? You could make them high enough to discourage the rabbits, fill them with compost, and put them near the house to block the wind. If you use shade cloth extending from the house blocking about 25% of the sunlight that will help you grow during the hottest part of the summer.

I’ve never tried this one myself (I’m in Florida now) but if you wanted to try growing cool weather crops, like lettuce, you could find salvaged windows to set on top of mounded grow beds. The mounds help regulate the temperature and the glass keeps the critters from eating the crops. But the way the weather fluctuates in that area you would probably have to open the windows when it gets too warm. I don’t know if this idea would be practical for you but I thought I would mention it.

We always grew great tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and melons just 30 miles down the road from where you are. And others in the area grew okra, cantaloupe, peanuts, and black eyed peas. You’re doing great with managing the runoff and greening up the land. If you can outfox the rabbits and grow heat-loving plants you’ll be set!

The area where I run my sand trap out I have where it fills an 8 foot by 15 foot area that I dig out the sand every so often to relocate for other stuff.  As the water fills up the area I have it drain water out at the other end where it isn't eroding the soil there and it runs into an area I lined up for draining my washing mashing into a basin just outside the house that is an area of 40 foot by 15 foot for a drainage basin off my driveway as well.  I rented an excavator back during thanks giving and finished digging down to before had I was digging out by shovel and pickaxe to the caliche layer to have it dug out and hold a lot of water before emptying out into a 50 foot swale.  

Along with that excavator I did end up digging a few more basins along my drive way and even dug a big trench up hill of the driveway to route water more to a central point of my drive way to cross the water at one of the basins so I have less of a river on my drive when it does rain out here.  I am just ready for a good rain to see it fill up my basins.

Well this morning before the winds picked up I walked another property tour since I last did one in 2016.  I was going to make other videos showing the different areas that I dug out with the excavator that I rented for a week in November 2023,  that will come when the winds are calm enough again.



Update on myself now, I will have more time to work on my land now with a demotion at work.  Nothing I did wrong to get demoted, but need to be home more for my mom.  The week just before the new year we found out that she has stage 4 cancer and lost her job so now she is pretty much stuck here at my home now.  While trying to figure out how to handle all the changes with that I needed to have more time here for her and not have to worry about always being on call every other week and going in all the time for work.  It is such a relief that I don't have to really worry about a phone call from work as a supervisor anymore.  Hopefully with that major change I can do more here on the land on my days off and fix things up for actually growing more food here now and maybe stuff to help my mom get better nutrition.  With the new changes hopefully things will get better where I can eventually stay home with revenue made through other means and have to go work for the county jail anymore.

Over the past few days I have been working on smoothing out the dirt around one of the basins I had dug back in Nov 23.  I am filling it up with water to give an idea where the water level is when it will crest over and flow into a bigger basin on the other side of my drive way.  My plans with the ring around the basin is planting a mix of pollinator plants and dove and quail feed mix.  I am also going to eventually put a few trees around the basin that will provide us food as well.  I have already broadcast some of the seen and now filling in wood chips to cover and help hold in moisture in this dry environment.

After work today I made a video showing the different basins and trench that I dug out with an excavator back in November 2023.  Still a windy sound in video but better then a normal day here in West Texas, all though one day I will get something better to record then my phone.  Now with the rain of may hopefully I will see these fill up.

Just tuned into the section and saw the date of post!  Anything new going on?  Any updates?!  Has it all been smooth sailing?

Michael Shwartz wrote:Just tuned into the section and saw the date of post!  Anything new going on?  Any updates?!  Has it all been smooth sailing?

Mainly waiting on the rains to hit and see the water collection in the new basins I dug back in November.  Haven't really had much rain a sprinkle or two lately but most going around or north of me.  but many of the shrubs and trees are coming back.

Not sure how much rain we got today as my rain gage had a hole so no water in it.  but there was a decent amount of water everywhere.  Seems the drainage trench did help as the driveway wasn't as full with water as normal.  But at least now I see where I need to improve the driveway and the drainage into the basins of it through out the way.

Well we received another .6 inches of rain at the airport just near me so more or less got around the same.  I did get the chance to go out right after to see how the water was collected after the changes that I did last time to see how well the drainage is working.  I even did a video of the collection for reference in later times.  I do like that my driveway is starting to have less water on it after a rain and is being soaked in to the surrounding landscape.   I am ready to see what sort of vegetation will start to take off with all the birds that are starting to come in.