Hi, all. Thanks for sharing. I am in the northwest part of CO. Hot summer days, cool nights, cold winters, wind, snow, semi-arid, just under 6000 ft el. I still haven't learned how to do the picture stuff, but enjoyed seeing yours. I've been living in a small house on a small lot in a small town for about 6 years, and have a small food forest started there--in 2012 got my first harvest of Nanking cherries, some currants, and rhubarb., plus buckets of greens to
feed my
chickens and us.
Two years ago I was able to buy a 2-acre parcel two blocks away, where I am starting a market garden. Because the wind carries off any organic matter, mulch, etc I lay down, and the dry air sucks all the moisture out of raised beds, I have been digging out my beds (with help from my sons), 1 to 2 feet deep, and filling them with organic matter, using wood waste in the bottom half, topped with hay, straw, manure, leaves, etc--whatever I can find within a few miles of here. Someday I hope to reach a point where I don't have to import all these things, but the only thing growing on my place (besides what I have planted) is cheat grass, tumbleweed and tumble mustard, prickly pear, baby's breath, crested wheat grass, and rabbitbrush.
The sunken beds seem to be working--last year, even with the drought, I 'only' had to water my beds every other day, and got quite a good crop for brand new garden beds. (I use soaker hoses on a timer, or small sprinklers in the individual beds, also with timers, and only water in the morning or late afternoon, when the sun is lower.)
Wyomiles, that is beautiful country up where you are, and a neat greenhouse. How is it holding out for you in the wind? What did you use for glazing? What kind of fast-growing trees and shrubs did you find to use for windbreaks? We started a windbreak of Goji berries and oaks last year (a
gift from some friends) but are still looking for ideas and sources of things that might survive here long enough to make a difference.
Tipafo, I like your hoop house. It looks like a good spot for it, next to the house. How is the plastic holding up in the wind?
I tried making a hoop house over my tomatoes in the fall. It did give me a bit longer to finish ripening more of them. It even survived part of the winter, so I started to set up cold frames inside. But the latest snowstorm split the plastic down the middle, so now I have an exposed top with snow packed along the sides, keeping the wind from blowing the broken bits into the next county. I think we will try some of that fencing or something to give a little more support so the snow doesn't weigh it down so much.
I do like using newspaper and cardboard in the bottoms of my dug out beds, to maybe slow down the water from disappearing so quickly into the pure sand which makes up my land (I think this area used to be part of a lake bed, and filled up with wind-blown sand etc.)
I am really enjoying reading the various posts and getting acquainted with some of you at Permies, and learning some new ideas to try as I work on developing a more self-reliant life.
djn