Help me get this together: Greening Arco Idaho

Xisca Nicolas wrote:Is is better to concentrate all the good we have, manure and some organic material, in one small plot and then extend little by little when there is some more green production? Or is it better to "dilute" what we have and grow slower but on a larger surface?

Joshua Parke wrote:

Xisca Nicolas wrote:Is is better to concentrate all the good we have, manure and some organic material, in one small plot and then extend little by little when there is some more green production? Or is it better to "dilute" what we have and grow slower but on a larger surface?

In an arid environment with little rainfall such as Arco, it would be wiser to concentrate your efforts/resources and work out from there.  I can't say about the Canary Islands though...I really don't know much about the area.

A bit off topic, but.....I know someone who drank too much and ran off with a military tank, over 30 years ago, and drove it to the top of the Southern Big Butte.  LOL  He would always mention it when we were near it.

I also tend to concentrate instead of sharing, in general.  

John C Daley wrote:

I also tend to concentrate instead of sharing, in general.  

What do you mean by this?
I note some big trees near the house, could arrows of them be planted along the boundaries as wind breaks?

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
I observe goji berries growing feral in the deep desert in Nevada. I observe serviceberries, currents, and chokecherry growing in very dry areas. Nopales and or cactus tunas might grow well in Arco.

Bryant RedHawk wrote:I see donkeys! I love my donkey, she cuts my grass, gives me good fertilizer and she trims some of the fruit trees so I don't have to.

Do you have enough materials (grasses, brush, other good compostable stuff) to get a compost heap going?
If you do just layer those with donkey poop maybe even add any used bedding from your animals (if you have that sort of thing).

Great compost making materials are old hay, straw (mildewed or molded so is unsuitable for animal use can usually be gotten for hauling it off if you ask nicely), animal manures (chicken, donkey, horse, sheep, pig and cow are the prime ones)
soil is also good to add in thin layers when making a compost heap, kitchen scraps that don't go to animals are also good, just be sure to put these right in the center of the heap to keep animals from digging for them.

Once you get compost you are ready to turn it into compost tea so you get the most mileage out of your compost heap. You spray the garden areas first then work on other plots of land you want to build soil on second.
The compost you used to make the tea with is then forked into the soil so the humus and carbon is added to the soil.

Arco is actually a great place to practice permaculture, you will have to work at it, but you will bring life back to the soil, it's just going to take sticking with the soil building for a year or two.
Plants are part of building soil, so what ever will grow now, get it growing then you can chop it and let that material rot on the surface, it will leak down into the soil as it rots and that brings more microbiology to play.
mushroom slurries are also a great thing to pour on your gardens, any soil you want to make better, this is one of the keys to building superior soil that grows anything bigger and adds nutrition value too.

Have you read my soil threads? they are listed in the wiki, there is lots of information that will help you there too.
Don't forget that you can also ask me direct I'm around most days for at least a couple of hours.

Redhawk

I am not sure how you collect compost tea from a pile of compost on the ground...  

Sarah Koster wrote:Looks pretty flat.... would building swales help with breaking wind/retaining water?

Xisca Nicolas wrote:

Sarah Koster wrote:
Then you mentionned your dog un-gardening your stuff... and that is ok to fence trees and bushes, it is a pity to loose work from the dog.

We are overwhelmed with voles and mice! They are digging around all of our new planted trees and bushes as well as our garden spots and our pup is digging to get them... but in the act of trying to protect us from the voles and mice, he continues to dig up my young Nanking cherry bush... he has even taken to enjoy nibbling on the cherries right off the bush! I will need to figure out how to protect all of our new plants from the voles, mice and our puppy!!
Meanwhile... I just keep replanting that very resilient cherry bush and hopeful that this little bush holds it's course in resilience!

Sarah Koster wrote:Looks pretty flat.... would building swales help with breaking wind/retaining water?

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
I observe goji berries growing feral in the deep desert in Nevada. I observe serviceberries, currents, and chokecherry growing in very dry areas. Nopales and or cactus tunas might grow well in Arco.

Dina Johnson wrote:I am trying to understand how swales would be helpful...

Xisca Nicolas wrote:In the dryland website, i pointed to a pic that showed "flat swales" and you can locate this where it does not bother.

Children need to learn things about nature, and even to look and be careful, so if you locate your nopal not too near the house and get some mesh.... be careful also that animals love eating them! They are wonderful food, both nopal and fruits, and good source of compost.

Use mesh on the ground for unabling the dog to dig! All around the trees...

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:To follow up, here's where some swales might be placed (the white lines).

The yellow line is drawn from the highest point on the property to the lowest, The graph below the satellite image shows an elevation profile for that yellow line. Average slope is 2%.