al aric

Hello,

First I want to thank you for taking a look at this post.  I'm looking for people in our community that actually have experience in something specific.  I would like to put in an agricultural well for an approximately 10 acre piece of land.  If successful I will scale up for other parcels with improvements.  I completely understand that the type of agriculture on the land can dictate specifications.  The normal ag well scenario is this:  Dig 300' + (in my area), put a high HP pump on top of the well and electricity carries the day.  I'm not looking for that.  I've had multiple ag wells in the past and I'm looking for an alternative.

I'm looking for a situation that has a windmill that pulls up the water and puts it into a storage tank.  I'd like to have multiple options in my set up.  I would like to use gravity for some drip irrigation, I would like to use some sort of pump powered by some alternative energy set up if possible to generate psi for other uses of irrigating other areas.  

The key is this:  I'm willing to set up a wind plus other methods agricultural system that uses a variety of methods.  I'm keeping an open mind to suggestions hence this post.

I'm soliciting opinions from those who have tried this and their successes and not so proud moments.  Some of the specifics I'm looking for are specific brands, specific set ups, cost analysis, etc.  I'm not looking for my question to be answered with a long list of questions.  I think most of you know what I'm talking about there.

So many times  we do our research but it's people selling things and people who actually haven't done what they're talking about.  I'm looking for the veterans.

Thank you

This reply is an answer to a question (above) in the thread if it was addressed to my post:

I want to make it clear that I did not use the word "superior".  That was only used in your question and I want to be sure that the readers of this thread are not reading this believing that I used that word in my reply.  It's important that I make that clarification because the use of that word could be offensive to many and I don't want my post to be "branded" with the use of that word.  Moving on, the stand out portion is the fact that someone had the motivation and fortitude to work 40+ hours while taking a full load in college.  This is (statistically) a very small group of students.  This coupled with the fact that "harder" core subjects were pursued as opposed to the easier subjects adds to the standout qualities of the applicant.  The amount of hard work and dedication that would be needed to do successfully navigate intellectually challenging courses under those conditions would make an applicant a stand-out candidate.  If the question was not referring to my post then I will ask the reader to disregard.

Hello,

I can answer this because I experienced it.  Getting a degree often means getting into debt.  It doesn't have to.  You can work while going to school to earn your degree.  Odds are good you will sleep less.  Odds are good you'll be running from your job(s) to school and you'll be studying off of cards every spare second.  You might even earn dark circles under your eyes.  You may experience fatigue like you've never experienced before.  Odds are good that your significant other will always want more time with you.  If your love is strong amd good your relationship will survive.  If your will is strong  you will endure the misery of working too many hours while taking a full load.  If your character is strong you will graduate with your degree and a high GPA.  

If you decide to take that route, my recommendation is to take the hardest courses you possibly can in your pursuit because the skills will serve you well.  By that I mean math and science based classes related to your pursuit.  Take a good look at Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering.  I've been involved in permaculture and organic gardening for many years.  The classes that look "easier" won't help you nearly as much as getting a solid foundation in the field.  I don't want to make this reply about me and my education, I want to make it helpful to you but believe me when I tell you that solid math and engineering skills married to solid agricultural science are applicable to your area of interest.  

Employment is a tough question.  It's always tempting to take a well paid job offer with excellent benefits from corporations that are in direct opposition to those who practice permaculture. Your desire to pursue that field will be tested and you will discover how loyal you are to the principles of permaculture.  

The degree(s) will give you far better employment opportunities, more credibility when you are giving speeches and advice, and a solid foundation for solving complex problems.  The hard skills will be especially helpful in dealing with water issues.

If you take the time to locate reduced cost colleges and universities and go to those institutions along with working your resume will be very strong.  Can you imagine what it would be like to walk into an job interview and they look at your resume and you show that you worked 40+ hours a week while taking a full load?  I can assure you that you will stand out.  Try to get inside of your potential employers' heads and imagine what they will be thinking while they're looking at the resumes of people who had parents paying the way or people who refused to work during college while accumulating debt.  I'm sure I don't have to connect those dots for you.  

Ultimately the decision is yours but I hope that these words are helpful.

Good luck!

I'll chime in because I really enjoy growing this particular tree.  I've only grown it in very hot (summer) environments (zone 8).  Usually 8b.  Triple digits are the norm in the summer where I have grown them and they have thrived and fruited.  I mention this because there are different types of zone 8 climates with regard the the upper limits of the temperature spectrum.  The zone is designated due to the lower limit of the spectrum.  I can't say for sure why your tree hasn't fruited because of the numerous potential causes.  The video video  earlier in this thread was interesting and cause for concern.  I just can't help but wonder if the summer heat is enough.  Again my response is simply a thought and possibility.  Fertilization also comes to mind, particularly Phosphorous (roots and fruits as they say).  I hope this helps.

I grow a variety of peppers every year (Bell, Jalepeno, Poblano, Anaheim) and I love to eat them all in a variety of situations and for different purposes.  It's hard for me to say one is better than the other because they are used for different reasons.  But to answer your question, the Shishito is a real gem.  It's so mild that I can use it in so many different ways and it's a delight sauteed.  

Hello,

I'm a big fan of white (Dutch) clover for orchards.  It's tough, covers the soil to prevent weeds and provides nutrition.  A side note is that I often seed very "heavy", meaning far more than the recommended amount of seed.  I usually water pretty heavy to keep it going in the summer.  

Of course every cover crop has pros and cons.  I'd ask you to think carefully about alfalfa because it has deep roots and it's a perennial.  By deep I mean several feet deep depending on conditions.  I'm a big fan of alfalfa due to its toughness and many other qualities and I've grown it commercially (a long time ago) but as a deep rooted perennial (think 20+ years often in the right setting) you need to be committed to it.  

I love legumes for cover crops.  I'm also a fan of hairy vetch.  It produces a lot of mass.  It's great to mow that mass and have all of that green chop to feed the soil and provide mulch.  Here's a lot of good info on it:

https://www.sare.org/publications/managing-cover-crops-profitably/legume-cover-crops/hairy-vetch/

If you're planning on mowing it for nutrients for the soil be sure to mow before it flowers because a great deal of the nutrients that would have been in the cut leaves go into flower production and you'll lose those nutrients.  One thing that I do is plant a variety of cover crops in the alley ways (each alley having a different one) and see which perform well in my soil.  Then I start narrowing the list down to see what performs best for my purposes.

I believe comfrey is a must in an orchard and planting it between trees is beneficial for the mining of minerals, green chop and most importantly it's ability to draw pollinators.  It's basically a bee factory.

I hope this helps!

I read a great deal about using conifers for mulch and after doing so I "took a chance" and used them for mulch in a large portion of my garden.  It worked out so well I did it year after year.  My home soil testing didn't detect a change in acidity.  My vegetables loved the mulch to the degree that I made it a habit in my garden.  I've always been one to test and experiment with regard to what I read about in gardening forums.  So often I've been rewarded with results that challenge what's being repeated on various forums.  I'm just chiming in to let you know about my experience but by all means make your own decisions independent of my response.  

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Hi there,

I'm not sure what you want to use the foam concrete for so it's hard to determine the specifications you need.  However you might want to take a look at foam cinder blocks.  They've been around for a long time and they might fit your needs (depending on what you're looking for).  They have a track record that goes back years.

Good luck on your project

I'm only basing this opinion on what I can see and your soil test.  I used to have very similar soil on a farm I owned years ago.  How do you feel about sifting rocks out of your soil?  You won't regret "de-rocking".  It's important.  I used to have a huge farm and we used a "rock picker" on it to great effect.  It was actually a large piece of machinery, pulled by a tractor that sifted rocks out of the soil, sent them to a conveyor belt and left them in rows to be collected and moved out of the farm soil.  I mention this to emphasize how important it is to remove rocks to improve your results.  I'm just tossing out relevant experience to give you a hand.  You'll dread those rocks over time if you don't get rid of them.  The work is hard, slow, and will make you question your wisdom in deciding to grow a garden.  But if you want a garden...

Best of luck with whatever your decide.

It's been fun reading this thread.  I happen to love cats and all of the joy they bring.  Their personalities, quirks, and condescending attitude.  My life would be missing something without them.  Obviously many don't share this opinion.  It seems to me after reading the posts that people are using facts and scenarios about permaculture to make a case for or against cats.  Could you imagine a world in which only the facts ruled?  I'll pass on that dystopia and keep my cats!  This isn't an unbiased opinion.  Just look at my profile picture and you could have saved time by not reading my post :)