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drought
Mar 23, 2014 20:53:25 GMT -5
Post by steev on Mar 23, 2014 20:53:25 GMT -5
Visited my neighbor (on the West); he's been county supervisor for that area for many years. I gave him a pound of Fagiolina del Trasimeno and he gave me 18 farm-fresh eggs and the poop on that reservoir-to-be; he says it looks like this time (the fourth push for it in the past 60 years) it's gonna happen, but they're building a causeway across the reservoir. Also, he says they've already repaved an alternate route to Hwy 5, such that it only adds 5 minutes compared to the way I'm used to. I forgot to check it out; next week, for sure (unless I forget).
I'm less worried, but I still think that reservoir is a bad idea.
Note: it isn't re-paved, just re-graded and graveled; still mostly a seasonal road.
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drought
Mar 24, 2014 12:52:24 GMT -5
Post by 12540dumont on Mar 24, 2014 12:52:24 GMT -5
You got to have water to put into a reservoir!
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drought
Mar 24, 2014 13:56:40 GMT -5
Post by steev on Mar 24, 2014 13:56:40 GMT -5
I think they expect to stop the Sacramento River at the aquaduct intake; sluuurp! Did I mention that I think it's a stupid idea?
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drought
Mar 24, 2014 17:01:44 GMT -5
Post by oxbowfarm on Mar 24, 2014 17:01:44 GMT -5
"Moreover, the value of surface storage as a replacement for the snowpack is far from certain. If California’s overall climate becomes drier (as predicted by some models, e.g. Barnett,et al., 2008, Cayan, et al., 2009), new surface storage provides little additional water supply because there is less surplus water to store (Tanaka, et al.,2006; Connell, 2009; Madani and Lund,in press). More active coordination between existing surface reservoirs and groundwater basins - with increased drought (over-year) storage kept underground - could augment overall storage capabilities less expensively,especially with climate change (Tanaka, et al., 2006; Connell, 2009)." Myths of California Water - Implications and Reality
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drought
Mar 24, 2014 17:58:56 GMT -5
Post by steev on Mar 24, 2014 17:58:56 GMT -5
Once enough people get invested in a course of action, it becomes very hard to reverse or even deflect. The Charge of the Light Brigade happens with astonishing frequency. Here in California, we're not just re-inventing the wheel, we're proving that lessons learned by the Babylonians about salinification of irrigated desert land are still valid.
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drought
Mar 24, 2014 21:47:46 GMT -5
Post by 12540dumont on Mar 24, 2014 21:47:46 GMT -5
What irritates the 'L out of me (which leaves me as Hoy!) is that around here they just keep building new homes. They are living on "imported water". The Guv has cut off imported water.
Now where in the "Sam 'L" are these folks supposed to get their water?
Keep building, don't worry about water, sewer or roads. We don't need no stinking infrastructure.
More stupidity...gubbermint in action.
Speaking of action, I began a drought plan for the farm.
1. I requested drought tolerant corn from one of the wonderful folks here on HG and he promised to send it right along. 2. I'm planting early. Yeah, the soil is already cracking and looks like Death Valley. 3. I plan to irrigate early and mulch the 'L out of everything. 4. I'm working on intercropping. I'll post some photos of these later. 5. I've fallowing the worst of the farm (the part I have not composted regularly over the last decade). 6. I'm planting more corn and more beans. I believe both of these crops are more amenable to drought. There will be no "spring planted grain". By the way the fall planted grain is abysmal. There's no garlic and no favas. Without the rain to bring them up, it was ugly. In future I'll have to put irrigation in these crops. 7. I still have some of Joseph's beautiful garlic and it's sprouting. I'm going to plant it on a drip line and use green garlic this year. 8. I plan to pull and replant the same beds, as they will still have moisture, vs. starting a new bed. 9. I've reduced the number of customers the farm will support this year. I'm concentrating on better, not more.
And I hope to 'L that it is not going to be a triple digit summer. If it is, I'm throwing in the towel and spending my summer visiting other farms to see how they do things.
And the best news is, tomorrow holds a 70% chance of rain. Yeah hah. Frogs, get your galoshes on.
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drought
Mar 25, 2014 9:55:28 GMT -5
Post by MikeH on Mar 25, 2014 9:55:28 GMT -5
Hi Holly, I'm not sure about the lay of your land and what you may be doing already to capture and store rainwater when you get it so my comments may be redundant. Have you thought about swales/berms on contour to try and capture whatever rain you do get? They're particularly suited to capturing downpours that tend to runoff and redirecting them down into your soil. Also, heavy mulching with ramial wood chips (deciduous not coniferous). The mulch will reduce evaporation and as it breaks down into compost and is drawn down into the soil by wee beasties, the organic matter in the soil will increase making it better able to hold more water. Also, mulching - either living or dead - any land not producing a cash crop. Again, water evaporation reduction and tilth improvement to help with water retention. Regards, Mike
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drought
Mar 25, 2014 10:09:09 GMT -5
Post by nicollas on Mar 25, 2014 10:09:09 GMT -5
Or the Keyline design system to evenly store water in the soil, and create good dams and irrigation system.
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drought
Mar 25, 2014 11:42:52 GMT -5
Post by 12540dumont on Mar 25, 2014 11:42:52 GMT -5
Next year we are going with rain barrels. Leo does a lot of work with swales and berms in his job. My land is all flat, no it's flatter than that. There's nothing to contour. There's not even a keypoint! Years ago the USDA farm conservation thought that we could build a pond and use the water off the roof (when it rains) for ground water recharge. There was only one problem. Ponds here are an "Attractive Nuisance." In California it's now called Foreseeable Danger. So I put in a pond, the neighbor's dog gets in it to have a wee swim, the neighbor's kid tries to get the dog out and drowns. I already have problems with trespassers, 2 leggeds and 4 leggeds. So with the pond also came a fence, which put the whole project out of my budget. plus.google.com/photos/107334638896480841204/albums/5693665014759824577?banner=pwaAt least with rain barrels I can catch the water and pump it to where I need it.
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drought
Mar 25, 2014 13:52:18 GMT -5
Post by richardw on Mar 25, 2014 13:52:18 GMT -5
Oh dear you seem to have similar silly regulations as we do have,here if a land owner has swimming pool at has to be given type of fence at x amount height with lockable gates etc etc,but if its water storage you dont need to fence it,a pond has to be fenced only if the property is under a certain size,but where it gets tricky is where you draw the line as to what is deemed to be a pond and what would be classed as water storage.
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drought
Mar 25, 2014 13:54:25 GMT -5
Post by MikeH on Mar 25, 2014 13:54:25 GMT -5
We use 1000 litre food grade cube tanks to catch water from the roof. They're cheap. For us it's a downhill gravity feed but for you, a towing set up would allow you to move the water to where ever you needed it. The pump could be used not only to water your fields but to transfer water from your stationary tanks to this portable tank and then to stationary tanks in the fields. You'd probably want to build some UV protection onto the aluminum exoskeleton to extend their life. The black tank on the front is part of this particular setup. You'd have a lot simpler setup without it.
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drought
Mar 25, 2014 23:16:21 GMT -5
Post by 12540dumont on Mar 25, 2014 23:16:21 GMT -5
Brilliant. I can't wait for Steev to see this! (And of course the boss....)
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drought
Mar 25, 2014 23:42:52 GMT -5
Post by steev on Mar 25, 2014 23:42:52 GMT -5
Too late; I saw it before you saw me, Holly. I doubt you'd have any use for that without a lot more land.
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drought
Mar 27, 2014 15:08:34 GMT -5
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Mar 27, 2014 15:08:34 GMT -5
I've been trying this technique in the west desert. Problem I'm having with it is that the slopes are so steep (7% to 10%) that the swales fill up with gravel during any significant rain event... Then they become on contour terraces that don't retain much water.
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drought
Mar 27, 2014 19:49:05 GMT -5
Post by MikeH on Mar 27, 2014 19:49:05 GMT -5
I've been trying this technique in the west desert. Problem I'm having with it is that the slopes are so steep (7% to 10%) that the swales fill up with gravel during any significant rain event... Then they become on contour terraces that don't retain much water. What are you trying to accomplish and why?
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