It’s funny because if you dip your toes into a lot of blue collar work, you’ll find it still requires (or at least significantly benefits from) college education. I’ve met a few people majoring in landscaping or recreation, there’s a lot of advanced shit to learn. I know I sure as hell couldn’t figure out how to use plants to draw water uphill, but that’s what one of the places I volunteer at is doing with their planting. It’s not just men standing around grunting at each other and doing whatever until it looks decent.
Would you mind explain the water thing, and point me to some sources I could check out? I’m sitting in a drying landscape tasked with distributing the available water, and I’m learning how plants and water interact by watching the landscape directly. I would love to find what others have done so far!
I didn’t forget to follow up on this! Unfortunately the coordinator that was responsible for planning the plant layout is gone visiting home for the next month, and the other coordinator didn’t know as much about it (beyond that the coordinator that sets this up knows a lot about it!). Another volunteer remembered what I was talking about and was able to tell me that they were utilizing both a combination of rocks to slow down the water flow (giving it more time to absorb into the soil) that one of the plants being used is called mule fat (Baccharis salicifolia), and that it’s generally beneficial to plant within what’s known as a “plant guild” of plants that all tend to grow together and serve different functions in the ecosystem.
Sorry I couldn’t get you more info! If you want to wait longer I can follow up with more details once the coordinator that actually planned the layout and everything gets back, but I wanted to go ahead and let you know what I did find out in case that gives you a good jumping off point.
Hi, so many thanks for not forgetting about this - and yes, please, if it’s not too much fuss to ask the other coordinator, I’m interested in more infos about this.
The thing is, there are still people around who are incredulous when it comes to working with plants to move or retain water - it’s seen as somewhat esoteric, not to be taken serious, and ignorance about it is influencing funding decisions. Where I live people believe it only works the other way around: certain plants grow where a certain amount of water exists, and the only way to work with water is mechanically. However from what I can see around me, oaks, willow, ash, and small ground plants work together with sunlight and water to create a moist atmosphere and moist ground in some places, and this changes on bare soil, or burned soil … The function of this whole system is clearly more complex. Please ask your coordinator if any scientific literature about these techniques exists. Thank you for sharing this with me, and thanks for voluteering! Btw I love the name mule fat. My donkeys would love it as well, probably, alas it doesn’t grow here.
Okay, sorry this took so long but I FINALLY managed to meet back up with the guy who’s leading that part of the project and he gave me some resources for you!
Bill Zeedyk - Induced Meandering (book)
Brad Lancaster - Rainwater Harvesting (book and also on YouTube)
Tom Rau - Urban Water Group, he recommended them as a resource but I think this is just LA specific. You might still be able to get ideas from their press releases/promotional stuff
Again, sorry this took so long and I hope this gives you a good jumping off point!
Wow, that is really appreciated! Thank you so much for taking the time and staying on it, from me and the water of my landscape! I’ll check these out, really curious to dive into this. In the meantime I have been exploring the terraces on top of my house and found 5 water places in a landscape that seems completely dry after the hot summer, I’m beyond excited! I have also used natural granite to build a tiny water retention tank to extend the all year running source (just a trickle now, no good rain yet). Now it runs towards the garden lands and creates a moisture deposit closer to the surface that reaches longer into summer. Such good stuff, such low tech. Just me and a ‘sacho’.
The way it was explained to me was that as the plants we’re putting on an incline grow and intertwine their roots, just normal water uptake from the roots closest to the water source (a spillway for us) will result in some water very slowly making its way uphill underground into the surrounding soil, via the roots. And then the next plants closest to the plant closest to the water will start taking up that water, and repeat the process. I have no idea of this is a local adaptation for Southwest US plants or something that all plants everywhere do, I just show up to haul shit around and listen to all the knowledge the project leaders have! If you feel like waiting a week and a half I can ask for more specific resources about it.
Yes, if you can find out more I’d be super excited - successful restoration of sources and watersheds, which trees, any science published around this, or any practical advice.
Thanks for sharing, and thanks for volunteering, sounds like a really cool project!
It’s funny because if you dip your toes into a lot of blue collar work, you’ll find it still requires (or at least significantly benefits from) college education. I’ve met a few people majoring in landscaping or recreation, there’s a lot of advanced shit to learn. I know I sure as hell couldn’t figure out how to use plants to draw water uphill, but that’s what one of the places I volunteer at is doing with their planting. It’s not just men standing around grunting at each other and doing whatever until it looks decent.
Real men dont work at farms, they own farms. Its the farmhands that do the sissy work like plant crops and go to college.
I expect farm owners to use a lot of spreadsheets
You bet your ass they do. Modern farming is a multi-disciplinary gig these days. The average manosphere lunk wouldn’t make it.
Nothing says “feminine” like calloused, working hands and a T-shirt tan from working in the fields all day.
Would you mind explain the water thing, and point me to some sources I could check out? I’m sitting in a drying landscape tasked with distributing the available water, and I’m learning how plants and water interact by watching the landscape directly. I would love to find what others have done so far!
I didn’t forget to follow up on this! Unfortunately the coordinator that was responsible for planning the plant layout is gone visiting home for the next month, and the other coordinator didn’t know as much about it (beyond that the coordinator that sets this up knows a lot about it!). Another volunteer remembered what I was talking about and was able to tell me that they were utilizing both a combination of rocks to slow down the water flow (giving it more time to absorb into the soil) that one of the plants being used is called mule fat (Baccharis salicifolia), and that it’s generally beneficial to plant within what’s known as a “plant guild” of plants that all tend to grow together and serve different functions in the ecosystem.
Sorry I couldn’t get you more info! If you want to wait longer I can follow up with more details once the coordinator that actually planned the layout and everything gets back, but I wanted to go ahead and let you know what I did find out in case that gives you a good jumping off point.
Hi, so many thanks for not forgetting about this - and yes, please, if it’s not too much fuss to ask the other coordinator, I’m interested in more infos about this.
The thing is, there are still people around who are incredulous when it comes to working with plants to move or retain water - it’s seen as somewhat esoteric, not to be taken serious, and ignorance about it is influencing funding decisions. Where I live people believe it only works the other way around: certain plants grow where a certain amount of water exists, and the only way to work with water is mechanically. However from what I can see around me, oaks, willow, ash, and small ground plants work together with sunlight and water to create a moist atmosphere and moist ground in some places, and this changes on bare soil, or burned soil … The function of this whole system is clearly more complex. Please ask your coordinator if any scientific literature about these techniques exists. Thank you for sharing this with me, and thanks for voluteering! Btw I love the name mule fat. My donkeys would love it as well, probably, alas it doesn’t grow here.
Okay, sorry this took so long but I FINALLY managed to meet back up with the guy who’s leading that part of the project and he gave me some resources for you!
Bill Zeedyk - Induced Meandering (book)
Brad Lancaster - Rainwater Harvesting (book and also on YouTube)
Tom Rau - Urban Water Group, he recommended them as a resource but I think this is just LA specific. You might still be able to get ideas from their press releases/promotional stuff
Again, sorry this took so long and I hope this gives you a good jumping off point!
Wow, that is really appreciated! Thank you so much for taking the time and staying on it, from me and the water of my landscape! I’ll check these out, really curious to dive into this. In the meantime I have been exploring the terraces on top of my house and found 5 water places in a landscape that seems completely dry after the hot summer, I’m beyond excited! I have also used natural granite to build a tiny water retention tank to extend the all year running source (just a trickle now, no good rain yet). Now it runs towards the garden lands and creates a moisture deposit closer to the surface that reaches longer into summer. Such good stuff, such low tech. Just me and a ‘sacho’.
I hope you’re able to do something cool with it! Post pics somewhere on solarpunk to show it off when you’re done if you’re comfortable with it 👍
The way it was explained to me was that as the plants we’re putting on an incline grow and intertwine their roots, just normal water uptake from the roots closest to the water source (a spillway for us) will result in some water very slowly making its way uphill underground into the surrounding soil, via the roots. And then the next plants closest to the plant closest to the water will start taking up that water, and repeat the process. I have no idea of this is a local adaptation for Southwest US plants or something that all plants everywhere do, I just show up to haul shit around and listen to all the knowledge the project leaders have! If you feel like waiting a week and a half I can ask for more specific resources about it.
Yes, if you can find out more I’d be super excited - successful restoration of sources and watersheds, which trees, any science published around this, or any practical advice.
Thanks for sharing, and thanks for volunteering, sounds like a really cool project!