The importance and necessity of water for sustaining life can never be over-stated. In many parts of the world, water is often taken for granted because it is easily accessible in our homes and on our farms. We simply turn a spigot and this priceless life-giving resource flows.
Obviously, water is necessary for our personal consumption and hygiene, but it is also vital for our food supply – growing our crops and tending our livestock. Simply stated, if we are to survive we must carefully conserve and preserve our water.
https://youtu.be/zw7hlEmNyKo
Before you know it, Spring will be here and for many of us our thoughts will turn to planting and gardening. Despite the snow, rain and bitter cold many of us will endure over the coming weeks we start looking ahead to the growing season and how to properly prepare for the growing season.
With many areas out west facing a severe water shortage, gardening might not be on top of everyone’s priority list. Recently, for example, more than 37 million residents in California were asked to restrict their water use due to a four-year historic drought. And it’s not just California. Wide swaths of the western and and southwestern United States are experiencing some degree of drought and water over-use.
It is a growing necessity that we look at ways to better utilize our natural resources – especially water. As we look at an expanding population and potential climate changes, we should be looking at ways to teach people how to grow gardens that use limited resources and still produce healthy crops and increase yields.
Here are a few ideas to consider:
- A wicking bed is a type of garden that thrives in urban environments. It can be built atop trash, and is designed to use minimal water. Take a look at this video…
- Line the bottom of a pallet box with a sheet of builder’s plastic. . Lay a piece of agricultural pipe, the length of the box, on top of the plastic. Attach a standing PVC pipe to one end of the pipe. You’ll pour water into the opening of the PVC every two weeks, essentially using 75 percent less water than a typical water hose method.
- Cut a small drainage hole along one of the sides of the box. Insert small overflow pipe. Fill the box about two-thirds of the way with crushed rock. Lay down a piece of burlap on top of crushed items. Cover the burlap with two feet of dirt. Plant seeds, watch them grow.
- Keyhole gardening was developed in Africa where soil is often poor quality. The garden is relatively simple to build, and nourishes an ample harvest with little waste.
- Build a rock wall circle about six-feet in diameter and three feet tall, creating a notch to access the center. Using sticks or metal wire, create a tower in the center of the circle. Line the inside of the circle wall with cardboard. Fill the section surrounding the tower with compost, paper, and two inches of dirt.
- Fill the tower with kitchen scraps (fruits, vegetables). . Water the tower and surrounding area sparingly. Continue to fill the center tower with kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, etc. Eventually, the nutrients from the compost will filtrate into the dirt, breaking down papers and turning the dirt into high quality. The seeds from scraps will spread and grow.
- Lay newspapers and cardboard over existing grass, covering the area completely. This step will kill the grass by depriving it of sunlight. Throw down mulch — grass clippings, leaves, woodchips — on top of the covered area to keep newspaper and cardboard from blowing away. Wait about a month for grass to fully die and for dirt to absorb paper.
- What you’re left with is mulch and dirt, rich in nutrients. That means your plants will grow faster. Using your hands, dig a hole into the dirt, plant seeds and wait for crops to grow.
Growing your own food can be empowering. Finding the best way to build your garden utilizing minimal resources with greatest yield, is especially rewarding. We encourage you to look for ways to conserve water in the process. The importance of water and dealing with a growing shortage is critical to our survival.
