Re: thanks for ideas for sun-blasted parking strip et al.
Joe Seals wrote:
>
> For those of you not familiar with the Santa Maria
> Valley, it is an ancient river bed. Quite a big one
> at that. What's left of the river is a
> trickling-almost-dry arroyo creek that carries water
> during most of the year only when the folks up at the
> damn decide to let it ooze out.
>
> If there ever was an underground aquifer in this area,
> it was sucked dry years ago by the farmers who tend
> thousands of acres of farmland and pastureland that
> cover most of the Valley.
>
> Every bit of my planting has been done in late winter,
> when rains have soaked the ground and continue to wet
> it semi-regularly and when the air is cool. Plants
> establish well, with deep roots. They're further
> helped by the deep, infrequent soakings I give them
> when the rain isn't enough. That's important.
It seems to me Joe that a major factor in your success with your sand is
very much the skill of picking the most favourable time to plant to take
every advantage of the moisture supplied by nature. I have no doubt that
any wild plant in this sort of soil would also most likely succeed if it
picked this favourable moment to get started.
I think we who do much of our growing in fat organically-enhanced soils
where one can grow anyhing more or less to order are in serious danger
of losing touch with such skills.
Moira
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata (near Wellington, capital city of New Zealand)
