RE: Converting a swimming pool into a cistern
- Subject: RE: Converting a swimming pool into a cistern
- From: &* <p*@comcast.net>
- Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:00:54 -0700
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For those of you who do not have it, I highly recommend Trevor’s book “Gardens of the Sun.” I think it was the first book I read on gardening in the climate we all share. Very nice read, and great photos.
Karrie Reid
-----Original Message-----
What do I grow in my garden? That’s quite a question. I go about it in a deliberate thoughtful way.
First I grow only things that grow, flower and seed during the rainy season – Autumn, Winter, Spring. I stretch that a bit by including plants that finish active growth before Summer starts – this way I can allow (and am successful with) species, early-flowering and tree peonies, and clematis – esp. viticella and texensis hybrids.
Then I apply rule no.2 : grow plants which have water-storing mechanisms with-in the above rule. All kinds of bulbs – but not summer growing ones; these we grow a few of in pots – liliums, hymenocallis, ismene, hippeastrum, hostas. We grow narcissus, crocus, tulips, hyacinths, babianas, sparaxis – nearly all species or near species hybrids avoiding the risks of hybrids made and selected for European conditions – big, fat ‘Dutch’ tulips and crocus in particular.
Apart from bulbs I look for plants with other water-storage mechanisms in their roots eg Yuccas, and other tubers, rhizomes (plenty of irises inc Tall-Bearded) and corms.
Rule no.3 is choose plants that originate from climate zones similar to your own – approx the Med regions of the world, plus a few experiments from other more extreme summer dry places like western China and the dry monsoon regions of the Himalaya foothills.
Rule no.4 –plants with leaves and stems that store water – succulents of all kinds, esp aloes.
Rule no.5 – plants with other water conserving mechanisms – silvery/ hairy/ glossy/ waxy leaves.
Rule no. 6 – experiment and have fun.
Rule no.7 – if it works plant more of it; if it don’t work don’t do it again – well not more than 3 tries anyway
What to look at of you can’t always have green – form, shape, texture, light reflecting qualities of foliage, branch structure, shadows, silhouettes, interesting rocks, varied ‘paving’ – cobbles, crazy, cracked whatever in some inter-connected variety.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER THE POOR STARVING ARTISTS IN YOU R COMMUNITY WHO MAKE POTS, scrap and found sculptures – or a Rodin or Bullwinkle if you can afford it.
Cheers
Trevor N
From:
owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf Of Ben Wiswall
Hi Trevor, Thanks for fleshing that out: I don't mind if you use metric, I have one of those handy composition notebooks that has all the conversion values on the back cover.
Congratulations on creating a garden fed only with rainwater!
Regarding the monochrome green garden of the Romantics and fertilizer salesman, I actually agree with you, I doubt I would plant such a garden. I do require shade though: unless you're within a mile or so of the Pacific, southern California is HOT! Even plenty of over-watered gardens here are strangely bereft of shade trees: go figure.
However, I have a hard time with the alternatives proposed by most waterwise advocates, nearly all of which have extensive areas of shredded bark mulch. In a wide, casual, country setting, accompanied by large evergreen oaks, a mulched ground with scattered shrubs and perennials can work. In a suburban tract with a homeowners association, it just doesn't. Even when it is permitted, a garden featuring native shrubs in a lot of visible mulch looks dusty and unstructured and rather impoverished when the neighbors all have mown lawns and dead-headed roses.
So, if I forego lawns and roses, I still want a garden that will stand up to the neighbors' well-groomed and flowery yards. For me this means more drought-tolerant plants, and more unusual plants, but planted densely enough to harmonize with the rest of the neighborhood.
Trevor, what do you grow in your garden? If you pass on the green roof and the green floor, what do you have instead? Do you have a gravel lawn beneath Plane trees with a green shrubbery border, as is sometimes seen in southern Europe? Or do you revel in blazing sun? I'd love to see photos if you have any to post. ( I can share photos of our garden, but I'm afraid they feature too much lawn and roses: eventually the lawn will be phased out, but not likely in this year or even next).
Thanks, Ben A-W Simi Valley, CA
From:
Margaret Nottle <margn@internode.on.net> Hi Ben & others who are interested in pool conversions
The pool is 45ft long x 20ft wide x 8ft deep grading to 3 feet. I think/ guess it is about 50,000 gallons – we think in Centimetres and litres so it’s a bit hard for me. It to 3 days and nights to fill when we first filled it with the tap running full bore.
Our garden is almost a half an acre, slight slope to the SW – most exposed to afternoon heat in summer, very shallow slightly acidic sandy loam over fractured shale and quartzite.
No, the gutters go into our two big new rainwater tanks. The s/pool almost fills entirely on what rain gets through the slatted deck that now sits over the old pool hole. I will try to send a photo of what it looks like.
We use a submerged pump permanently in place with a long 1” diameter hose attached. We don’t use an irrigation system but move the hose to flood, pond and soak areas as needed – as I said old trees and our veg patch plus a bit for my greenhouse of Madagascan and South African plants.
I have designed our garden so it gets by with grey water and the above stored water. We do not use potable tap water on the garden except for my wife’s few potted plants on our front porch.
We have switched our psychological and cultural focus from gardening in Spring, Summer and Autumn with a winter rest (the old Anglo-European tradition) to gardening in Autumn, Winter and Spring with a summer rest. That makes sense to us, saves summer work and watering, and is in tune with what happens naturally Down Here. That way we work with our seasons and do not try to fight them.
Philosophically I don’t believe that gardens should be green from top to bottom, front to back, side to side. It’s a concept based on an Arcadian fantasy developed by the Romantic poets and novelists. We shouldn’t expect it; it’s not a real possibility: everything has its season of growth and rest, of green-ness and dormancy or brown-ness. In American terms it’s a bit too Hollywood. Florence Yoch has a lot to answer for. As do American lawn companies, fertilizer companies and chemical companies – those in the UK , Europe and here too, tho’ they are probably all parts of the same few global conglomerates.
All the plants you list would grow well here under our circumstances IF I chose to grow them. I don’t.
Hope this helps.
trevor
From:
owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf Of Ben Wiswall
Hi Trevor, Thanks for the info! It sounds like your climate, with five months of utterly rainless summer, is comparable to southern California . So, I have a few questions. What is the pool's capacity? And how large is your garden? I assume roof gutters now feed the pool/cistern? Do you use a pump to water the garden with a hose, or is it connected to some kind of irrigation system? By late summer the pool is empty: how much of your garden water could realistically be supplied by the pool/cistern alone? If you did rely solely on harvested rainwater, would you have enough water to have a garden with a green roof and a green floor? (For example, Callistemon citrinus and Myoporum parvifolium, or Olea europea and Sedum anglicum, or Rhus lancea and Drosanthemum rosea, etc.?) Those are just my minimum requirements for a mediterranean zone garden: in the true desert, I might tolerate a groundcover of gravel or DG, but not here. If you know, let me know. Thanks, Ben Armentrout-Wiswall Simi Valley , inland southern California
From:
Margaret Nottle <margn@internode.on.net> We did it two years ago. A standard in-ground concrete pool was converted to a cistern of sorts – the affordable sort. We fitted a wooden deck over the top with gaps between the slats so rain can get in; a trapdoor for inspections, access to submersible pump and access to sweep out dirt and leaves etc during late summer when it has run dry. The supporting structure is a framework of water-proof timber. Cost me around $6000 Australian and could be done by any competent wood-structures builder with a helper or two. We use the water ONLY for our garden. To comply with building regulations/ health regs etc to save drinking water we would have to have a sealed pool with guttering from an adjacent garage, it would have to be mosquito proof – absolutely, and the internal support structures would have to be of non-rusting steel fabricated to fit + pump and access point. Our quote from the same builder we used was around $20,000 – hardly economic for us.
As it is the pool/ tank/ cistern doesn’t quite fill over a regular winter – last yr very below average, this yr going above but it is a very handy contributor to keeping established trees and veg garden going through our usual 5 month hot and utterly rainless summer. And we can still add 3 more narrow profile tanks to collect 15,000 litres from our garage. This is my next project – maybe 2011 if I can get my books re-published. It is hard work when you are on a super-pension so DO IT WHILE YOU ARE STILL IN WORK if you can.
Regards
Trevor N.
From:
owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf Of Ben Wiswall
Hi All, Has anyone any experience with converting a swimming pool into a cistern? There was an article about it on a Metropolitan Water District website, and though we don't have a pool, this would make sense for someone who had a pool but didn't really use it. -Ben Armentrout-Wiswall Simi Valley , inland southern California |
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