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Terracing (was 'How much water...')

>From: Eric Rowe/Fr <E_Rowe@compuserve.com>
>Subject: Re: How much water...
>Sender: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
>Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 12:41:20 -0400
>
> > ( since where would all the soil go after terracing?)
> > Anyhow just a thought!
>
> There isn't any soil to spare - you just build your terrace wall and
> fill in from behind.  This means the back of the terrace is is nearly
> down to rock (around here, anyway) and behind the wall is the deepest,
> best earth.
>
> In fact you rarely have enough!!
>
> Eric
> http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/E_Rowe  'Med Wild Flowers for
> Gardens'

I have read this about the steep slopes bordering the Mediterranean
- that there is very little soil of any depth, and the terracing
done by farmers in decades past was as much to create a place to
'build' soil as much as to contain it.

Locally (SF Bay Region), we are generally blessed with clay soils
which can often be quite fertile.  The problem is always 'opening'
them and keeping them from drying into adobe bricks during the long,
hot summer.  In my 20 years of horticulture in this area, I find
permanent mulching the most superior method to satisfy both needs.
The organic material added to the clay makes it very workable, and
being layered on the soil surface saves it from the drying effects
of sun, heat, and wind.  Mike was wise to be concerned about his
slope due to our soil type.  Much of our slopes are comprised of
clays, so 'slumping' and 'slipping' are not uncommon problems.
Occasionally, in certain areas, this can be dramatic (note the
characteristic depression backed by a small 'cliff' and then a
'bulge' below on many of our grassy hillsides - a sign of soil
displacement), but these areas are generally well documented and are
not built upon.  Mike's slope is gentle enough to warrant simplier
treatments, and a successful planting (with a permanent mulch!) will
perhaps do the most to prevent erosion in his case.

 Sean A. O'Hara                     sean.ohara@ucop.edu
 710 Jean Street                    http://www.dla.ucop.edu/sao
 Oakland, California  94610-1459    h o r t u l u s   a p t u s
 (510) 987-0577                     'a garden suited to its purpose'
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