On 4/6/2011 7:32 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Apr 6, 8:40 am, (EVP MAN) wrote:
Hi Brooklyn The post hole digger I have will dig to that depth in
less than 5 minutes a hole. It also digs an 8" diameter hole. Most of
the roots on plants I pulled from past seasons ever exceeded more than
about 6" so hopefully they won't become root bound. The reason I call
it an experiment is because this test will only be done on a very small
portion of my plants as I stated, 6-8 plants. My research also shows
that dry farming lends itself extremely well to clay soil which I have.
The clay holds moisture and by withholding some water, you force the
roots to go deeper and also your not washing nutrients from the soil
near as much as normal watering.

Rich

Looking for more comments on "dry farming". Water is so ****ing
expensive here (So Cal coastal) that if I can save a little...! (Of
course I do not water heavily after blooms appear; interested in how
the "dry farming" concept would apply to my area (which is basically a
desert, turned into a megalopolis (sp?) by imported water.

HB


When I lived in Central Texas, I had the best gardens ever once I
figured out drip irrigation. It did take a couple of years for me to
get smart.) I bought commercial farm "drip tape" with built-in emitters
and i built a manifold for it using rigid plastic conduit (because it is
UV stabilized and white PVC pipe is not.) It used very little water,
and the water did not get on the foliage. I was even able to grow beets
and broccoli and other cool-season crops in the 100+ degree summers.

Now I live in Minnesota and have a much smaller garden, and I haven't
figured out how to deal with the short growing seasons, marauding
rabbits, and herbicide drift from the neighbors. Hot dry weather and
bermudagrass were easy. ;-)

-Bob