WATER CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT

It is noted that the developed portion of the arable land contains the beginnings of an almost-property-wide natural irrigation system. Already in place are a number of ditches for winter drainage and summer watering. These channels, along with three ponds that are already partially connected, will be worked in to the whole.

For ease of reading about various ponds, this nomenclature will be used-

Pond Name & Location

• Alder Pond - at the main road entrance to the property, expected to access a water source
• Fir Pond - just east of the Alder Pond beside the Fir trio, may access same water source as the Alder Pond
• Plum Pond - where the flowering plum tree grew , with a large island for ducks
• Gate Pond - just east of the two gates at the parking lot , enlarged to mine clay if necessary
• Path Pond - between the stone pathway and chip pathway by the pump house in the garden
• Eucalyptus Pond - in front of the house, main catchment for neighboring hillside winter water
• Chicken Pond - in trees just below the chicken house
• Cress Pond - bottom of the market garden, deep enough to grow water cress, hence its name

As they are not natural (i.e. butyl lined), and not connected to the rest of the water system, the two ponds at the back of the house are not included in this report, except to remark on their value in keeping and making sanctuary for all species.

The "star" of the ponds will be the Alder Pond as it is expected to access underground water. It will be located adjacent to the small grove of alder trees and be approximately 15 x 15 feet in size, or as big as it takes to find the water source and then deep enough so as to perform as a cistern in the driest months of July, August and September. The outlet of the Alder Pond will be on the west side of the pond and will feed a short non linear waterway (ditch) to the Plum Pond.

The Plum Pond will be dug starting where the flowering plum tree is removed (chopped and piled on the berm fence, firewood or specialty wood from the largest pieces) at the road edge. Basically it will run along the edge of the driveway, have a safe island for bird nesting, be wide enough to contribute greatly to the eco-system, be long enough to act as winter run-off catchment, deep enough to act as a cistern to water orchard arboretum trees until they are established, and it will break the flow of water as it adjusts to the fall in the land from the Alder Pond. As you can see, it will be an important pond in the total scheme.

The Fir Pond will be located to the east of Alder pond, and it may access the same underground water system. From this pond a ditch can be dug down the edge of the property to join up with the Chicken Pond. At some point in the future it would be a good idea to add some minor ditches across the field, to meander in and out of the trees in the orchard in order to provide deep watering for the trees, as well as winter drainage.

As the ponds and waterways are dug, surfacing rocks will be removed and kept and used in the landscaping of the waterways. Some rocks will be used to make the rock culvert at the parking lot.

The waterways/ditches leaving the Alder and Fir Ponds will be developed for water purification. It is expected that the water source is relatively close to the surface and be picking up toxic substances from up the hill and neighboring land. This assures clean water for organic farming.

The earth that is removed to make the ponds and ditches will be used to build earth berms, or earth fences, along the waterways. Parts of each pond will be visible to the visitor upon entering the driveway. The ditches themselves will be inside the earth berm.

Landscaping of the earth berms will deliberately discourage deer from climbing to the top to jump over. (Deer won't jump when they can't see where they will arrive - nor cross wire placed flat on the ground.) These earth fences would be seeded with a mixture of buckwheat, phacelia, fall rye, oats, wild flowers and self-seeding annuals, and left to grow with the grasses being discouraged by the phacelia and buckwheat. Leave all the growth from these plants to reseed and become their own mulch.

On the "animal side" of the earth fence, at ground level, plantings of comfrey, elecampagne, lavender and sage will protect a fast growing "hedge" of weeping goat willow. This willow is quickly dense, and as deer are browsers will soon be impenetrable, and a treat for them as well. There are enough shoots on the weeping goat willows near the house that need to trimmed before the next growing season to supply a complete hedge of starts.

On the waterway side of the earth fence, the seed mix will meld into a collection of water loving plants such as yellow and blue iris, mints, variegated grasses, reeds, rushes, and marsh marigolds. All these plants will cleanse the water as it flows by. It is not expected that the spring water will need purifying or transmuting, but road and driveway water entering the system during the winter time will need to be purged by the plants.

Each of the ponds will be "equipped" with water lilies, water parsley, oxygenating plants, reeds and rushes leaving the edges natural to provide bird habitat for nesting and resting.

On its way from the Plum Pond to the Gate Pond the water will meander through variable width ditches bermed on the upper, west side. The fully landscaped ditch system will curve and flow to alleviate the linearity of the driveway. It will be the backdrop for the proposed produce stand and the parking lot, finally flowing through the rock culvert and into the Gate Pond.

The old Gate Pond needs some work. It could be enlarged, too, with the possibility of tapping in to a spring here as well. All the alders and willows and blackberries that are growing on the edges should be removed, leaving grasses, reeds, sedges and rushes to grow for bird habitat. The plant contents of the pond are working as the water is beautifully clear and full of aquatic species. It probably could benefit from some water movement which will happen when the upper ponds begin draining into it. Adding some iris around the edge would add some color in the spring. The Gate Pond certainly will benefit from being filled to the top--it will hold water to the top continuously (without a leak) within the next couple of years, maybe sooner when evaporation isn't as large a factor, and movement begins to happen.

The large balsam Christmas tree on the east side of the pond should be removed, but leave the stump to avoid disrupting drainage patterns for the pond. All the brush that isn't big enough for fire wood will be good brush berm material on the north side branch fence. If possible, the timber bamboo should be relocated to the opposite side of the pond and well mulched along with the golden rain and the katsura trees. How about putting it in the hole that was intended for the outhouse, to save having to fill the hole in? When the area just inside the litch gate is to be planted with, retrieve the big rock and use it in landscaping of the new waterway. The hole where the bamboo is removed can be the hole for one of the new trees. Remember that the Linden tree will eventually be very large.

Without lowering the outflow on the Gate Pond one inch, begin a new variable width waterway leading down the current blackberry covered fence, past the gate, and then turn to meander towards the chicken house. As the garden area need not be accessed at all frequently, a couple of straw bales thrown in the ditch could become the passage way for vehicles as needed. Otherwise create another rock culvert to give access to the metal gate and garden beyond.

Start another earth berm fence on the south side of the ditch from the lower side of the gate. This berm and the waterway will keep the chickens in the orchard meadow (and out of the market produce garden accessible through the gate and lower field). The ditch will run directly across the west end of the chicken house. Once past the chicken house continue the ditch to the very small pond on the southeast corner.

This pond, called Chicken Pond, needs to be enlarged to be a successful cistern. For machinery access and pond sizing, several small trees and willows will have to be removed--good berm fence material, again. Try and leave the holly trees as they are a productive crop for the orchard business. Although it would be a good idea to leave the new forest accessible to the chickens for predator protection, it suggested that invisible fencing be put up on a temporary basis so that the chickens will lay their eggs at home, not in the bush. It will also deter the adventurous deer that might manouver their way through the thicket.

The Chicken Pond may be the lowest level pond in the system, and if it is, should not be given a specific outflow. In the winter, with the addition of excess ground water it would be best to let it seep over the top all along one side--as it would be doing naturally. When this last corner of the property is developed or attended to in the future, a ditch could be put in to take the excess water to the roadside ditch at the lower access point. (See suggestions for the future later in this report.)

If the Chicken Pond is not the lowest one in the system, and the Cress Pond is, then the water couldl flow in a south westerly direction to the Cress Pond filling it, rather than receiving from it.

The next section of the water works discussion will begin at the pump house and Path Pond at the top of the garden, and work down the garden to end at the Chicken Pond or Cress Pond.

Install a new deep-well pump in the pump house beside the Path Pond. (A door on the pump house would be good, too). Regulate the flow so the pond is running over all the time (not necessary from approximately October to June). It is already ditched to flow into the Eucalyptus Pond in front of the house. It may be necessary to remove some of the growth in this ditch to achieve a waterflow that is effective.

The Eucalyptus Pond, which is fed by winter water from the hillside on the neighbor's land, through a culvert under the road, has its main outflow on the north side into a ditch that travels down the path beside the plum trees. Winter excess water also overflows the Eucalyptus Pond on the south side, but this is overflow area is ordinarily dry for most of the year. The summer excess water in the Eucalyptus Pond, received from the Path Pond, will then flow towards the Cress Pond.

As necessary in the driest part of the year when the garden was new, water was able to flow into the other ditches running through the upper garden by hose from the stand pipe at the end of the Path Pond (which is fed from the house well). The trees are established now making the ditches only necessary for winter drainage.

Just below the last plum tree in the row, the existing ditch system should be reworked. The two ditches heading into the apple tree area can now be filled in order to make extra space for the market garden area. The lower standpipe above the chicken yard gate, and the pipe running down the ditch to it, should be relocated to approximately the last plum tree in the row where it can be accessed by the market garden area if required (and by the proposed produce preparation building mentioned later in the report).

A new ditch/waterway will begin where and when the old ditch is abandoned by the plum trees. It will meander down the willow and Indian plum hedgerow beside the long, property wide rock outcropping towards the east side property fence. About forty feet before the fence It will turn and meander across the bottom of the market garden area to yet another new pond, the Cress Pond, to be dug on the west side of the two rock outcroppings at the bottom of the field.

The Cress Pond will be long and narrow and variable width and a a couple of feet deep to grow water cress (shape depending on the contours of the granite outcroppings). It mayl eventually flow into, or receive from, the Chicken Pond depending on final elevations. Keep the lower side of the pond low and flat so that winter overflow will flow over evenly across the bottom of the field, as it does in its natural state.

The topsoil from these ditches and this pond can be spread over the proposed garden area, covering up the old, old compacted pasture. A solar and/or gas engine pump and a sprinkler system may be used to pump this water onto the garden as it is needed. The plum tree standpipe is for emergencies or extra water if it can be spared or used.

The ditches should be planted with plants for clearing toxins in the (run off) water, holding moisture during the dry months, providing eco-system support, and slowing down the water flow so that the deep rooted trees surrounding can receive water as needed.

Continued on the next page. Click here.