The Old Folks Home

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Yep all it takes is water. Look at San Bernardino back in the settlers time is was plain old desert. Then it be came vinyards and Citrus for about a hundred and fifty years.... Imperial County summer temps around 110-115 Is HUGE agricultural business draining the last bit off the Colorado River. before it escapes into Mexico.

Me... I have a 450 foot deep well with a pipe thats about eight inches in diameter. Up till this year the water level was dropping. The pump drains the well in about thirty minutes. And it takes about an hour to refill.

my neighbors up above me tapped into an agricultrual potential Aquifer its 200 feet higher in elevation than my well... Go figure

deb

 

[Mutt Farm]

The Command Centre is standing down this evening. The negotiations were successful and the terms were agreeable by all parties. The situation was greatly cooled down by the weather - thank you, snow.

Thanks for the laughs!

 

[Alaskan]

found Blue Gama

http://www.naturesfinestseed.com/grass-seed/ornamental-grasses/blue-grama

They also have pasture grass blends

One for my climate is

http://www.naturesfinestseed.com/sp...asture/southwest-desert-dryland-pasture-blend

It has

• 35% Indian Ricegrass
• 20% Sideoats Grama
• 20% Blue Grama
• 15% Arizona Fescue
• 10% Alfalfa

Ooh me want for pretty

http://www.naturesfinestseed.com/wildflower-seed/mixes/sonoran-desert-wildflower-mix

The dryland cant be grazed for two years in order to get it established.  Makes sense

deb

Hummm.... Sideoats gramma (is that the state grass if Texas? Blanking, idiot brain), great stuff, but marginal for you.

A study of water-use of plains grasses suggests sideoats grama requires a fairly large supply of water for limited periods. Sideoats grama showed inefficient water-use relative to other plains grasses, especially in cold weather [131]. According to Fulbright and others [68], sideoats grama has a low soil moisture requirement, but requires at least 15 inches (380 mm) of annual precipitation. Story [192] reported good stands of sideoats grama developed in areas with 12 to 16 inches (305-406 mm) of annual rainfall in the Southwest. In the central Great Plains, stand development of sideoats grama was greatest on fine-textured upland soils with 17 to 20 inches (432-508 mm) of annual rainfall. On Wisconsin prairie and savannas, sideoats grama occurs on sites characterized by cyclic mild to severe summer drought, less than 45 inches (1140 mm) annual snowfall, and a mean summer temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 °C) [27].

Arizona Fescue sounds better than Sideoats gramma

Arizona fescue has a low temperature tolerance of -40 °F (-40 °C) and is found on sites receiving over 10 inches (300 mm) of precipitation per year [53]. Some suggest that the best growth occurs in areas that receive at least 14 inches (360 mm) of precipitation in a year [93]. Vegetation and climate data from the Pole Canyon drainage near Grants, New Mexico, suggest winter precipitation may dictate Arizona fescue's distribution. Arizona fescue occurred on higher elevation sites where 50% of the precipitation came in the winter but was absent from sites where only 40% of the annual precipitation came in the winter [92]. In ponderosa pine forests near Flagstaff, Arizona, Arizona fescue habitats receive an average of 22 inches (570 mm) of precipitation per year, but drought conditions are typical in May and June [82]. In central Colorado's Manitou Experimental Forest, precipitation averaged 15.8 inches (401 mm) over a 35-year period, and 75% of the precipitation fell from April through August. July was typically the wettest month, receiving 3.5 inches (89 mm) [29].

Alfalfa has some impressive root depth... But it also, like the Sideoats grama and Arizona Fescue needs more water than the Blue grama or Indian Ricegrass.

Alfalfa is well adapted to a wide range of climatic and edaphic
conditions, but it does best in deep, loamy soils with porous subsoils.
It is intolerant of flooding, waterlogging, or poor soil drainage. It
requires large amounts of lime. Alfalfa does not do well on acid or
very alkaline soils, although it will tolerate some alkalinity. It has
fair salt tolerance [47,50,110]. It is naturalized to roadsides, old
fields, and waste places [37].

Alfalfa will tolerate drought and is known as a good producer in dry
years. It needs about 12 inches (30 cm) of precipitation per year on
good soils, 14 inches (36 cm) on less favorable soils [111]. Irrigation greatly enhances productivity in dry climates [50,106].

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Arizona Fescue sounds better than Sideoats gramma
Quote: Alfalfa has some impressive root depth... But it also, like the Sideoats grama and Arizona Fescue needs more water than the Blue grama or Indian Ricegrass.
Quote:
What that site didnt say was how much to get it going.

So 14 inches total... We get 9 inches per year so all I would have to do is Add another five inches?

They sell individual packages of the seeds. So it makes sense to buy enough for 500 square feet rather than an acre. This way I could seed in areas that arent claimed by Locals. AND there is one spot that looks like the water is close to the surface... I could start there.

deb

 

[Alaskan]

Sounds like a good idea.


It is wild, how the Alfalfa has insanely long roots.... But still needs a good amount of water.

It does sound like a little extra water in the winter would do exactly what you need.

It has a deep taproot, 10 to 17 feet
(3-5 m) in sandy soils, and 23 to 30 feet (7-9 m) under favorable
conditions [50,110]. Many older plants have roots up to 63 feet (19 m)
deep. A record depth of 130 feet (39 m) was reported in the roof of a
mine tunnel in Nevada [39].

 

[Alaskan]

Oh.... To sprout, you want to try to keep them damp for a full two weeks, then you can back off. I know, that will be difficult for you.

Maybe water them, then cover with burlap? Might keep some moisture in there for longer, so you would just have to show up twice, one week apart.

 

[perchie.girl]

Sounds like a good idea.


It is wild, how the Alfalfa has insanely long roots.... But still needs a good amount of water.

It does sound like a little extra water in the winter would do exactly what you need.
Quote:
In the desert where my hay is grown they get eight or more cuttings from alfalfa per year. No blister beetle either.

I had no idea the roots went so deep. One of the plus sides of boulders is they tend to draw water by capillary action. The Kumeyay say if you find a Scrub oak AND an elderberry growing within each other drip line There is water there. After winter there will be water dripping out of boulder fields for at least till July.

My idea is to create browse areas within the ecosystem to allow my horse places to nibble without completely devistating the existing plants. there are pasture designs out there set up to creat self exercise for the horses. Placing water and feed on opposite ends salt lick and treats... Then fencing so that the horse has to climb or walk over different terrain to get to these places. Giving them enrichment in the form of exercise and variety.

This will be essential as I get older.

deb
deb

 

[Alaskan]

sounds pretty awesome.

 

[perchie.girl]

sounds pretty awesome.

here is an example


I dont have the foliage they do but I could use the rocks and some judcious fence either to direct or "keep out" There is one arroyo that has access from one end that drops about fifteen feet in rocky switch backs. Not gravel or cobbles but flat tops of boulers peeking out of the Decomposed granite. the end of that canyon comes out at the border patrol road. I could fence it inside ofthe road and my driveway which would bring her back up to her pasture.

I know she can do this because one time she got out and I followed her foot steps trying to catch up to her.... She walked Between two boulders placing her feet single file.... I could barely walk through it. What this will do is give her something to do as well as handle her hoof management between farrier visits.

There is a really cool website that allows you to take a satellite image and mark out areas for different things. it gives you square footage as well as parimeter measurements. In real time for any purposes. I wish i could find the link again... they ping me now and then.

deb

 

[bamadude]

I have been drinking different beers to try to find me preference and car keys