country n news-story of a garden bed

COUNTRY N NEWS-STORY OF A GARDEN BED
i am always looking for ways
to make my garden beds better
at the same time staying totally organic
but
also trying to figure out ways to save water
a precious commodity in this area sometimes
especially here at the country n
where we only use rainwater
we have no well and we have no city water
just
what falls from the sky

when we first moved here
i was excited to get my garden ready
so
i took my shovel and
well
i hit rocky rocky soil
there was very little top soil

solution
bring in my own soil
so
i took limestone blocks that were left from the previous owner
made 4 ft x 12 ft raised beds
with about 12 inches of depth
then
i went and bought bulk top of the line garden soil
that had compost organic fertilizer green sand minerals etc
already in there
ready to plant it was
planted i did
but
as i have learned over the last 15 years
the soil gets better each year as it matures
compost is added plant materials added
it just seems to get richer

my next step later was
to dig out my beds completely
removing all the soil down to about 16 inches
then adding 2 more layers of limestone bricks
making my soil depth a good 2 ft

then
on the bottom i added tree limbs and stumps and leaves
and newspapers and cardboard and compost and soil
all layered up to the top of the bed

now
after a couple of years i have deep rich soil
that i farm only with my hands
rarely only using a rake or a pitch fork to twist in the compost

then
i dug trenches between my beds about 18 inches deep
added a deep layer of hardwood mulch
added inches and inches of leaves
up to the top of my beds
now having a compost pile between my beds
that holds gallons and gallons of moisture in my soil
down deep
plus each year i can just dig down in my trenches to
get fresh homemade best you can get compost

then
i dug trenches down the middle of my beds
added either 2 inch or 3 inch pvc pipes down
about a foot in the soil
drilling holes in the bottom half of the pvc pipes
then put the pvc in a sleeve that keeps dirt out of
the pipes
then
this is how i water deeply once a week when watering is needed
sending the water and liquid fertilizer deep to the roots

so
now i have a rich rich garden soil
surrounded by compost
holding tons of water deep under the top layers
providing moisture and nutrition to the plants
using a third of the water i used previously

all i have to add is
water
love
and then
i have a great garden all year round

water   compost   good deep soil
thats the life blood of a good garden

most failures i see are from the lack of these three things

maybe
you should try it

its almost fall and winter gardening time around here

the organicgreen doctor

water crisis solution

WATER CRISIS SOLUTION
despite all the rain fall in this area recently
all the flooding that happened in austin last month
the lakes and its tributaries did not get very much rain
it all went down into the ocean
so
the lakes where all the cities get their water are still low

so i figure that there are about 1,000,000 plus folks that
live in the austin area

if each of us could save a few gallons a day
like say maybe 7.5 gallons a day
that would be 7,500,000 gallons that could be saved
around here each day

now here at the country n
we make it part of our routine to use less water
if we use all our rainwater weve saved up then
we are out
totally out
like when they shut your water off in town when
you dont pay your bill or if there is a water main break

if you want more i mean us needing more
we call up and get it delivered to us
expensive water it is
and
its the water you guys use and sorry we dont like
having to use it
it smells funny and it has all those chemicals and
minerals in it

so if we all saved 7.5 gallons a day we would save
2.8 billion gallons of water a year

pretty impressive huh

so how to do it
take a bucket put it in your shower and catch the first run
of the water then pour that on your plants or your landscape
or scoop a bucket of water from your bathtub to use in your
landscape
we do this each day here at the country n
we pour it in a 50 gallon barrel that runs a drip line
to our landscape


youve heard of if its yellow let it mellow if its brown flush
it down
do that once a day
yes ive been known to do that
ive even known people who leave the brown to tick people off

then i came across this while reading news on the internet
a simple way it is to save that 2.5 gallons a day
and
only you will know if you did it


its peeing in the shower
ok you know some of you do it any way
the stuff is sterile
do it and you will save that 2.5 gallons
add a if its yellow let it mellow
and
add holding it for a long long time before showering
you could save another 2.5 gallons

then there is the hot tub and the swimming pool etc
and
for me at the country n theres all that acreage that could
be used to help kill a weed maybe

so you can see that we in this area could save close
to 3 billion gallons a year of water
at no cost to anyone

we might save the planet

the organicgreen doctor

its not everywhere

ITS NOT EVERYWHERE
it seems that our climate does a poor job of distributing water
for us to access

like those awful storms that went through arkansas this weekend
fast terrible storms with lots of rain then leaving their paths of
destruction
water is good for us to receive but not when its distributed that way

our thoughts are with those folks


then this last few months around here when the climate dumped 12 inches
on the austin area twice on separate weekends
causing its own destruction with its flooding and drownings that go with it

cruel it is as it made worse our water situation when it didnt fall on the
tributaries to all our lakes and aquifers that provide the water sources
for all the cities around here

and even more cruel here at the country n since very little rain has fallen
here since last early november

we can see it in our wildflowers
they are not as plentiful and they look like charley brown christmas trees
compared to what they look like in previous years
and
compared to some of the areas just a few miles from here where
there has been more rain

our lake levels here are down and the aquifer levels are down to
concerning levels since this should be our rainy season and
since we are about to reach in a month our hot dry time of the year

more severe water restrictions are about to be put in place
im afraid a lot of people will be losing their lawns and plants
this year

one town near here has gotten more aggressive
on new builds
there are restrictions on the size of the lawn
the type of grass you can plant
6 inches of topsoil has to be provided if grass is to be planted
more water restrictions are expected as things worsen

their water source is the river that runs near the country n
water on our acreage flows towards and into the river
we havent been giving them much recently

we of course catch water off anything that has a roof on
our property
we have a lot of berms and increased vegetation that slows the
flow down to the river so it soaks into our property
another form of xericscaping

so this last weekend i went out to check my aquifers
whats happening in mine is whats happening in theirs
its just my aquifers are more visible
yes im talking about my rainwater tanks
all 22 of them
excessive huh

i was saddened when i checked the levels in my tanks
we seem to be down to about 25% of our capacity
which like all the cities around here
is scary as we are headed into our dry season

im sad to say we may have water purchasing in our future
if it doesnt rain

cities cant really do that can they
they would have to buy it from somewhere that doesnt exist

so here we are on severe water restrictions
but that doesnt affect us that much since we already operate
that way

the techniques we use here can be used anywhere
well maybe except for one
you might get a ticket for that one

we plant only native xeric plants that gets no supplemental watering
we have no grass that we care for
although we have 10 acres of pasture land with grass on it

we reuse our gray water from the washing machine from showers
from our sink when we hand wash our dishes and rinse them
saving the rinse water for our edible plants
the first water you run when you take a shower
that stuff that goes down the drain
its pure water and can be used on edible plants
the other gray water is used on the landscape

we turn the water off when we brush our teeth or
when we shave

we take quick but effective showers

we use drip irrigation to our vegetable garden which is covered
thickly with mulch the leaves you folks have given me
which keeps the ground from drying so fast
that anthill garden bed method also helps to hold the water in

im afraid if in the future if you and the folks who live in the cities
around here dont adopt what we are doing here at the country n
that this area is going to be in trouble
as the scarcity of water continues

dont wait until the levels are dropped severely
thats called crisis management

there needs to management before the crisis hits

make people and encourage people to conserve now

just ask those folks in california how important all this is
as they run out of water there

yes its not everywhere
not anymore

lets save what we got

the organicgreen doctor

water water everywhere

WATER WATER EVERYWHERE
 kvue.com

in the austin area there is water water everywhere
flooding all over the place
even the lady bird lake is flooding some of the streets of downtown
austin
those streets that are always flooding with the rains are really
really flooded now
austin has gotten so much rain in the last few weeks that it
has nowhere to go
but out






statesman.com

the sad part of all this rain up to 8-12 inches last night
is that hardly any is falling here at the country n
which is about 45 miles north of downtown austin

and not that much is falling in the watershed of the highland lakes
and especially lake travis which supplies the water to so many
of the cities including austin in this area

the river that is near our house is part of the watershed for
lake georgetown which provides water for several communities
in the area also

if we had that much rain here that austin had we would hear the
roaring of the river think multiple steam engine trains
thats how noisy it would be

nothing here but the pleasant sprinkling on our metal roof which helped
us sleep last night

so the end result of all this water is that the important lakes around
here arent going to fill up and benefit completely from all this rain
most of it will flow downstream into the gulf of mexico
which doesnt really need it since its slowly rising anyway


in next weeks election here in texas there is a amendment to the
constitution proposition 6
(why does the constitution have to be amended)
to allow the state to take money from the 'rainy day fund'
(how appropo)
which builds up from all the states oil land gas revenues
and use it for a statewide water plan

yes despite all this rain weve received this month
there is and will continue to be a severe water shortage
in this area and probably throughout texas

is this the answer
i do worry about who will be profiting from all this
someone must be since there is an awful lot of money
being thrown into this election to get it passed
follow the money they always say

something has to be done
this isnt the answer but it may be the only something that will
be offered

are we all going to continue to waste water like we have been
doing when we get this bolus of water
we will unless we are forced to by laws or by water shortage

we here at the country n are sensitive to water shortages and
water conservation since we totally rely on mother nature
to provide our water for us
without conservation we would at times run out of water

so
it is with texas
without conservation we may be all be in the country n boat

then theres the corruption and greed that you know is coming
there are those with the power and the influence that will
benefit the most financially

that said
there is no real answer out there
i would really like to see this money used to improve our states
poor standing in the nation in education and healthcare
especially for women and children
but i know in this present political climate thats not going to
happen

how do our politicians sleep good at night

so i probably will vote for it
but i will not feel good about it
since i know what will happen
but
without water we wont survive

the organicgreen doctor

it takes a what, football thoughts

IT TAKES A WHAT

it takes a what to stop all this
a hurricane
thats not a good thing
here in austin apparently its a good thang


(that pennisula down the middle is called sometimes island
and its almost becoming a full walkway across the lake)

the lake level in lake travis the big water source for austin
and several communities nearby has now officially reached
its lowest levels in 50 years
and according to a kxan report
while our population here in those 50 years has gotten
larger and larger
with more growth still happening and still coming into the future

as you drive around this area and look at all the lawns and
landscapes that are being watered and watered a lot
remember 1/2 of your water bill for many of you is from watering
your lawn

there are water restrictions going on now
and more stricter ones are on its way

so now the hope is all put into this wish
hurricane please
to dump large quantities of water here on
lake travis

in 35 days if we dont get this significant rains this lake travis
will be at its lowest point ever since the lake was built in
1937-1941

then maybe they whoever they are will act to enforce more
stricter water use
or
as i saw in a recent news report
(the lady bird lake or town lake is where the water flows
 to from lake travis)
where in austin the leaks in the waterlines everywhere drains enough
water to fill this lake once or more each year

try fixing the damn leaks why dont you
and
or

they could just come visit us here at the country n to observe
all our water conservation measures we take
and the amount of rainwater we harvest each year

eg we are 75% full in our water tanks despite the lack of
rain recently and these hurricanes if they come will quickly
fill us to full capacity

take that austin

FOOTBALL THOUGHTS
i am so happy football is here
i certainly enjoyed watching the college games this weekend

my three teams in order of allegiance are
horns
razorbacks
aggies yes i said aggies

horns may be back this year well know in a month
a slow start in the game this weekend is disturbing


razorbacks game showed me a new sign for the razorback
the a sign

i always like the hookem horn sign turned down as it looks to
me like a razorback with its husks


aggies im afraid that johnny guy somewhere down the line is going
to break your hearts
nothing good is going to come of this ticking time bomb

sorry to see tim tebow cut
hope he makes it to a new team

and hope that vinces does also

now im really ready this week for some football
nfl baby

the organicgreen doctor