Re: Watering the garden
Don't need to worry about upsetting us Kiwis. we sympathise with you as we have an of shore island somewhere out west and I think it is called Australia!! Peter. You will upset my kiwi cousins referring to it as my South Island. I am in Port Lincoln, South Australia. They also get upset when we talk of the outer islands.
Re: Watering the garden
Gil - Apologies to any participating Kiwis; I took your recent reference to the 'land of the long white cloud' to indicate that you live there. Yes, I live quite near Llanrhidian. Milford Haven is quite similar to the Fal estuary - of which, incidentally, I've also done an ecological survey. I love the Cornish coast, but then so do too many other people! The Pembrokeshire coast is comparable and not quite so heavily touristic - if you manage to visit Wales, I'd suggest that you base yourself somewhere on that south-western corner. Thanks, Thomas, for the endorsement - I'm sure that the Wales Tourist Board would be most grateful. Iechyd da! Tony N-S.
Re: Watering the garden
Gil - nothing so grand as 'farming', I just have 2-3 acres of roughish land, a little of which I use to grow veg for household use, a little more as relatively tame garden, the rest as wet paddock or wettish spinney. It's on the north side of the Gower peninsula in SW Wales, west of Swansea or opposite Llanelli if you look on a small-scale map. On the topic of place-names, I did my PhD on the ecology of Milford Haven (a deep estuary in Pembrokeshire) and so was fascinated to find so many local names transposed to Milford Sound in your South Island. Tony N-S.
Re: Watering the garden
I don't think we have any big ag farm pesticide problems up ditch from us, but you never know. We also have a pipe directly to the river (not viable in low water months) and a deep underground well. We'll do the best we can. Do you find using a pendulum useful in your farm work? Have you used to check hunches on water, seed and soil quality? I use one for checking vitamin supplements but not much else. After reading how so many of the list use one I think I'll have to practice dowsing on food, compost, and other practical matters. It's been great to receive inspiration from the list. Tom Probably not a problem in your area, Tom, but you have to watch irrigation ditch water as a possible source of highly contaminated runoff from your chemically managed neighbors. I read a study a while back that California farmers who were trash pumping 'lost water' on their off days (water that escaped from other farms and was fair game for other growers downstream to use even if it wasnt' their water day) were getting up to 3x as much insecticide as the maximum recommended dosages. Of course, since these insecticides were not 'applied,' it's presence didn't affect subsequent applications of more insecticides on the farm. -Allan Do you mean East Coast? Irrigation in the Spanish and pueblo Southwest of course pre-dates the Mormons by hundreds of years. T PS But, boy, do I wish that we had an irrigation system here on the west coast. Praise to the 19th cent Mormons, eh? m
Re: Watering the garden
Probably not a problem in your area, Tom, but you have to watch irrigation ditch water as a possible source of highly contaminated runoff from your chemically managed neighbors. I read a study a while back that California farmers who were trash pumping 'lost water' on their off days (water that escaped from other farms and was fair game for other growers downstream to use even if it wasnt' their water day) were getting up to 3x as much insecticide as the maximum recommended dosages. Of course, since these insecticides were not 'applied,' it's presence didn't affect subsequent applications of more insecticides on the farm. -Allan PS But, boy, do I wish that we had an irrigation system here on the west coast. Praise to the 19th cent Mormons, eh? The place I just moved to have an incredible amount of iron in the water (its from the well, not rusty pipes). Is there any problem watering vegatables with this? I also have access to an irrigation ditch which I believe has less iron content - that is used for the fruit trees, but is not something I'd normally use for the raised beds. Can an excess of iron influence crop growth or taste? Thanks in advance, Tom
Re: Watering the garden
It's probably not relevant to you but I have a stream fed by an old mining adit which provides typical iron-waste water (deposits of soft, sticky orange-coloured sediment). In the stream-bed, I grow the most luscious, tangy watercress I've ever tasted. I occasionally water other crops with it (although I admit I mostly use the public water supply, which is good) and it seems to do no harm; I also dredge the iron-rich mud from the stream-bed and have used it, mixed with garden compost and discarded peat, to build up growing beds which have been quite productive. I leave the spiritual implications of a high iron content to our BDNow gurus, though ! Tony N-S.
