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On my first farm, it had been neglected. The previous owners didn't design the irrigation system properly, and were restricted in how much water they could pull out of the ditch because they put the filter less that 10 feet below the source on a Gravity fed system. That gave the working pressure to the filter about 5 PSI, which the filter was totally incapable of. It system would run for a few minutes, then clog up with fines from the irrigation ditch, and then eventually stop working very quickly.
This flaw in the system never allowed them to irrigate properly, even though they had installed drip irrigation of every tree, which was a noble effort in time and energy. Unfortunately, they were never able to irrigate with the drip system because of the incorrect filter placement, and the contamination of the fines that made it through the filter. In addition, the trees may have been able to get 2 GPH once in a while, and was able to barely keep them alive during hot spells, but the center of the rows generally was not irrigated, and nothing but weeds and heat loving plants were growing in the rows. Mostly star thistle. Walking through the Orchard required Long Pants, Boots, and gators to keep the foxtails out of your clothes. In twas not a very friendly place to be. Plus, the general heat and soil temperature was inhuman. I was amazed that the orchard had survived at all.
Since I had never done much large scale farming, I initially tried to adpat my self to the existing conditions, but as I discovered the subtle flaws that aren't apparent if you aren't working the land daily, struggling with a cantankerous irrigation system, and subjected to sharp pointy things along with mountains of dust, one realizes that thing could be a lot better.
So, considering we had about 60 feet of head at the bottom of the orchard, I ran another irrigation line down to the lowest level on the property, put massive sand filters at the end, then too the outflow and hooked it to the existing line that had the inadequate filtration. That one change gave me one hundred gallons per minute capacity 24 hours a day. As it was I only purchased 30 gallons per day, this was rated well about what I could push through the system.
I remember the first time I charged the system through the new line and filled the existing line from the other side. As the water crawled back uphill to find it's level, the poorly made "Christmas Tree" filter from the previous owner exploded in the distance with the sound of a small mortar. It couldn't take the pressure created by tons of water seeking it's natural level.
Quite a change from before.
It was then that I replaced the drip emitters with 2 6GPH 180 degree microsprinkers as the base of each tree. They would irrigate under the trees in a radius of about 10 feet without getting the trunk wet.
Then I three down a mixture of Creeping red fescue and New Zealand white clover for a cover crop. In one season, I was able to walk barefoot through my orchard. I found Tortoises marching to the grass, and every tree had it's own guardian lizard, patroling the branches for insects. The White Clover is extremely hardy, and the bees love it.
The place was truly a shangrila, but the DotCom Bubble and the subsequent Enron fraud removed a crapload of jobs, and wages dried up for the most part. We were on the cusp of devoting ourselves full time to Organic farming. If the Fraud of an Economy had just lasted 2 more years, we would not have succumbed... Too much debt was the mistake we made, and the vultures were very happy to swoop in and take advantage. In retrospect, we were lucky, because it was before the Housing Bubble had really peaked, but it was still a major factor for us. Since I had done the hard work, many people were struck at the deauty of the farm, and they ended up bidding against each other, which worked in our favor as far as residual money is concerned.
With that money, we found another parcel, that lacked the defects we identified on the last farm, used that little pile of money to pay for it cash, and made our second shangrila. This time, nobody will have any reason to take it away, and it is so large, so diversified, and so productive that we generally don't have to do much at all. The only real work that I have it do keep the invasive species from getting a foothold, and basically managing the ones that have invaded already.
We are now based in Hawaii, so the tropical climate is big change from our first farm. Invasives are a big problem here, and there is very little "Native" forest left. Were were truly fortunate that we arrived in Hawaii when we did, because land prices are 600% higher now than when we arrived. Of course, all the land now is being held by speculators, and their taxes are taking a huge chunk out of them, while we have maintained our low tax rates by appeal, and comparables right next door that were sold before the bubble arrived.
We had to come back to the Mainland due to family business, and we've been stuck here finishing up for 2 years... I can't believe it that were been away for so long, but we have dragged it out purposefully due to the unfolding economic crisis.
At this point, we are in the "Collect Item of Interst" mode, and we are gathering tools, materials and supplies before our return to the farm, which is just fine on it's own. We are utilizing the fact that many people are liquidating excess inventory of tools and equipment that we need in Hawaii. We focus on hand tools, and other items that are no longer manufactured, but are easily repairable. We have 3 pallets of tools and materials ready to go, all purchesd for pennies on the dollar, and irreplacable if one were to go out and try to.
Are focus on simplicity gives us the freedom to travel and do what it takes to further our success in the future. Thats the key that most people don't get. The ability to take it or leave it is a huge threat to the Big Corporations.
We returned last year to our farm and found it overgrown and untouched. I broke out the weedeater from storage and cleared the old homestead and cleaned the sweet potatoes out of the barn. We were resting in the afternoon, and a group of our free range chickens, left to fend for themselves a year before, came out of the overgrowth and approached us. We spoke to them and said hello, and one brave chicken, after a year of isolation, jumped on my knee and allowed me to pet her. I grabbed her and gave her a big hug, made eye contact, and eventually she jumped off, and the chickens cleaned up the newly cleared area and moved off to roost somewhere.
I almost cried at the beauty of that experience. If one honors our fellow creatures, they will repay us in untold ways.
Happy to hear your story bvar! Keep it up and make sure that you let people know about the threat of GMO! The powers that be are still able to keep the majority of people in the dark about this serious threat to all of us.
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