Techniques for drought gardening

[Gypsi]

This guy seems to have made some progress, studying his techniques and permaculture.
http://craftsmanship.net/drought-fighters/

[LogicalBee]

Interesting read, although it was a little more wordy than I like. 

I have tried many of the techniques discussed in the article; some have worked while some have been spectacular fails in my generally wet climate.  Pretty darn impressive to be making $100K per acre no matter how you slice it.  Don’t know of anybody making that much in the East unless there is a gas well on their land!

Loved the name of his farm:  Singing Frogs Farm.   

[Newbee]

Neat stuff. Another example of Mother Nature knowing what's best... I've seen lots of articles the last 10-years or so eschewing traditional plow and mix soil techniques. I tried not disturbing my garden last year, and results were terrible! Whether it was the lack of turning over or just a poor year, I dunno (everyone had a bad year 'round these parts last year). Those broadforks are pretty popular in the organic-crowd, and I get the logic there... even as a kid I knew you found the biggest worms in the area's of the garden you hadn't dug up recently (best bait a kid w/ a fishing pole can find!).. that being said, my gardens have always done well w/ an addition of compost and turning in the fall, followed by the same in the spring (chuck in a few bails of peat-moss while you're at it, too). I've had plots that showed real improvement after several years of that treatment. Noticed he said some of the area's were left undisturbed for years prior also... that may have an impact.

Personally I'm planning on turning my garden over once I can see it again. 

- K

[Gypsi]

In a heavy clay soil I think it needs turned, and where sweet potato weevils, or the squash worm or other pests were present it needs turned before first freeze.  But in parts of my garden where the soil is light I get away with top dressing and just turning where I plant.  All of my turning is done with a spade.  I do square foot gardening mainly

[LogicalBee]

Most cities around me maintain a city dump for vegetation debris; dead trees, grass clippings, leaves.  They put the wood through a chipper and you can go get trailer fulls of free wood chips if you want.  I’ve brought home a few trailer fulls of wood chips.  They’re not as fancy looking (dyed) as the stuff you buy at the store, but they work ok.  There’s a lot of soft woods in the mix though so it might not be a good idea if you live someplace with termites.  The City normally ends up burning a lot of wood since most people just drop off debris; they don't normally haul any back home.

The glaciers mixed up the soils in Michigan, but I’m mostly clay here.  Many many feet of clay 

At least the clay holds a lot of water when we USED to have heat waves up here.

[Gypsi]

Neighbor runs a tree removal service. I can get all the free mulch I want, but I think he is blessing the area with carpenter ants, been chasing them out of my porch rails and roof 3 years now.

[Newbee]

chasing them out of my porch rails and roof 3 years now.

I've found using the barrier/perimeter-style boundary ant-control chemicals you can buy at the home-center's works pretty well. We had/have ongoing ant problems in our home, and ringing the outside of the house w/ the stuff from Ortho, and I put a perimeter of boric-acid on the inside, and the two have proven quite effective. We still get some in the kitchen during peak times of year, but perhaps you can use the outdoor stuff on the porch? The boric-acid stuff was water soluble, so I only use it on the interior of the basement.
Good luck, they can be quite the pest. Maybe hire a professional exterminator and send your neighbor the bill! 

- K

[Slowmodem]

I've found using the barrier/perimeter-style boundary ant-control chemicals you can buy at the home-center's works pretty well.

Yeah, I've got to do mine, too.  But I always try to spray after sunset when all the bees are home, just to be on the safe side.

[Gypsi]

pretty sure the carpenter ants are IN the northeast corner of my house.  Last year's chase didn't work, found some in ground at that corner when digging weeds yesterday.  I have a friend who is an exterminator who I didn't call last year, I used a multi species bait instead.  Sprayed Bayer systemics on queen carpenter ants and they kept on moving til I got some wasp spray after them, don't know how many got away while I was running for the garage..  I don't buy home depot bug sprays anymore except the wasp spray

[iddee]

gypsi, the spray the exterminators use here is designed to let the ants keep going. They carry it back to their nests and share it. It kills the whole colony that way. You might want to research the Bayer. It may be the same way.

[Gypsi]

since I was spraying it on swarming queens I wasn't much interested in the sharing part.  I turned it in at the haz mat collection for the city.