I have a problem with a very high water table.
This is very good because it feeds my little orchard. However when we had the new fosse septique put in, the People that came to do the survey have located my drain field in the path of an underground stream. This is going to wash all the stuff that goes from the fosse into the ground too quickly. It is all ending up in the ground outside my back door. I initially thought it would be good to plant in this ground. Flowers would be ok, but not a herb garden, which is the obvious place to put it.
Anyway, I think I have a solution. If I build a natural pond without a liner above the drain field, because it’s on a slope, I can then have a run off stream through the orchard, and divert water for irrigation where I want it. This will stop washing through the ground where the drain field is.
It will also give me a year round supply of water to a veg plot and greenhouse. If the pond is big enough I might be able to put some trout in it. I like smoked trout. I am sure I can research this a bit more and find out how big the pond needs to be.
Then I can move my beautiful Iris, and Arum lillies up to the top of the orchard and have a water garden. A nice place to sit with a little fountain perhaps. I have one that works with a solar panel.
I decided I must take cuttings from my orchard trees, they are getting very old and dying, probably from too much water. They also need a lot of trimming back. I will try to root the wood, or graft it onto other trees.
I have two Reine de Reignett Apple trees. These would have been to give sweetness to the cider. I like watching traditional cider making. People used to come and collect the apples in the past, make cider and give the previous owner some cloudy cider back.
Anyway, I think I need to plan this, as if I regrow these trees, I want to espalier them on frames and keep them low. I want to be able to manage them, and be able to tend to them better. It improves the fruit to thin it out.
I also have a couple of grape vines growing where I want to make into a seating area. To do that, I need to move my greenhouse to a sunnier spot. The trees have shaded it too much. also there are some pernicious briars growing through the ground. I will never be able to dig them out. I have painted SBK on them for now.
I am going to be cleaning up the banks around the orchard, and I am hoping to get them just full of primroses. I saw some gorgeous white flowers on a bank yesterday, I want to go and see if I can dig out a little root, and get them to grow.
I did resort to one spray of weed killer last year. I don’t think it does anything but make the weeds more resilient. Besides I want to use all the weeds for growbags. I blitzed up the duck bones my husband made soup stock with. I am putting those in my growbags too. The bigger bones that didn’t blend will be fine, as they will be inside a bag. It might attract foxes otherwise.
I think I could ask the company that installed my fosse septique to come and dig my pond, and put a trench in down the orchard. Then I can line the trench and make a lovely stony pebbly stream running through. Collect the water at the bottom in a couple of big containers under the shade of the trees and then irrigate from them. As it would be running water, I could put an overflow pipe into the drain ditch at the bottom of the field.
I suppose if the water is clean enough I can use it for car washing.
I am going to try the twig technique. You can use two rods on handles or a Y shaped twig. I think there is a scientific reason this works. When I pick up anything with refined sugar in it, my arm goes weak. It’s a sort of warning that it will sap my strength.
Anyway electricity goes to ground, and likes water. So our static electricity in our body is attracted to water. There is a great tradition of water ‘diviners’ in Jersey, because everyone needed a well. The people who could do it best we’re obviously revered. However the Evangelical Christians jumped on this like a ton of bricks, saying water divining was the work of the devil!
Hardly. It is a natural gift some people have to help others who need water. It would be possible to see the mechanics of it with the right sort of equipment. Cameras can pick up our body energy field these days, and then translate that into a colour picture. I bet someone who has a natural affinity to water lights up like a Christmas tree when the twigs indicate a well or spring.
This is very good because it feeds my little orchard. However when we had the new fosse septique put in, the People that came to do the survey have located my drain field in the path of an underground stream. This is going to wash all the stuff that goes from the fosse into the ground too quickly. It is all ending up in the ground outside my back door. I initially thought it would be good to plant in this ground. Flowers would be ok, but not a herb garden, which is the obvious place to put it.
Anyway, I think I have a solution. If I build a natural pond without a liner above the drain field, because it’s on a slope, I can then have a run off stream through the orchard, and divert water for irrigation where I want it. This will stop washing through the ground where the drain field is.
It will also give me a year round supply of water to a veg plot and greenhouse. If the pond is big enough I might be able to put some trout in it. I like smoked trout. I am sure I can research this a bit more and find out how big the pond needs to be.
Then I can move my beautiful Iris, and Arum lillies up to the top of the orchard and have a water garden. A nice place to sit with a little fountain perhaps. I have one that works with a solar panel.
I decided I must take cuttings from my orchard trees, they are getting very old and dying, probably from too much water. They also need a lot of trimming back. I will try to root the wood, or graft it onto other trees.
I have two Reine de Reignett Apple trees. These would have been to give sweetness to the cider. I like watching traditional cider making. People used to come and collect the apples in the past, make cider and give the previous owner some cloudy cider back.
Anyway, I think I need to plan this, as if I regrow these trees, I want to espalier them on frames and keep them low. I want to be able to manage them, and be able to tend to them better. It improves the fruit to thin it out.
I also have a couple of grape vines growing where I want to make into a seating area. To do that, I need to move my greenhouse to a sunnier spot. The trees have shaded it too much. also there are some pernicious briars growing through the ground. I will never be able to dig them out. I have painted SBK on them for now.
I am going to be cleaning up the banks around the orchard, and I am hoping to get them just full of primroses. I saw some gorgeous white flowers on a bank yesterday, I want to go and see if I can dig out a little root, and get them to grow.
I did resort to one spray of weed killer last year. I don’t think it does anything but make the weeds more resilient. Besides I want to use all the weeds for growbags. I blitzed up the duck bones my husband made soup stock with. I am putting those in my growbags too. The bigger bones that didn’t blend will be fine, as they will be inside a bag. It might attract foxes otherwise.
I think I could ask the company that installed my fosse septique to come and dig my pond, and put a trench in down the orchard. Then I can line the trench and make a lovely stony pebbly stream running through. Collect the water at the bottom in a couple of big containers under the shade of the trees and then irrigate from them. As it would be running water, I could put an overflow pipe into the drain ditch at the bottom of the field.
I suppose if the water is clean enough I can use it for car washing.
I am going to try the twig technique. You can use two rods on handles or a Y shaped twig. I think there is a scientific reason this works. When I pick up anything with refined sugar in it, my arm goes weak. It’s a sort of warning that it will sap my strength.
Anyway electricity goes to ground, and likes water. So our static electricity in our body is attracted to water. There is a great tradition of water ‘diviners’ in Jersey, because everyone needed a well. The people who could do it best we’re obviously revered. However the Evangelical Christians jumped on this like a ton of bricks, saying water divining was the work of the devil!
Hardly. It is a natural gift some people have to help others who need water. It would be possible to see the mechanics of it with the right sort of equipment. Cameras can pick up our body energy field these days, and then translate that into a colour picture. I bet someone who has a natural affinity to water lights up like a Christmas tree when the twigs indicate a well or spring.
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