A beautiful day here in Colorado, the most recent addition to the Pacific Northwest. The last 30 days have yielded an impressive 5” of rainfall leading to the wettest I have seen our field. Rain has come in steady drizzles, turbulent thunderstorms, and some hail. With our ground is saturated, I find myself wondering when we will be able to work soil and continue planting.
Flooding is on the forefront of my mind, however I do not want to spend too much time here because most of the farm is fine. Construction to the south has yielded new challenges in the form of stormwater runoff. By raising their grade over 6 feet the south end of the farm is now the recipient of several extra acres of surface water.
After noticing standing water in the field last week we dug ditches at the end of our furrows. These channels have been running with water, consistently, since then with no end in sight. Our short term solutions to drain standing water in crops have lacked luster and I am genuinely concerned we will face crop failures.
A long term plan to dig a ditch at the end of the field, install a new culvert, and direct the water seems to be a reliable solution. However, this thinking is the same mindset as the actions creating the flooding. Get the water away, fast. Is this an opportunity to try something new?
In a couple months I am sure we will be back to irrigating, complaining about the heat, and wishing for rain. What if instead of removing the water we spread and stored it?
I am reminded of the work done by Mark Shepard and his book Restoration Agriculture. In the chapters he talks about multistory, perennial plantings using contours to catch and slowly spread water throughout the farm landscape. Moving water through swales to spread the wet spots towards the ridges in combination with plantings that incorporate trees, bushes, and ground level crops. He is excited by nut trees as the over-story crop providing high protein calories. After seeing this rainfall, I am seriously wondering if this landscape could support the water intensive crops. Likely.
Incorporating perennial swales into our growing system would dramatically change how we grow. Straight rows would be replaced with swooping beds running across the field. Hedgerows would break up the annual gardens, providing habitat for insects and birds surrounding the alley crops. Rainfall would ideally be welcomed instead of troubling.
The goal is to create a garden backbone that self regulates, propagates, and grows without human intervention. Gravity and earthworks move water to irrigate the crops established in living, carbon heavy soils able to retain the moisture. The system would also be able to function through standard irrigation practices and accommodate the market garden as well.
The largest hang up with implementing this type of system is not owning the land. Many of the perennial crops won’t see harvests for several years or longer. The indelible marks of swales could be seen as an asset or nuisance if we were to move from the property. The financial investment is much larger than business as usual digging a culvert.
For now, we wait for warmer sunny days and hope for the best.