Trees with deep taproot

#21

We have some catchment area above us, too, and try to keep as many water on our ground for as long as possible. So we dug five big water retention swales that hold about 1.5 million litres of water, seven small ponds that hold about 0.5 million liters, and finally 13 smaller retention swales at the lower end of our property, that also hold about 0.5 million liters. Total about 2.5 to 3.0 million liters that can soak into the ground.

But our average rainfall here is only about 500mm/year, so we don’t really have a problem with too much water…

#22

Found a great tree with an exceedingly deep taproot. Paulownia elongata. It is said to be the fastest growing tree with a taproot going to 45 feet, not many lateral roots to compete with our plants, produces an abundance of biomass and good fodder for our animals, flowers and medicine. I think I’ve found what I am looking for. Will report back in a year on the taproot. If you have experience with it, would appreciate your input.

#23

Congrats on finding and experimenting with Paulownia elongata, Glen. I find reference to that in EDN 17 (1987), but was not familiar with it myself. I’ve added a more recent summary of the tree (2018) that might be interesting. Potential Use of Multipurpose Paulownia elongata Tree as an Animal Feed Resource | ECHOcommunity.org along with this ScienceDirect link. Paulownia elongata - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

#24

I have been thinking about this some more. What about a pond and fish and irrigation if you have too much water? Also, teardrop-shaped raised beds (something with a point to it) with the front edges having some grass can hold up and grow high-value crops in the midst of a lot of water passing through on the sides and the raised bed gets you up out of excessive water.

#25

Thanks Dan for continuing to think about it. Hopefully your ideas will have value and applicability to a variety of people on this list.

As for us, a fish pond would lose its water rather quickly because of the sandy soil.

We are doing something similar to your raised bed idea in that we are planting double rows of vetiver grass on the contour lines. Eventually silt will build up on those lines and there will be a natural terracing effect.

In addition to planting the vetiver for on the contour lines, we are also planting many more within the field. We will eventually cut their tops off so the plant dies and the roots leave a natural void in the soil for water to travel deeper down. We plan to repeat the process many times. That along with the idea of planting trees with deep tap roots is what we are depending on to get the water to flow down into the soil instead of across it.

Also, diversion drainage ditches to move the water so it covers a larger space instead of being concentrated in one area is another strategy.