Eco Youths Network UgandaJun 7

A garden without water can't have this wonderful look. Do you agree? Please share your thoughts and knowledge with us.

What knowledge can you share with farmers who want to start growing vegetables but do not have a water source?

Note: All these photos were taken at the farm we visited.

#FoodSecurity #SmallScaleFarming #FarmLife #Agriculture #LearningByDoing #GrowYourOwnFood #mastodonfarmers #nlfarmers

Show threadshonin
@econetwork Non-porous grow bags can conserve water. Beds with a polyethylene sheeting foundation (with the sides of the sheeting raised) can conserve water. Chop-and-drop vegetative mulch can conserve water. If there is a bathtub handy it can be used as a bed. Providing partial shade, especially during heat waves as shown here, can help. Small shades placed on/against the sunward sides of root collars of fruit trees/moringa, etc. can help. Just need to cool that 30 cm. square at the base of the tree. In low spots, dig out a tank and line it with polyethylene. Provide shade over the tank to reduce evaporation. Build keyhole beds and include food-bearing shrubs or tall plants to shade heat-sensitive vegetables. Use contour ditching on hillsides to trap rainwater runoff. Use rolling barrels with drawbars to transport carry-water (https://rollingwaterfoundation.org/). Place barrels where water runs off buildings. 🙇‍♀️
Jun 7 at 1:52pmWeb
Show threadEco Youths Network UgandaJun 7

@shonin Thank you, that is great advice. However, since our land is away from the house, there is no way for us to collect water from roofs.

We also tried digging contour trenches a few weeks ago, but maybe because of our soil type, they completely dried up after a few days.

Mulching could work, and we have seen some benefits from it. The challenge is that ants attack the mulch, cut it, and also damage our crops.

We still need more sustainable ways. If you have more ideas, please stay with us. We will be happy to learn from you.

Show threadshoninJun 7
@econetwork The trenches are for a way to keep water from running away right after a storm. The rest of the time they will be dry. If the mulch is fresh the ants will recognize it as nutritious. Perhaps composting it for a year first will make it less attractive to them. Are you able to keep trees alive? If you have rows of trees alternating with rows of crops or beds, the trees will shade the ground around the crops part of the day, reducing evaporation and UV stress. Looks something like this:
Show threadshoninJun 7

@econetwork In such an arrangement, rows are oriented north-south so that morning and afternoon shade give evaporative relief to the vegetables, while overhead sun gives them the hours of sunlight that they need.

If you are having a water emergency and must use every liter available, I would go with grow bags under a shade structure, if enough materials for a sturdy structure can be found. Here is a One Acre Fund nursery in Kenya, for example. https://oneacrefund.org/

Show threadshoninJun 7

@econetwork Bags of the kind sold (where I am) for the purpose must be watered frequently; it's because they are made of permeable material to let the roots breathe. But I have seen some success gardening in buckets, trash bags and even 2-liter bottles. A hole at the bottom may be necessary to prevent rot, but it can be small to slow down water loss.

I have plants in planters hanging from hooks, with grow bags placed on the ground beneath them, to catch the water that escapes from the hanging plants.

Show threadshoninJun 7
@econetwork Then there is the "moist bed garden": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb_SPLmBQXg
How to make a moist bed garden - Farm Kenya

YouTube
Show threadshoninJun 7

@econetwork How far are you from water source? Well, spring, creek, river, pond, Lake Victoria, Lake Kyoga? Is there a church roof or school roof to fill water barrels? Is there someone with a truck? I had a friend who lived in Kenya and his village was getting through the dry season with a truck. It was costly, and I bet it is worse now. They took to building in-ground poly ponds which they filled from poly tarps in rainy season. It helped.

Sadly, we often attempt to farm more ground than we can water. US large scale farms are drying up the ground water to irrigate, and they will have trouble -- even more so as "AI" data centers grab the water ahead of them.

I myself tried to water 1,000 square meters of garden and orchard with a well that produced only 19 liters a minute. That was okay for two decades but then about 2015 it was no longer enough. There came to be too much sun and wind for that, even though I was using shade. I carried water from the duck baths to the fruit trees. I was a mile from the river and had no strength to collect river water to bring in the truck. I am 77 years old now and it shows! 😩

Show threadEco Youths Network Uganda4d ago

@shonin Just like you mentioned, we are also far from the water source, almost half a mile away.

We would collect the water ourselves, but unlike you, we don't have a truck to help us, hhhh. To be honest, we are still looking for solutions.

Some parts of our land have red soil and need a lot of water before we can think of growing certain vegetables. Right now, our banana plantation, which we planted recently, is not looking as healthy as we expected because the rainy season ended a few weeks ago.

As you advised, we have tried to look into some of the methods you mentioned, but honestly, they have not worked well for us. They may work in your area, but on our side things are much worse. Still, we keep trying and hoping to find a better way.

We appreciate your time and knowledge shared We hope it helps some people who followed the thread!

Show threadshonin4d ago
@econetwork Half a mile is a serious matter, I agree. Water is so heavy. Are there any of these available? https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/how-the-hippo-roller-is-changing-lives-across-the/
The Hippo Water Roller Is Changing Lives in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Hippo roller allows users in rural communities to transport up to 90L of water at a time, simply by rolling it on the ground.

Global Citizen
Show threadEco Youths Network Uganda4d ago
@shonin Ohh, they are new to us, wow what a creative thing 🤔
Show threadshonin4d ago
@econetwork Non governmental Organisations often give them away, mostly I think in places north of you. But it looks like with the right found materials, it could be made locally.
Show threadJürgenJun 7
@shonin @econetwork hmm - actually I allow trees back in my garden at the moment but I try to achieve this with artificial hedges made from woven dry wood - and it works (at least at my location here in the middle of Europe) - I built them one meter high and the soil north of them is still wet when everywhere around it is long dried up. Currently I try this with berries needing sun to ripen - this way only the base of the plant is shaded....
Show threadshoninJun 7
@elbosso @econetwork Yes -- in silviculture we called this "shade blocking." If we put even a small stone or stick on the southwest (in southern hemisphere, would have been northwest) side of each planted seedling, close to the stem -- it raised their chances of survival.