Ultimate food forest garden watering guide - part 2

[@formidableflora5951]

Videos just keep getting better and better. Yes, cover that soil, but leave a few bare patches of ground in a well-drained area for wild birds to take dust baths. Also, some species of native bees nest in well-drained bare ground. Currently heading towards drought conditions here, but we're (mostly) ready.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Love it! I should mention this in a future video. Very important. Unfortunately, birds having access to bare soil from my neighbours and surrounding farms is not in any shortage.

[@OnyxFyre]

Great video! I wish we got more rain here where I live. We get an average of 11 inches of rain per year, and about 3-3.5 months of no rain to speak of in the heat of the summer. We are on our 4th year of our food forest, and struggling with watering. Young plants burn to a crisp in July and August. Our strawberries don’t spread like yours do because it it too hot and dry. They send out plenty of runners, but they burn. I will take some of your advice and plant a lot more densely around our fruit trees, and make sure to bring in more wood chips and organic matter for thicker mulch. I hope we can figure it out this year!

[@Spazturtle]

Making sure to capture rain water is especially important if you have acid soil and have decided to embrace it and planted acid loving plants. I have heavy clay soil and have found that letting it dry can actually help build the soil, water run off due to clay's low water infiltration capacity can be reduced by letting the soil dry and large cracks form and then filling them with organic matter which over the years creates veins of organic matter throughout the soil allowing water to soak in deep.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Interesting :)

[@przybyla420]

How acidic is it? Does it flood every year? If not, you don’t have to embrace it, you can simply mulch heavily or dress with compost, repeatedly. The organic matter will neutralize the acidity.

[@Christodophilus]

You definitely promote dense plantings - in this video and others. Which I appreciate, where I live. Specifically at 20:25 though, you said, "So this is midday: it's going to evaporate away", as you were watering into the stems of dense plantings. I thought, maybe on the leaf surface which faces the sun, would evaporate. However, the stems of the ground-cover were so densely packed, any water reaching soil level, wouldn't evaporate. I can see now, you may have meant (generally speaking) evaporation is at it's highest, at midday. Which is true for plants in isolation. Paired with that particular visual of dense plantings though, it didn't seem as obvious. :) Love you videos though. Keep them coming. As a Southern Hemisphere gardener, it's obvious to use dense plantings to avoid evaporation and cooking the soil. But I've always seen uncertainty used in Northern Hemisphere gardens - that it might stunt the plants you want to grow, because of reducing sun exposure (ie: radiant heat to warm the soil, or shading leafs to photosynthesise). It's great to see someone voicing the opposite and having success in their Northern Hemisphere garden.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Oh I get it now. Okay perfect. Indeed, I was talking about water on the leaves. You are 100% right, no matter what time you water, any water dripping down the leaves and stem into the woodchips and down into the soils, most of that water will stay. Thanks for following up to clear that up. :) I should have been more specific to avoid confusion. It's funny because it's all sorted out in my head, but when you explain it, sometimes you forget a key point.

[@leonshomegrown]

Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing 😊😊😊

[@StephanieBacks]

i'm glad for this random youtube recommendation. you dont talk down to your audience, you dont yell at the camera, and you explain things! :) (not just swales because its permaculture, and permaculture = swales stuff!)

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Glad you found me :) Those sure are some interesting STRATEGIES FOR A GARDENING CHANNEL!!!!!!11!!1!

[@homesteadhaven6024]

A 10 hour long video on watering?! Yes please! Hahaha that would take a month to edit and we appreciate your more frequent appearance. Thank you for debunking so many of the watering myths that drive us batty. You’re great at explaining all this! Who knew that engineering and Mother Nature are so integrated!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks for watching Angela, and commenting always. So glad to have you as part of the community.

[@martybartfast1]

Thank you again Sir! Such a wise view on water, I have a friend who works at a water company and they are using biodigesters to gain natural gas and high grade fertiliser, the only problem is that farmers are not willing to use the fertiliser as it has Humanure links and if that was to get into the public domain, then their sales would suffer. Also, I agree, Water is key. If we all caught the rain that fell on the property we dwell in, imagine the reduction of our carbon footprint (BP term coined or no)... and the purity. I also think that a sand, charcoal bio filter, to help further clean the water, gravity fed if possible, would be a sensible idea. Thank you for your posts, that help me ponder in the 'Wolfs' hour when I find sleep hard to slip into. Peace. m

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah, I'm currently thinking if it's worth getting a solar pump and just slowly pumping a wetland filtered section that I would create in my artesian well overflow, then running that through another reed bed and charcoal (biochar) filter, etc. It's a project that I have in the back of my mind that I may take on at some point.

[@martybartfast1]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy So much to do, and so little time. The fact I seem to get from your chanel is that you have an enjoyment of the time you have. Projects are sometimes tantalising at the start .. then a few years down the line; you realise that it's been done and in use for years. I wish I was able to become a Patrion but if my comments can help you in some way then I am happy to return some good Karma back to you and your family, and the greater family of those who follow your work. Peace m

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Watching and sharing the channel with your friends does more help than direct financial help, by a long shot. Thanks as always.

[@Renee-cd3sm]

Another great video! I love the style because I learn by watching and doing so even little things like getting down and putting your hand in the soil and showing the color of leaves etc helps me 🤓

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks for all your comments and feedback lately. It helps me so much to know what people enjoy and get value from, so I can do that stuff more.

[@fredfrond6148]

Haskap’s 👍 Cold hardy, perfect for Canada. Hard to kill perfect for me. Brought to Ontario through Saskatchewan.

[@why6246]

Just planted a haskap last month! Have never eaten one, but they sounded so good. It hasn't fruited yet but now I'm really looking forward to it! Will put some comfrey in my garden to make tea :) I learned from E. Ingham that she puts humic acid (compost extract), fish aminos, & kelp into tea to make a fungal feeder. I'm gonna try that too since my soil is definitely fungi-deficient given the wide variety of weeds growing (more bacteria dominant).

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

She is my favorite! I wish I could just download her brain. Regarding the haskaps, they are a bit of an acquired taste. If you don't like them at first (tart/sour) stick with it. They are very healthy but also quote delicious when your palette adjusts to them. They make incredible jam also! And no disease or pest issues.

[@why6246]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thanks for the info! I do like tart fruits. My kid hates them so maybe there'll be more for me lol

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Its funny too because my kids ALL completely hated them first year. Now I couldn't even make jam with them this year because the kids ate every single one. They are worse than the birds!

[@lars_larsen]

Your little talk about haskap there.. You should do a series of videos on individual plants where you just talk about one plant and what you like or don't like about them, where and how they like to grow, and what to do with them and such.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

That's a great idea. I think I will do that.

[@Julzfowlacrz]

Thank you for your beautiful work!!!!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks for watching :)

[@White_belt_at_life]

I really do love all the advice you give. Thank you seriously, it helps!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks for watching! And more so for commenting. It really helps me out I think. I think my videos are starting to get suggested to people because of all my awesome watchers like you making comments!

[@malloryyoung2310]

Great video, as always! I really benefited from the explanation at the end about why rain water is better than city or well water. I also really like the tip on picking a property- look for a place with free water. I would love a video devoted to site/property selection. What things should I aim for or avoid? what things are not great, but can be overcome? I looked for one in your video list and couldn't find one, so apologies if I missed it.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Indeed, it is in my list of videos to make. Thanks for the suggestions 😀

[@laurakolozsi1216]

Hi There, I hope that you and your family are enjoying that cool and refreshing pond you put in recently. Hope they're treating you well on Father's Day as well. I am writing because I have planted 2 goumi berry bushes this spring and with the advent of this super hot weather, they seem to be showing some signs of heat stress. I have them planted in clay soil with about 12 inches of mulch on top. I noticed that they were'nt fairing well yesterday and watered them this morning but they still haven't shown any sign of improvement. I know you have some goumi bushes as well and wondered if you know how to care for them better (e.g. do they like shade, etc) and also wondered if yours were showing sings of stress as well. I believe you have sand though, so it may be different. I am in York Region, Zone 5 near Lake Simcoe (Keswick area). Thanks and happy weekend!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

This spring has been pretty dry so far. Give them tons of water right now. They can do well in poor soils, but they definitely prefer sandy soils to clay soils. Over time your soil in that spot will get better. Being a nitrogen fixer, they tend to like early brushland ecosystems, so wide open and no shade. Most nitrogen fixers tend to really struggle under shade, as they have kind of done their job and the ecosystem is transitioning past their niche, and into a forest. Ideally they are planted with no sin competition, but they have a groundcover around them that helps shade the soils and keep them from drying out. My food forest stuff is all doing really well through this drought. My annuals and grass are really rough, mostly from neglect, but it's been super hot and super dry.

[@laurakolozsi1216]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thank so much for your reply! Really appreciate it! I always begin to worry when one of my plants/trees/etc is showing signs of stress. Really helps having someone who has been there, done that and has knowledge and experience to reach out to. Thanks for sharing that with us! Hope you enjoy the rest of your Father's Day!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thabks Laura :)

[@Quebecusa]

Hi! Love your videos! why not put a ramp into the pond so the animals can get out by themselves.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

There actually are quite a few areas they can get out. The wetland filter for example itself goes from 1 foot deep to 1 inch deep. There are also a few logs they can get out. At the opposite area of the pond there are steps that are about 3 inches each, and at the corner from that there is the waterfall overflow that is 1 inch deep. Tons of places for stuff to escape if they fall in.

[@richardruss7481]

One of the things that most people do not do, is leave some fruit for nature (to self seed, to enrich the soil, to feed insects, etc.).

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

So important

[@mxgangrel]

So I'm about to plant a considerable amount of trees at what I feel is a considerable cost. You mentioned not fencing out the wildlife. But if I don't fence deer will strip these trees bare and kill them. So wondering what your idea is for that? It's my plan to make enclosures with fencing around each tree and I was going to plant something like rhubarb or comfrey by each of those fences. I'll add the brush layer later (though i'l be working around lots of BlackBerry already. )

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I think its fine to protect young trees, especially if you have deer pressure. Everyone's situation is different. For example, I have tons of deer here but I ALSO have tons of forest that I back onto. That forest has forage for the deer. Its not like my property is the only source of food for miles. So I think each person can decide what works best for them, and don't let anyone make you feel bad about it. Once your trees get larger, you can take down the fences and try to plant herbaceous layer plants like Jerusalem Artichokes for them. Don't feel bad about fencing them out for now. My only advice is that deer will jump a 6 foot fence. So the best protection is either a 10 foot fence, or fencing around each tree. A noisy dog also helps a ton.

[@mxgangrel]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy thanks I plan to fence around each tree. Hadn't thought about Jerusalem artichoke. There's not a problem with them taking over? I have them in containers and contained areas around my residence. I love them!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

They would take over for sure, so only do this in a space you will manage heavily. Just chop and drop them once a month or so, in areas you don't want them taking over.

[@nomiss2593]

I absolutely love your content and I only now realised that I wasn't even subscribed to your channel until just now, ooops😅 How cold do your winters get in your region? Ever thought about growing those little cold hardy kiwis that can be eaten with the skin? I heard they tolerate pretty heavy frosts.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Haha glad you fixed that terrible problem! Lol We hit -40 two years ago, and -34 this past winter. Those are cold hardy kiwi, and I have 3 of them. The variety I have is self fertile. I may grab more as the years go by. I am waiting to fill out my vining layer until the trees are a bit bigger... but one day each tree will have a kiwi growing up it.

[@d.w.stratton4078]

Would you say that biochar is more of a necessity if you're kick starting soil that has been sitting there as grassland long-term and you want to get into woody planting vs. soil that is already supporting secondary forest succession? Or is it just the bomb for either application? And is there such a thing as too much or of that pretty hard to do given how much work it takes to make large quantities of biochar?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Definitely not necessary at all. As far as application rate, there were studies done in Sweden (I think) where they went from 0% biochar to 75% in 5% increments, and they found optimal rates were 15, 20 and 25%. Sadly I don't know if anyone tried to reproduce that experiment, or do more trials in the optimal ranges. One neat thing as that plants were growing in 75% biochar 25% native soil. Kind of crazy.

[@paulgutches5253]

How much biochar should be added to each compost batch (ratio), and are you applying the finished compost to the surface or digging it in?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Roughly 10 to 20% biochar by volume. To add it in I just put it on top and let the rains bring it down. If its in my annuals garden, I will rake back woodchips as I plant new plants (plant in soil not in chips) and just use the biochar compost as I fill it back in, then woodchips back on top.

[@Hecatai27]

Is that waterfall and surrounding water naturally occurring on your property or did you build it? It's amazing!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

We have a stream on the border of our land, but the pond and waterfall and the stream going out of the waterfall is all man made and added this season. The goal for that area was to naturalize it and make it look like it has always been there. I'm very happy how it all turned out. It will only get better from here as the plants grow.

[@TouchingHarmonyHomestead]

What do you do if you've already planted tons of trees and shrubs but never put in any swales? Just skip that step and focus on heavily mulching etc?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yep, I wouldn't go and retroactively put in swales after trees are established.

[@Christodophilus]

Great content. In Australia, evaporation is a big issue for us. Dense planting is a must! I would disagree the water will evaporate away, where you have maximum plant coverage. In my experience, gravity takes the water down the stems and the cooling effect in the dense foliage, keeps it from evaporating. However, a certain degree would evaporate on the surface of the leafs. Plants in isolation would evaporate a lot more water though.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Oh for sure. Can I ask you where you got that from (that in was advocating that dense planting will increase evaporation). I was trying to make the opposite point, that dense plantings creates shading and windbreaks that reduce evaporation. I want to make sure I can be more clear in the future if I created ambiguity or wasn't clear how I said it.

[@BananaHammyForYou]

Great video, things are coming along. Question for you, I've had this superstition for a while about watering during the day and I'm not sure if it's true at all. I've noticed that if there is a water droplet on a leaf it will focus the sun onto one point. It seems like it would overload the cells in that focal point. What do you think? Maybe it doesn't matter since the water will add enough cooling to keep from burning anything.

[@Uagiant]

He actually covers this in the last video, watering guide - part 1.

[@BananaHammyForYou]

@@Uagiant Oh thanks, I missed that one I guess.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks!

[@TouchingHarmonyHomestead]

How do you seal the ponds that you hand dug?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

One has constsnt flow from the artesian well, so I don't really mind if it leaks. That water has to get soaked into the soil at some point, my goal for that pond is just to spread out the water as much as possible as it winds toward the pond and then from the stream overflow out of the pond. For the other hand dug pond, it has an epdm liner.

[@ChristopherEPineda]

Over watering wilt sometimes looks like the plant it somehow “melting.”

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah, I had a video a few months ago where I discuss the symptoms of overwatering. Chlorosis from the tips back (yellowing), eventually covering the whole plant. The plant doesn't feel firm anymore but rather mooshy and melting. It feels like the plant is liquifying.

[@huckleberrywoods420]

I'd love to see an entire video dedicated to growing soil not plants.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Maybe I will do something like that in the fall when i go get a few thousand leaf bags. Would be a great time to talk about that.

[@craigmetcalfe1749]

Forget about permaculture, your future lies in refereeing WWE between the WWF combatants. The first minute is hilarious! 'Onya Keith!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Lol