Groasis Update 2018

Here's the Spring 2018 Groasis update:

Chokecherry planted in 2013-2014. As you can see there is a lot of difference between plants. Some are still small at about 3 inches still inside the waterboxx and others are growing past the wire cage.

 

I had to take two pictures of the "star" which is over 2' Choke Cherries are supposed to be a "fast grower" well... around here survival is considered "fast growth"

 

 

Yes that is a Black Widow Spider egg sac you see... 

the spiders really like living inside the opening for the plants. 

 

This is a little "shooter" growing out from the bottom of  waterboxx.

 

Here's the link to earlier posts:

http://ziskac.blogspot.com/search?q=groasis

Groasis 2013-2017

Here we are again. The good news is that the chokecherries are still alive. The rate of growth isn't awe inspiring but in my experience once something survives here for a few years ... it's going to hang on...

This is one of the survivors from 2014

and the "star" a bare root planted in 2015

and a shy one of the native locals - still alive- a baby planted in 2015

I'm staying cautiously optimistic. There are some others which were planted last year which haven't budded yet- I'll post those when there's a little more to show.

2013-2017 past posts on Groasis 

Groasis 3 years in...

It's time to check in on the Groasis Waterboxxes. If you want to see the previous posts please search for Groasis or use this link.

Of the bare root choke cherries I started with in 2013 one is doing very well. These are the bare root choke cherries I got from  Cold Stream Farm in Michigan It's gone from this:

2013

to this: 2014

to this: 2015

The other choke cherries from Rocky Mountain Native plants were tiny seedlings:

and I had my doubts that these would ever make it to the sunlight;

but look at that!

Without irrigation and really, without any attention or care. So to recap I had some difficulty the first year with deer eating the bare root trees (giving myself a dope slap for that). My local supplier only had seedlings so that's what I used to replace the bare root starters which the deer had munched. I had a couple of waterboxxes which lost water because of root infiltration so I had to caulk and refill those. Sometimes I clear the water intake funnels but that's about it. 

I'll keep posting but overall I'm confident enough to give these a try for something more substantial than choke cherries. To be continued….

Groasis update

The first bare root choke cherries I planted were in May 2013. 

Most of these were eaten by deer but one has survived.

Two summers of growth without irrigation- not too bad.

I replaced the choke cherries which the deer had eaten with smaller seedlings. 

These are smaller than what Groasis recommends since they don't come above the edge of the box.

And this is what they look like in October 2014

Still growing and still deep inside the box.

I added more bare root choke cherries this spring (2014)

Once protected from the deer they seem to be hanging on.

If you do a search for "Groasis" on the blog you'll see more detailed entries.

http://ziskac.blogspot.com/search?q=groasis

Groasis redux

Okay, one year later and where are we with the Groasis waterboxxes?

One bare root choke cherry from Cold Stream Farm has made it and is looking *fabulous*

in case you've forgotten this is what it looked like last June:

The teensy choke cherries which I planted last fall are also hanging in there

I didn't expect growth over the winter ...

and I didn't get it- but they're not dead and there is some green for Spring.    

The boxes are holding water well:

but I think if I put in anymore I'll silicone around the wick on all of them…

This one had root infiltration and sucked the water which should have gone to the baby choke cherries. 

The other thing I'm trying is planting a  third seedling in each box. After listening to "To the Best of Our Knowledge." and their excellent program on "The Secret Language of Plants" with Suzanne Simard I'm hoping for some cooperation between seedlings so maybe those who get more sunlight will share. (Here's what a bare root tree from Cold Stream Farm looks like when you get it.)

Overall, it could be better it could be worse. There's no question that if you keep the native grass roots out of the waterboxx that the seedlings or the bare root trees will grow. The other factors seem to be getting a good bare root tree to start which is tall enough to get some sunlight and making sure deer don't eat that little baby tree once it starts to turn green.

It's certainly cheaper than running irrigation over to a remote part of the property. It's really not that labor intensive; and it's a smart use of water. The box does trap snow and rain well. I don't know if the condensation is working as well in practice as in theory but the point is there is water year round. In June and July that's very important in the high country desert of the Western U.S. 

The dirt (and I use the term loosely- since it's really compacted clay) looks good- damp- holding water well- and under one box - *worms*!!! (worms are good).

My conclusion would be if you're not in a hurry to see full grown trees overnight this one is worth a try.

Groasis grows.... or not.

First the good news. My good buddy Chris (landscaper who planted my apple trees) got some cages to cover the Groasis Waterboxxes to help keep the deer away.

On Memorial Day weekend I planted 20 choke cherry trees in 10 Groasis waterboxxes. Twelve of these were 12"  choke cherry (Prunus virginiana) seedlings mailed from Cold Stream Farm in Michigan and eight were 2" itsy bitsy babies from CSR in Rifle Colorado 

One of the larger seedlings seems to be doing well.

The other eleven, not so much. As you can see by the close up this one is dead- and snaps in two with a little flick of my thumb.

The others are dead or dying.

It seems that spiders have contributed to their demise. I'm not sure what kind of spider, but anything which makes a funnel web I give a wide berth. My camera has a zoom which fits nicely in the Groasis opening so I could get a view right down at plant level without getting too close.

Of the 8 baby seedlings 6 are still green so there's still hope.  I think I'll try and plant new seedlings in the fall where the other's have died but I'll definitely go with smaller ones.

Groasis Waterboxx

It's all about water.  I'm always looking for ways to harvest water.  This led me on an internet search for an earthbox. I thought this would be a good solution for our short growing season. I could start some veggies indoors while it was still to cold to plant or I could have a self-watering herb garden.

But instead of googling "earthbox" I googled "waterbox" and this is what I got:


Waaaaaay cooler than an indoor planter. I especially liked the accordion  lid which promoted  Condensation even better I could buy them on the Groasis web site.

One of my main goals is to help restore local wildlife to the levels they were at 18 years ago when everyone was still using flood irrigation (sprinkler irrigation has really changed the local wildlife *a lot*). One of the ways to do this is to plant things which the locals like to eat.

I bought 10 Groasis Waterboxxes and 20 baby choke cherry trees.

Itsy bitsy chokecherry trees.

 The "bucket" part of the box is like a doughnut with holes for the trees. There is a template to help place the seedlings and nylon wicks for the water to "weep" from the box into the ground.

The top of the box has the accordion shape to promote condensation. 

I took rainwater out of the cistern. I got a little help from BB.

 Next I dug holes for the boxes. The one place where these tend to fail is the wick. If you don't bury it below the roots of the native grasses the grass roots will choke the wick.

 That means at least 18" deep in my dense clay loamy soil.
Then soak the hole with water and stir- to help aerate the soil- and let it soak in for at least an hour- then stir again.

I got help with the "stir" part. There is nothing quite like a muddy Puli.

 Poke holes in the template for the seedlings.

 Poke holes in the mud for the seedlings.

 Snip a little off the roots and the top of the seedlings (helps promote growth).

 Plant 'em. Cover the template with dirt to help make a tight seal between the bucket and the template (0% evaporation is the goal) See where the compass is? Orient the seedlings East/West for the best shade/sun.

Place the wick and put the bucket over the seedlings.

Snap on the lid.

 Place the funnels in the holes.

 Fill the bucket with water. If you overfill there is an overflow hole on the North side.

 Thirsty work says the Duffmeister.

 Fill the hole back up around the bucket. I'll post a picture of the mulch/rocks later but that's what comes next mulch around the box and cover the mulch with rocks to stop grass growing too close to the box.

I planted these Memorial Day weekend and we haven't had more than a wiffle of rain since.  Eight of the boxes are still full of water. I've refilled two of them. One still seems to be losing water and the seedlings aren't doing too well in that one. The other nine are really looking pretty good right now. This is a picture of the healthiest one. 

The water in the box is supposed to last 1-2 years. By that time the trees should be well enough established to keep growing without the boxes.

If this works I will definitely do a happy dance.