Erosion Control and Planting Water

Whether you live in a drought area as I do in Southern California, or an area that floods, proper management of water is essential. Sinking water safely and effectively involves digging swales (level bottomed ditches), and/or rain catchment basins, or dry but functional steambeds that sink water rather than expel it, or even just mulch-filled pits. Most can be done with a shovel. One inch of rain on an acre in one hour is 27,154 gallons of pure, slightly acidic water. Rainwater is a far better source for watering plants than chemical-laden domestic water, or mineral-heavy well water.

Here is a Powerpoint lecture I gave for the Fallbrook Climate Action Committee last month, which shows you the basics of erosion control and water sinkage. It also goes into using one-rock dams, media lunas, and Zuni bowls (such exotic names for such simple and common sense structures!) to heal erosion cuts. These can be done on even small erosion cuts.

Now is the time to sink water rather than have it drain into the streets. The hardscapes expelling water through drains is what causes most street flooding, as the natural plant and leaf-covered soil is no longer there to soak it up, and the vegetation is greatly reduced so that the water isn’t held in place through vascular systems. If every property safely sank and captured rainwater, everything would benefit. It isn’t difficult to do.

On the Resources page of this blog, under Finch Frolic Garden YouTube channel, I’ve bookmarked many experts showing water harvesting, sinking and control. Give yourself a little time to watch and be inspired.