Would this work?

Matt Magnussen · Post by **Matt Magnussen** » Sun Mar 21, 2010 8:03 pm

I am looking at buy a 890 acre Block in Pingrup as a hobby property, the current property is about 1/2 salt ravaged due to erosion from the floodplains and being ravaged by cattle and sheep, now it doesnt have a permeant stream system, yet you can still see the erosion from the water ways and floodplains from downpours etc yet i'm still looking at doing the chain of ponds system throughout the property. All the water runs to a large lake on the property, would it have the same effect as a running stream if i was the re pump the water using a solar pump back to the starting point in the chain of ponds?

duane · Post by **duane** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 7:31 pm

Matt

If you follow the way the Australian landscape operates you will see that fertility was carried DOWN the landscape via the hydrology....no matter how flat it is....it still has a fall.

So to solve your issues there is a very simple process. Take all your N and C mulch to the highest point on the property. Put it in heaps, plant in between the mulch....mulch farming and let the water pulse thru these mulch heaps and carry all the nutrients down to recover the salt scalded areas on the floodplains.

Once restored these will be the areas of your best productivity.

Matt Magnussen · Post by **Matt Magnussen** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:52 pm

N & C mulch is that things like tree branches etc? i am new to all this NSF stuff is there some where i can find information on what things i need to plant? is it in Peters Book?

matto · Post by **matto** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:19 pm

Matt Magnussen wrote:N & C mulch is that things like tree branches etc? i am new to all this NSF stuff is there some where i can find information on what things i need to plant? is it in Peters Book?

Hi Matt
You might find David Holmgren's "Trees on a Treeless Plain" useful for design aspects and possibly relevant to your area in WA. At http://www.holmgren.com.au/ under publications.
From a permaculture perspective, www.permacultureplants.net by Jeff Nugent at Nannup WA provides a extensive list of plants for productive rehabilitation.
Interplanting hardwood with acacias that provide a ready supply of mulch in leaf litter while fixing nitrogen.
Also observing what grows in natural wooded areas will give you an idea of what local plant guilds work.

duane · Post by **duane** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:16 am

Good advice Matto but Matt M please try and avoid planting any gum trees (eucalypts).

matto · Post by **matto** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:45 am

I saw an article by Rowan Reid of the Master Tree Growers they were trialling sandalwood over in WA for salinity conrol. David Jenkins seems to be the local MTG for WA, have a look at their website at agroforestry.net.au.
Surely not all gums are allelopathic, Duane? I have seen sugar gums used in a pasture/forestry situation. But im sure , Matt, you need to get your groundcover and understory working first and making the soil more porous to avoid runoff.

duane · Post by **duane** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 1:52 pm

Matto

they are doing very well in WA with sandalwood.

Eucalypts not only produce allelopathic compounds (all plants do). These are compouds to prevent competition against other eucalypts and between one another.

The MAIN problem with eucalypts is that they produce polyphenols, highly toxic compounds, which when in high enough concentrations can kill off both plants and animals inc humans, as well as cause other serious health issues. This is one of the reasons why Aborigines burnt out the Red River gums....they poisoned the water holes!!!

This was the case recently in Tasmania highlighted where E.nitans plantations had poisoned the whole ecosystem all the way to the estuaries.

Matt Magnussen · Post by **Matt Magnussen** » Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:42 pm

if i purchase the property the first thing i do will be to sort out the ground cover and fixing the erosion, i am currently just trying to get an idea of what might work on my block of land. the block does have a natural slope Duane what i was wondering was all the water runs down the stream the stream is only on my block is does not attach to any other water source, and into one of the dams on the block of land, would it work if i was to pump the water back to origin in the stream to recreate a running stream system to A. purify it even more as it is quite saline and B. help the land fertilisation further?

by the way how do i upload a photo i have satellite image of the property?

Shirley Henderson · Post by **Shirley Henderson** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:34 am

HI Matt, I think that is a great idea about recycling the water. I did this on small scale in my front garden and the water was healthy and stable. I had fish and frogs breeding in the pond and plants taking up the nutrients. I would be doing the same thing if I had a reliable source of water on my new property. On your trek back to the water plant lots of cypress, rushes, sedges and wetland plants to filter your water as it heads back to the dam. How long an area are you talking about you will need a good pump. I reckon it could be trial an error as you will need to place rocks and plants in the right places.
Shirley

Julian · Post by **Julian** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:09 pm

My 2 Bobs worth, If you start pumping water around you are getting away from the "Natural Sequence". One it will cost a fortune, 2 Nature will do it for free. The whole system will run with irregular water it set up correctly.
Ok in your back yard, but not 800 acres.

alan · Post by **alan** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 3:57 pm

Matt,

If you create the chain of ponds from the highest point and you re-hydrate the land, why do you need to pump the water back to the top? Why not let it collect in the lake, if that is where it runs to and then let it flow further out across your property.

It seems you will gain both ways; your lake will be full and you have more streams and ponds. Who knows, you may even start to hydrate your neighbours land.

Natural Sequence Farming

Would this work?

Would this work?

Pumping Water