Deserts make up about one third of the Earth's land area, an incredible amount considering that 70% of the Earth as a whole is covered by ocean. This desert area, defined as that which gets less than 10 inches of rain a year, cannot produce much of value for mankind or for wildlife. In many of these deserts, there is sufficient rainfall for well adapted trees to grow, but that rainfall all falls over a very short period (sometimes in one monsoon rainstorm). Most previous efforts at growing trees and other plants in the desert have focused on collecting water in large reservoirs and distributing it via canals to crops and trees. This method is as old as civilization itself, but it is very wasteful and inefficient (as most water in open canals is subject to evaporation, and that within pipes frequently requires electricity to move). Also, in many places (like the Sahara and increasingly in the southwest U.S.), there is not enough water to meet all demand. So is there a way to grow trees in the desert without continuing irrigation - yes, with the Groasis Waterboxx PlantCocoon®.
The Deserts of the world are tan on this map from Climate.gov
The Groasis Waterboxx PlantCocoon (called the Waterboxx for short) was invented by Pieter Hoff, a Dutch tulip exporter who retired to find a way to help green the deserts. After copying the best concepts nature had to offer (from the lessons of bird droppings to the Lotus Effect to capillary water), Mr. Hoff had developed the Waterboxx. This device, which is initially filled up with 4 gallons of water, with another 10 poured into the soil where the plant is to be planted, is a self refilling water battery for trees and other plants. The tree is planted in the central opening of the Waterboxx, and its roots grow straight down to access the soil water column released by the Waterboxx. The Waterboxx collects dew whenever present and is completely refilled by just 4 inches of rainwater. The whole process of the Waterboxx is explained below:
The Groasis Waterboxx has been tested in several deserts around the world. Its first large scale test was in the great Sahara Desert in Morocco. Below you see the initial planting of Tamarix (salt cedar) trees in a land of nothing but dry sand. This planting took place in 2010 initially.
Setting up a Groasis Waterboxx to plant a Tamarix Tree in 2010 - From Groasis.com
These trees thrived. Using the Waterboxx, tree plantings in Morocco had a 88% first year survival rate, compared to 11% with the non-Waterboxx trees, which were watered weekly. When two trees are planted per Waterboxx (as intended) the chance that one of them survives is 99%. The Waterboxx was left in place until the trees outgrew them, and the results are seen below.
The same Tamarix trees 4 years later in 2014 - also from Groasis
Tree plantings in the desert of Ecuador were even more impressive. Below you see over one year's growth of a Beechwood tree planted with the Waterboxx. Because deserts tend to be in areas with more sun (due to location and less cloud cover), once the critical shortage of water is solved by the Waterboxx, the desert can truly bloom.
14 month growth of a tree with the Waterboxx - compiled from photos at Groasis.com
So yes, trees can be grown in the desert with the Waterboxx. The Waterboxx was initially designed to stop the spread of the deserts, planting trees along desertifying lands like the Sahel region in Africa. We formed our company Dew Harvest because we saw the potential of the Waterboxx to change the American landscape, allowing many very dry areas in Western U.S. to have trees and other plants without irrigation. You can buy the Waterboxx in the U.S. from Dew Harvest.
If we can establish enough trees throughout the world (for whatever reason - from lumber to nut and fruit production or shade or simple love of nature), we can not only improve the value of nearly worthless desert land to ourselves and wildlife, but we can sequester huge amount of carbon dioxide. The Waterboxx was designed for this purpose. Please send us your Waterboxx success story to testimonials@dewharvest.com
You can see all our blog posts about planting trees with the Waterboxx here. We would love to hear your comments below - to leave one, please click on "Comments".
In another post, we discussed good fruit trees for those lucky enough to live in a Mediterranean climate. Here we will discuss the best nut trees for the same climate.
The Mediterranean climate, also known as a dry summer subtropical climate, is characterized by warm summers and mild, wet winters, with temperatures rarely dipping below freezing. Only a few portions of the world outside the Mediterranean basin have this climate, including parts of South Africa, Chile, Australia, and southern California here in the U.S.
The Mediterranean climate can be wonderful for those wishing to grow fruits and nuts due to its mild winters. However, the lack of summer rain can make establishing trees very difficult - that was until the advent of the Groasis Waterboxx - a self refilling water battery for trees that slowly irrigates the roots of the young plant.
What nut trees grow best in a Mediterranean climate? There are several, including many that are popular in the U.S.
Pecans This wonder food, Carya illinoinesensis is probably best known as a pie topping, but if eating this nut alone it is remarkably healthy. Pecans are very difficult to establish because they have a true, deep taproot that means their roots need to be constantly wet when planting - a job perfect for the Waterboxx. It is important to get pecans suited to your area (see here for California). The pecan is originally from the Mississippi Valley, so it does require water during the summer months.
Pecan, grown for shade - From Wikipedia, By Bruce Marlin [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Walnuts Walnut, or Juglans species, are very interesting trees. Renowned for the quality of their wood, their nuts are also highly desired. Walnut roots produce a chemical called juglone which prevents growth of nearby plants so any walnut groves need to be isolated from other plants and trees. Although walnuts are monoecious (both male and female flowers on one tree) you need more than one for proper pollination due to differences in timing between shedding of male pollen and receptivity of female flowers (in other words, they are called dichogamus). Walnuts need well drained soil.
Pistachio These can be somewhat difficult to bring to full production because they do need watering during the summer nut ripening period. Also, it is very important to properly process and store the nuts because a cancer causing chemical called aflatoxin can be produced by a fungus on improperly stored shells (as it is produced in many other plants under improper conditions). These trees are also slow growing - taking a minimum of 5 years after planting grafted trees to get any nuts. If you are patient and in for a challenge with a great reward, pistachio may be for you. You will need one male tree for every 9 female trees. Male trees do not produce the nuts. Here is a list of nurseries where you can buy pistachio trees. Planting with the Waterboxx can give the roots more consistent water and better growth early in the tree's life, potentially decreasing time to nut production.
Ripening Pistachio Nuts - From Wikipedia, By Paolo Galli (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Almonds Prunus dulcis, almonds are actually a stone fruit that is treated like a nut. These trees are superbly suited to a Mediterranean climate, and in the U.S. grow best in southern California. They bloom in February, and need consistent watering after planting, best provided by the Waterboxx. Of note, it is very important to never eat wild almonds as they contains the chemical amydalin which can be converted into hydrogen cyanide, a very deadly poison.
Chestnuts Castanea species, these are the only nut that contain vitamin C. These trees can be harvested in October. Chestnuts are very drought resistant once established, and the Groasis Waterboxx is the perfect device to establish deep roots without continued watering. These trees prefer a soil pH of 4.5-6.5. You will need at least two chestnut trees to have production of nuts. More detailed instructions on planting chestnuts can be found here. Chestnuts are generally cooked in aluminum foil until one pops - then the rest are eaten. Without cooking they can be quite bitter.
Planting nut trees with the Groasis Waterboxx Areas with Mediterranean climate can be wonderful places to live, garden, and grow trees - if the trees can get deep roots established. The Groasis Waterboxx solves this problem, and ends the need for irrigation of young trees, by slowly releasing stored water to the roots of the growing tree. The water is also prevented from evaporation by the Waterboxx, meaning a column of water will grow directly beneath the tree, inducing the tap root to grow straight down to deeper capillary water. The Waterboxx refills itself from rare rain and morning dew, funneling it into a reservoir for later use. The Waterboxx is explained in the video below:
The Waterboxx can be reused for up to 10 years, and used for planting multiple different trees. The Groasis Waterboxx can also be used for growing annual garden plants. The Waterboxx can be purchased from Dew Harvest here.
Harvesting and Storage As mentioned above, improper harvesting and storage of some nuts can lead to contamination with aflatoxin, which is potentially lethal due to liver damage and cancer causing properties. The University of California has an excellent resource on how to harvest and store many of the nuts discussed above.
Try Out The Waterboxx The Groasis Waterboxx is available for purchase from Dew Harvest in the United States.
You can see all our blog posts about planting trees with the Waterboxx here.
We would love to hear your comments below - to leave one, please click on "Comments".
These breeding lines are at various stages in development, but represent those that we voted as best of 2014.Since these plants were in four different breeding nurseries, MN, NC, PA and CA – there are at least two from each to avoid biasing by growing location.The fact they were not side-by-side, head-to-head, and were tasted at various times from mid-July to mid-August should preclude a formal ranking – but what the heck. #1 I planted Everett's Rusty Oxheart tomato a few years ago, and it was too late for our Minnesota season - never ripened. I was able to use it as a pollen parent in a cross, and wow! We've got a handful of F4 lines now that are hands down the best/tastiest tomatoes in our breeding nurseries. I’ve posted two photos that represent the range of about eight lines we are advancing. All have phenomenal flavor and a light to dark ochre skin with some pronounced green in the flesh.The fruit have heart shaped tendencies.Good lookers to be sure, but the flavor will make these famous. I have never been so optimistic about a breeding line.
#2 I love the contrast between dark red flesh and the metallic green striped epidermis in this line. This trait combo is now fixed in the F5 – we are fine tuning now for flavor, fruit shape/size and plant health. We think this line will be outstanding.The two photos represent the surprise/thrill in cutting open the fruit.Someone online said it looks like a watermelon – perhaps.
#3 Backcrossing is traditionally used to introduce a “donor trait” from a non-recurrent parent into a elite (recurrent) parent. BCx generation represents x number of backcrosses to the recurrent parent – for example (AxB) x B = BC1. A modified backcross means that the “recurrent” parent may vary from one generation to the next; (AxB) x C = MBC1, with A being the trait donor. Here are fruit from three excellent F4 plants from MBC2 lines with OSU Blue as the donor parent. Flavor in these striped indigo cherry/grapes is very good to excellent - basic trait package is fixed, fine tuning should be completed by 2016.
#4 This is perhaps the best beefsteak I have ever tasted. Deep red with gold stripes, a F6 from Earl’s Faux x BTD.Unfortunately the only photo shows cross sections of F5 plants sliced open for tasting in the NC breeding nursery.
#5 This F5 line has wow flavor and very interesting GWR tricolor flesh. Green w/ orange stripes saladette. It placed first in two FLF tastings at our MN farm this year.It is still segregating some for fruit size, but flavor and tricolor flesh have stabilized.At our home nursery (MN), this is the one I headed to consistently this summer when picking a tomato or three for dinner.
#6 We have a half dozen F6 lines from a cross between Randy Gardner’s GOB14 (LB/EB tolerant plum, similar to Plum Regal) and SunSugar. These lines combine the flavor of SunSugar with the plant health/fruit quality of GOB14. Shape varies from grape to elongated pear - this one was a favorite. Several of thesewere also at the MN nursery this year and rivaled #5 for most often eaten with/for lunch or dinner.
#7 A great line in it’s own right, this is turning out to be a phenomenal parent. This F6 line traces to (Sungold x Pink Boar), with Brix >10, and a lot of flavor complexity. It is a poor seed producer with only moderate fruit yield - but tends to pass on most of its flavor attributes as a parent in F1 crosses. We call it the ugly duckling – but the taste will knock your socks off.
#8 This started out as a project to combine freckles and Aft/atv fruit. The goal was gold freckles on an indigo background - and we are getting close. Still a work in progress, but this year at our NC/Burton Farms nursery we found this single plant in a row of 50. A friend suggested the name “Lucy in the Sky”. This year we’ll see if the phenotype is stable.
#9 Best tasting GWR in 2014, this F4 has a complex pedigree with contributions from SunGold, BTD and Cherokee Purple. A striped oblong heart with very high yield, excellent fruit quality and very good plant health. We have high hopes for this line, though it is still segregating.
#10 We love a starburst pattern on the blossom end, and have several such lines. This is one of the most striking, and best tasting.
Biomimicry is the process imitating the wisdom of nature to solve human problems, and it rightfully has received a great deal of attention lately. Nature's organisms have been struggling to adapt to and live in inhospitable environments for millenia, while modern human engineering attempting the same feat is only a few hundred years old. The most famous example of biomimicry is probably Velcro, which mimics the hooks of burrs to become adhesive to fabric and hair. However, a more complete and just as useful example of biomimicry is the Groasis Waterboxx.
The Groasis Waterboxx is a brilliant device to grow trees and other plants in the desert without any continuing irrigation. The Waterboxx uses multiple ideas from nature to accomplish this task - in fact, the Waterboxx is so effective that it allows up 88-99% of trees planted with it to survive in the Sahara desert.
Bird Droppings Birds are like humans in that they can see in color (some can actually see into the ultraviolet spectrum) - likely to be able to pick out brightly colored flowers and berries from surrounding green leaves. Plants have evolved bright colors for their fruits in order to have their seeds eaten by birds, have the outer coating of the seed digested, and then having the seed deposited far from the parent plant in a bird dropping. Bird droppings cover the seed planted on the soil, allowing the seed to be in contact with the existing capillary channels of the soil, thus allowing capillary water to reach the seed, ensuring is survives after germination. The droppings themselves cover the seed, preventing drying out from sun and wind. The Waterboxx copies this ability of bird droppings to plant trees and other plants - allowing capillary channels in the soil to remain intact while preventing soil moisture from evaporating into the air - similar to how a stepping stone will always have a wet underside as that soil moisture can't evaporate either. You can see an overview of the Waterboxx mechanism, including the bird dropping inspiration, in the video below.
Skin Dew Drinking Lizards Lizards in different parts of the world have developed an amazing ability to literally drink dew off of their skin. The Australian Thorny Devil and the Texan Horned Lizards both collect small amounts of rain water and much more frequent dew on their skin, which is then channeled into crevices between their "horns" or skin spikes. This water is then conveyed over to the lizards' mouth to be drank, sustaining the lizards in very harsh and dry environments. Because there is dew most days even in the desert, the lizards are able to survive. Similarly, the Groasis Waterboxx collects dew and rain water along its lid, and is channeled into a 4 gallon reservoir where the water is protected from evaporation. This water is then slowly released into the soil beneath to nourish a growing plant's roots. The lid is even corrugated, mimicking the horns of the toad, which increases surface area on which water can collect.
Australian Thorny Devil - From Wikipedia, By Bäras (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
The Lotus Effect Lotus leaves have an incredible ability to repel water, called superhydrophobicity by scientists and those fond of large words. Lotus leaves have developed this ability in order to slick off dirt, bacteria and fungus which may damage the leaves of the plant. This ability, called the Lotus Effect, is due to microscopic pyramids on the surface of the leaves which prevent small water droplets from attaching tightly to the surface with hydrogen bonds. The lid of the Groasis Waterboxx also has tiny pyramids which allows water to slide off the lid and down channels into the reservoir below for later use by the plant.
Graphic by William Thielicke showing pyramidal structure of the surface of the Lotus leaf. This surface guarantees that water won't stick to the surface of the lotus leaf, or the Groasis Waterboxx lid that has similar microscopic pyramids on its surface.
The Lake (Water) Effect Water has incredible power to resist changes in temperature, referred to scientifically as high specific heat capacity. This is very important in helping our planet (the surface of which is two thirds water) resist the massive changes in temperature of other planets like Mercury and the moon. On a smaller scale, vessels of water can have a warm surface while still having a cool lower level of water. This is familiar to almost anyone who has went swimming in a calm lake in the summer - the top most level of the water is warm, only to get much cooler farther down near a swimmer's feet. This property of water can help a great deal in insulating plants against rapid changes in air temperature. Small plants still near the ground and the roots of larger plants are insulated from the heat of the sun in desert climates by the water residing in the Groasis Waterboxx. In the photos below, you can see the how cool the Waterboxx keeps the soil below.
Yellow is hot, blue is cooler - the Waterboxx keeps the soil and roots of the plant cool even on hot days - from Groasis.com
Tree Trunk Effect Trees are able to get water to their upper most leaves, even if several hundred feet high. How do they do this - the don't have an electric pump at their base and running water. They use capillary action, or the ability of water to pull itself up the sides of narrow tubes. The Groasis Waterboxx takes advantage of this property in two ways. First the Waterboxx slowly releases water from the reservoir to the soil beneath via a braided wick, similar to how torches slowly move oil for burning. This allows a consistent supply of 10 teaspoons (50 mL) of water to be distributed to the roots every day. Secondly, the Waterboxx planted tree takes advantage of capillary action to pull capillary water up from deep in the soil, preventing the death of the plant during times of drought. You can see capillary action below in water rising up a paper towel.
The Groasis Waterboxx is a wonder of biomimicry - using many insights garnered from nature to increase nature - to plant trees and other plants on dry, fallow ground. You can buy the Groasis Waterboxx from Dew Harvest in the United States, with discounts on large orders.
You can see all our blog posts about planting trees with the Waterboxx here. We would love to hear your comments below - to leave one, please click on "Comments".
The U.S. has entered another cold snap, even before winter has officially begun. This, after the fact, that for much of the United States, the 2013-2014 winter was the coldest in recent memory. We are spending a great deal of money and non-renewable fossil fuels to heat our homes. This wasn't always the case. Humans first tamed fire and heated homes with firewood, an affordable renewable resource. With the recent interest in biofuels and cost saving (which is always popular), many have a renewed interest in humanity's first fuel.
Firewood can be an excellent heat source during winter, and of course does not add any new carbon dioxide to the atmosphere (all carbon in wood was pulled from the air during the tree's growth). However, it is very, very important that any firewood you use be grown very close to the area you plan to use it. Transporting firewood across any distance can allow invasive and destructive insects and other pests to invade new trees, threatening whole forests. The number of invasive insects alone -Asian Longhorn Beetles and Emerald Ash Borer to name only two in the author's area- is long and keeps increasing. Firewood mustbe grown close to the site of its use.
However, many areas do not have a great deal of naturally occurring trees, and many of those alive in such areas are too valuable to be cut for firewood. What can be done in this situation?
The answer is simple - plant fast growing trees with the Groasis Waterboxx, stagger when you harvest the trees, and use these trees for firewood. What trees are both fast growing and suitable for firewood? The five we recommend at Dew Harvest are the poplar (Populus species), the silver maple (Acer saccharinum), the Red Oak (Quercus rubra), the thornless Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos inermis) and the Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis).
First, the poplar is extremely fast growing, with some hybrids growing up to 8 feet per year. The poplar grows straight, with relatively short branches, allowing these trees to be packed densely. Huge tree farms 25,000 acres large have been planted with nothing but hybrid poplars.
Poplars can also be grown from cuttings (vegetative reproduction). This means several poplars can be started from cuttings every year. This is remarkable simple, and can be done with the Groasis Waterboxx as well.
Because the poplar is so fast growing, it is not very dense and doesn't store as much energy per volume of wood (around 16 million BTU per cord) as other hardwoods. As a comparison, natural gas currently costs $9.50 per million BTUs, while propane is $33.00 per million BTUs, and electricity is around $24.91 per million BTUs) Because of this lower energy density, you can use poplar for kindling or starting a fire, and then chose another tree for its longer burning properties overnight. For this, we recommend silver maple.
Silver maple is also very fast growing (the author has personally seen silver maple grow six feet in a year between a shed and fence with limited sunlight), but doesn't have quite as compact a form as the poplar. Silver maple has branches that can spread out up to 40 feet, and will take slightly longer to reach maturity. Silver maple, however, contains about 19 million BTU per cord and doesn't spark as much as poplar.
A third option for much of the country is red oak (Quercus rubra). This oak is almost as fast growing as silver maple but gives 21.7 million BTU per cord. Red oak grows in zones 3-8 (all but the most southern part of the country) and have some drought tolerance, improved when planted with the Waterboxx. This tree can easily grow two feet a year even without the Waterboxx, and more with it.
A very drought resistant tree with a high energy density is the Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos inermis). This tree has 25.8 million BTUs per cord, light smoke, and is easy to split. It is so drought resistant that it is easily grown in most parts of the country if planted with a Groasis Waterboxx. Buy the Thornless Honeylocust.
Slightly less drought resistant but a very tough tree is the Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). This tree grows in zones 3-9, withstands some drought, as well as strong winds and pollution. It has 21 million BTUs per cord of firewood, doesn't spark, doesn't smoke, and is easy to split, making it and ideal firewood tree. Buy the Hackberry here.
When growing these or any trees for firewood, you must obtain the young trees for a good initial price and ensure that they survive to adulthood. Poplars are not generally available from garden centers; buying maples from these stores will be both expensive and futile since their roots are so malformed that they will grow very slowly. Because of these issues, we recommend buying bare root trees from the Arbor Day Foundation. With a ten dollar membership, bare root trees cost around five dollars each, and can be ordered in large quantities for significantly cheaper than that.
However, if these trees are planted and not cared for through a dry summer (another recent phenomenon in most of the country), they will be a wasted investment. That is why the Groasis Waterboxx is used. If you plant young bare root trees using the Waterboxx, you increase their chance of survival greatly, and increase their rate of growth. The Waterboxx funnels dew and rainwater to the roots of the growing tree, ensuring the roots reach deeper for water and allowing them to survive future droughts. In a Sahara planting trial, trees planted with the Groasis Waterboxx that received water only at planting had an 88% survival rate, versus only 11% survival for the trees watered weekly. The Waterboxxis reusable for up to ten years, allowing you to plant trees year after year and harvest wood indefinitely. Finally, the Groasis Waterboxx allows you to establish trees in areas that may be too dry for trees to start growing otherwise, harnessing the sunlight of summer for heat in winter. The Groasis Waterboxx can be purchased from Dew Harvest.
The Groasis Waterboxx with an oak grown from seed.
Depending on your firewood needs, a set of five to ten Waterboxxes and as many young poplars or maples planted each year will likely keep you warm indefinitely, once the trees have had time to get established (three to five years). Since the Waterboxxcan be reused, only the trees need to be purchased each year, not the Waterboxx. This system will almost certainly be cheaper than electric or propane heating and will of course be better for the environment as no net carbon is released.
The Groasis Waterboxx can be purchased for around fifty dollars from Dew Harvest, with discounts on orders of five or more. The Waterboxx can be used to establish new trees for any purpose (such as landscaping or to prevent soil erosion), not just firewood growth.
You can see all our blog posts about planting trees with the Waterboxx here. We would love to hear your comments below - to leave one, please click on "Comments".
There is growing evidence that diet does have a significant effect on health, including longevity. What we are learning is that what we have traditionally grown so much in the United States - corn and corn fed animals, are likely not what is best for our health.
What foods are healthy? There is growing evidence that what is called in medical literature "The Mediterranean Diet" is the healthiest palatable diet available. Among sources of protein, fish is clearly most strongly associated with longer life. Limiting red meat to once weekly, and white meat (poultry) up to 3-4 times weekly, also helps.
Also very important to the health effects of the Mediterranean Diet is olive oil. People who have a diet high in extra virgin olive oil also have a decreased mortality rate. It is important that olive oil be extra virgin (minimally processed), and that means it is best to grow it close to home. Olives can be grown in only a few select southern locations in the United States, ideally in zone 10 and 11, but some varieties in zone 8 and 9. Olive trees have a tap root, meaning they send a root down deep into the soil to have access to capillary water. Because of this tap root, it is very difficult to establish olive trees without irrigation - that was until the Groasis Waterboxx.
The Groasis Waterboxx is a intelligent tree incubator that collects dew and rainwater, stores it, and slowly tunnels it to the roots of a growing plant. It prevents water from evaporating from the soil, establishing a water column immediately beneath the plant. In the case of the olive tree, this induces the tap root to grow straight and deep until it can tap into the underground moisture of soil capillaries. The Waterboxx can then be removed and reused the the Waterboxx established tree will be much more drought resistant in the future.
Besides extra virgin olive oil, it is believed grapes (and especially wine) contribute to the health effects of the Mediterranean Diet. Grapes need consistent but not excessive moisture, something the Waterboxx excels at providing. The Waterboxx has been used at the Mondavi Winery in California, in the wineries of our customers, and as seen below, in Chile to grow grapes.
The Waterboxx growing grapes in Chile; From Groasis
Nuts are also very important in the healthy Mediterranean Diet. Nut trees offer great pleasure in the landscape both for beauty and nut production, but can be very hard to establish as well due to their tap root. If growing trees for nuts, it is important to get a grafted tree from a reputable nursery (we recommend Stark Brothers) to get the best yield of nuts as early as possible. When investing in grafted trees, any with trunks less than 2 inches in diameter can be planted using the Groasis Waterboxx. The Waterboxx allows you to water planted nut trees only at planting (with 4-10 gallons in the soil and then 4 gallons in the Waterboxx basin) and then only revisit them to watch their progress or remove the Waterboxx when the tree outgrows it.
The Waterboxx growing roma tomatoes.
The Waterboxx growing ab eggplant
Fruits and vegetables are also a very important (and tasty) part of the Mediterranean diet. We have found that starchy row crops (corn, wheat) are great sources of large numbers of calories, but are not particularly healthy. Vegetables like cucumbers, eggplant and tomatoes (which can be considered a fruit), are easily grown with the Waterboxx. Vine fruits like watermelon and cantaloupe can also be grown with the Waterboxx. You can see examples of all of these garden staples at our main website, www.dewharvest.com.
Zucchinn grown with the Groasis Waterboxx - originally from Groasis.com
What about greens? One Dew Harvest in Hemet, California came up with an ingenious was to grow greens in the middle of a drought by filling the Waterboxx only once weekly. He added three extra wicks, attacked absorbent material to these wicks, spread this out in a raised bed, and planted greens on top of this Waterboxx irrigated soil.
As you can see, you can begin to grow healthy Mediterranean Diet food in one growing season, and begin planting trees that will yield nut and olives in a few short years. All of this is made possible by the Groasis Waterboxx, which can be purchased from Dew Harvest LLC.
There are many excellent Mediterranean Diet cookbooks on Amazon.com.
You can see all our blog posts about planting trees with the Waterboxx here.
We would love to hear your comments below - to leave one, please click on "Comments".
Planting trees in the desert was always a tantalizing possibility that was usually right beyond reach, that is until the invention of the Groasis Waterboxx. The Waterboxx is an intelligent plant incubator, a self refilling water battery for trees that allows trees to be established in areas without water or irrigation. The Waterboxx, explained below, is available for purchase from Dew Harvest.
When planning to plant a large number of trees in the desert, however, one must plan to decrease the risk of future wildfire consuming your hard work and spreading to neighboring properties.
Fire is usually started by lightning in remote areas, and we can do little to control the frequency of such ignition sources. However, we can, with careful planning, prevent spread of fires by careful placement and grooming of trees.
Planting Fire Resistant Trees Some trees and shrubs, specifically deciduous (broadleaf) trees, have a relatively high moisture content and are therefore less likely to combust. The resins produced by many conifers are flammable. Unfortunately, the conifers are generally more drought resistant than even the best broadleaf trees. Therefore, if conifers need to be planted, the other principles must be followed.
Spacing If planting trees on a flat surface, it is recommended that there be at least 10 feet between the outermost canopy of each tree to prevent flames from jumping from one tree to the next. For trees planted on slight slopes (20-40%) 20 feet apart is recommended, and for steep slopes (greater than 40%), 30 feet between trees is recommended. You may start with trees planted much closer than this, and then eventually cut down trees spaced too closely.
Pruning Ensuring that there are no branches on mature trees for at least the bottom 6 feet of the tree is essential. Fires are started and spread on the ground. If these fires cannot spread up the tree, the fire is more likely to be extinguished. Many of our recommended trees elsewhere on this blog do not regularly grow low branches.
If you have a large property, you may be well served by having animals graze periodically on your land. It is very important these be steers or non-pregnant females as pine needles can cause abortions of new calfs. This will trim any grasses (which can be extremely flammable if fully grown and dried) and they will sometimes eat low lying branches. There is also evidence that "holistic" grazing reduces desertification of your land as well. You will want to wait until the Waterboxxes have been removed and are being used elsewhere before having cattle walk around your property to prevent damage to the Waterboxxes.
Ensuring Adequate Water If trees are well supplied with water, they are much less likely to combust even with a significant spark. For most trees, irrigation is out of the question due to cost and remoteness of planting site. However, when trees are planted correctly with the Groasis Waterboxx, their roots are able to tap into the deeper capillary moisture in the soil. Except in the most extreme of circumstances, this water is sufficient to keep trees alive and healthy.
Planting with the Waterboxx When planting trees in extremely dry areas, we recommend pouring 10 gallons of water into the soil, and then planting the tree with the Waterboxx. The Waterboxx is then filled with 4 gallons of water. The Waterboxx should stay refilled with water from dew and occasional rainfall, and all of this water will eventually be funneled to the roots of the growing tree. The Waterboxx can be removed when the tree is about to outgrow it, and reused.
