Some good water conservation models

It is severe drought this year and water is very precious now. Conserving rain water and farming without irrigation always attracts me, since that is the sustainable way.

See the video in which Mr. Varghese Tharakan cultivates banana and rubber, just using rain water. He has taken deep trenches in the farm and even the water in the walking path is directed to the trenches, effectively not a single drop of rain water flows away from his farm. He has around 2000 bananas and gets very good yield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnAuxXd3Bt8

This is an article about the farm of Raghava in Davengere, Karnataka. He has taken trenches and also has cover crop and mixed farming so that no soil is exposed to sun. His farm has water just 8 feet depth.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jivabhumi/jivabhumis-farm-diary-aikanthika-raghavas-natural-farm/1449952195030242

Farm of Mathai M Mathews where he has made 40 trenches which is 6 feet depth and filled with mulch. Humas created holds lot of water and provides water in the summer.

http://farming-experiments.blogspot.in/2013/11/meeting-mathai-mathews-zero-budget.html

Summer activities - some preparations for rain

Usually on this time of weather,other than watering, there are no major activities. Earlier I used to cut grass, but this time, I stopped that since summer is severe, loosing ground cover is bad. 

As preparation to monsoon planting, I dig holes, put dried leaves and cowdung keeping it ready. Once rain starts, I can just plant, ginger, turmeric,taro, yam etc...Soil is very hard in some places, so making holes is difficult.

This was raised bed, and earlier taro was there, hence soil was little loose.

This is the hole digging tool, for hard soil, this is the proper tool.

6-March-2017
I got exhausted after digging holes, so thought will leave that plan and just mulch with leaves and dried cowdung. This was relatively easy, collecting the leaves in small basket was more time consuming, so took one old bedsheet cloth and collected leaves in it and it was easy.

While digging out this taro which I had left as seeds, found them started germinating even though there was not any moisture. Felt they were expecting the rain soon, it rained in the next day.