How One Oregon Farmer Implemented Permaculture Techniques to Conserve Water

[Linda Poole]

A June, 2022, article by Kelsey Ogletree in Modern Farmer shares the impressive success of Brenda Smola-Foti in using well-planned landforming techniques to capture and hold more water in her farm's soil:

The farm itself is like a billboard for her efforts: Even through record-breaking heat in the Willamette Valley last summer, Smola-Foti’s land remained green, while acres around hers browned. Both she and Weiss are on a mission to show that it’s the collective small actions of many that will ultimately make the biggest difference.

“If a majority of farms and public lands throughout the American West implemented decentralized water retention [as Tabula Rasa Farms did],” says Weiss, “we could reverse drought, greatly reduce flood and fire and prevent our coming water scarcity crisis within a decade.”

Read the full article at:

How One Oregon Farmer Implemented Permaculture Techniques to Conserve Water

At Tabula Rasa Farms, Brenda Smola-Foti has purposefully designed rainfall-catching ponds, terraces and water gardens in an effort to hydrate the land for years to come.

modernfarmer.com

 

[Darron Gaus]

Beautiful article! I love the Tabula Rasa name! I think of my home state of Texas when reading this. Terraces are quite common on most farm and ranches with greater than 2-3% slope. And what we call "tanks" (ponds) are common on most homesteads. However, these are typically built for recreation and aesthetics. Of course I love watching the sunset over the tank while my nephew catches a few 2 pound bass. This article makes me think of those tanks in a totally different light. Most are built with a clay lining trucked in from miles away to ensure it holds the water and doesn't percolate into the soil. I won't think of them the same anymore. Though these tanks won't seep back into the groundwater, I suppose they could be used for irrigation in dry times with the right infrastructure. Texas also has few but big rain events west of the Piney Woods, how can we utilize the techniques to capitalize on the 6-12" in a day rain events? Very thought provoking!