New Mexico Central

Edgewood Permaculture Gathering Teaches Harmonious Living And Land Management

by John Weckerle

Dr. Christian Meuli explains his rainwater catchment and cistern systems.

Saturday brought a unique event to Edgewood: the 15th annual Permaculture Gathering at La Resolana.  Variously translated as “sun’s glare,” “sunspot,” “sun catcher,” and “sunny place,” La Resolana is a 15-acre parcel that is home to Edgewood’s Dr. Christian Meuli, physician and long-time permaculture expert.  In addition to lecturing both locally and elsewhere for years, he has been putting permaculture to the test at La Resolana for more than three decades.  With luck, we can hope he will still be doing so three decades hence.

Permaculture is a means of land management that incorporates and utilizes the natural characteristics of a given location, taking into account site hydrology, topography, soils, climate, regional ecology, and a myriad other factors that contribute to the “identity” of the place in question.  From water harvesting to the understanding and development of living systems, the tenets and techniques that are essential to permaculture practice can be used for beautification, harmonious living, and even agricultural productivity.

The Permaculture Gathering was set to begin at noon, and by 12:03 many of us were already parking on the road on which Dr. Meuli’s residence is located.  A short stroll down the driveway led to a large, metal barn, at the door of which visitors were offered a friendly “hello” and the opportunity to sign the guest book and grab a name tag.  Inside the barn were straw bales for sitting and tables upon which those who brought a dish to share could place the dishes in question, as well as water for the thirsty and copies of water harvesting books for review and purchase.  Your editor took a few minutes to stroll about the environs unattended, and found the experience well worth the time.  Aspects

Berms of wood chips slow rainwater, allowing it to infiltrate.

of permaculture were everywhere, from large catchment tanks to contour-hugging berms of mulch and wood chips.  Upon return to the “water barn,” I found a crowd gathered at the north end of the structure next to the two new-looking, 5,000-gallon tanks positioned to gather rainwater from the roof.  Dr. Meuli was explaining a variety of topics, including how the tanks and the impressive structure within which they were set had been constructed, the intake and overflow systems, and how the water is used.  Just to the north was a large “ferrocrete” tank, which also collects water that is used for residential purposes.

Dr. Meuli explains the use of an "A-frame level."

The next stop on the tour brought us to one of the several wind breaks on the property.  Dr. Meuli explained the value of wind breaks in decreasing evaporation on the property and providing shelter and habitat, as well as crenelated (think “scalloped”) rather than straight layouts.  The crenelated design helps to reduce the effect of wind hitting the break at an angle, building up, and accelerating toward one end.  The group then moved to the location of a recently planted tree.  A small berm on the downhill side helps hold rainwater where the tree can make use of it.  On the uphill side was a “sponge” – a small pit filled with various porous matter (newspapers, waste paper, old clothing, etc.).  Dr. Meuli described the process: dig the hole (horizontal dimensions depend on the application) about 15 to 18 inches deep, fill it with the material, water it once, and apply mulch to the top to keep the water from evaporating; according to Dr. Meuli, it can take 2-3 months for the material to release its moisture.  Configuring the surface adjacent to the system so that rainwater collects in the sponge can remove the need for subsequent watering altogether – though even watering once every couple of months sounds pretty good to us.  Your editor was impressed enough with this that he went out the next day and created a similar configuration to support a tree (and to some extent, two adjacent ones) that was experiencing some stress due to inadequate water.  We’ll go through that process in a future article.

The tour moved on to a very grassy area that receives runoff from the adjacent road, and Dr. Meuli discussed how the area had been configured.  The grama grass was particularly impressive.  Finally, we moved to an area where a number of tools were waiting, and Dr. Meuli described their uses.  These included an A-shaped leveling device used to determine where contours (lines, usually curved, representing points of equal elevation) lie, a specially configured wheelbarrow for hauling rocks and other heavy items, different shovels for different applications, a mattock, and a water level for finding level points or creating specific grades.

Attendees enjoy a wide variety of delicious foods after touring the site.

Then, it was back to the barn for the pot luck.  At most gatherings, as a non-meat eater, your editor ends up eating a lot of side dishes.  Not at this event, though!  There were dozens of delicious offerings, many of which ran circles around your editor’s kale and roasted potato salad.  Because of other commitments, I was unable to stick around for the poetry readings, but did pick up a copy of the two books on water harvesting by Brad Lancaster that were offered for sale.

On the way out, a brief conversation with Dr. Meuli indicated that the event coincides with the midpoint of a seven-weekend permaculture course he offers each year.  We hope to provide more information on the course in advance of next year’s session.  In the meantime, we highly recommend that readers interested in getting the best benefit out of their property consider attending next year’s gathering.

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010, by John Weckerle and is filed under "Edgewood, Gardening, Permaculture, Water Resources ". You can leave a response here. Pinging is currently not allowed.