Katherine Reece Wrote:
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> I don't recall any books cited on terraced gardens
> ... but if you can suggest a few we'd be happy to
> order them and check out the suggestions ...
Back in August of '03, you started a thread titled "Peru Farmers Revive 'Waru Waru' System".
After I mentioned having a book on the subject, Bernard guessed which one I was speaking of ("R. A. Donkin, 1979. "Agricultural Terracing in the Aboriginal New World", Tucson: U of Arizona Press….. Abebooks has copies for $10 & up, see [
dogbert.abebooks.com] ).... calling it "the most comprehensive treatment of the subject".
(His post was [
www.hallofmaat.com] )
This book really is amazing!
Bernard also said "another really interesting Book is Larry Patrick's University of Pittsburgh PhD Dissertation.7. "A Cultural Geography of the use of Seasonally dry, sloping Terrain: The Metepantli Crop Terraces of Central Mexico".
Since he called it a book, I’ve assumed UP Press publishes it’s dissertations, Google search on the title turned up these two abstracts (Blackwell trying to sell an article) that DIDN’T mention it specifically, but perhaps covered it in their text?
[
www.blackwell-synergy.com]
[
www.blackwell-synergy.com]
I’m pretty sure Bernard has mentioned other titles, but couldn’t locate them using Ma’at search.
Heh, while trying Amazon, I found a book I think *I* need to pick up a copy of…
[
www.amazon.com]
“The Archaeology of Garden and Field” by Naomi F. Miller (Editor), Kathryn L. Gleason (Editor) “Nine studies from a March 1989 symposium in Atlanta, Georgia explain the unique techniques for excavating and interpreting agricultural areas to illuminate aspects of people's relationship to each other and their surroundings from prehistoric times to the 19th century”
Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
houseyard gardens, raised field construction, relict gardens, sloping field terraces, raised field farming, modern topsoil, agronomic functions, soil deepening, fieldstone walk, settlement debris, archaeological sediments, raised field systems, linear ditches, raised fields, sherd scatters, agricultural features, landscape archaeologists, phosphate analysis, resistivity sounding, pollen types, pollen content, bench terraces, field platform, prehistoric field, terrace construction”
Sounds right up my alley!
What I’d also like, but don’t think anything is yet published on, is a book on what they call “Indian Earth” (Tierra de Prieta???) over in the Amazon. The Indians modified the soil somehow (ONLY found in association with village sites, and is usually riddle with old pottery shards) to produce a dark soil that is HIGHLY productive, even hundreds of years after abandonment (you’d have thought that wild plants would have eventually used up whatever special made it so fertile, but no), perhaps by composting in meat scraps & hearth waste?. Research is being done, but I haven’t heard of any significant publication.
> we've got a soaker hose running through the garden
> currently and held in place with extra weed fabric
> "staples" so I can just leave the soaker in place
> and hook up another hose to it when it needs
> watering and take it away when I need to mow
> Kat
Soaker hoses are fine & dandy, but RAIN (natural or artificial) is also vital. Using a sprinkler once in a while helps wash dust & plant extrudates & even bugs off the leaves. Heh, here’s a useful garden tip to get rid of bugs, especially persistant types like whiteflies…. spray plants with stale beer! Teetotallers like me can buy cheap beer & let it go flat (so it won’t foam too much as you spray it on), others can save their dregs (or beg from neighbors). The alcohol content kills bugs & acts as a foliar fertilizer for plants, the other stuff drys into a sticky residue on the plant that traps & kills bug. All organic, all non-toxic to us humans.
Kenuchelover.
