Monday, September 26, 2011

one step at a time...

Haley and Jared from the Alpine office of the NRCS came out this morning to take a look around.  They have a lot to offer as far as conservation efforts go.  Next step is to schedule a visit from an engineer to see if rebuilding my dam with some federal dollars is feasible.  Perhaps in the meantime I should get back to work on the greenhouse - my 4 year anniversary is coming up in December. 

Speaking of greenhouses...Village Farms is building another Texas mega hydroponics situation in Monahans.  Their stats are impressive but I wonder where they get their chemical fertilizer to pump through the lines.  http://www.alpineavalanche.com/news/article_18e7f6dc-9d07-11e0-a7f8-001cc4c002e0.html

88,102,64,0,B

19 comments:

Ben in Texas said...

Shoot, get those guys to drill you a well!! First things first!!

Anonymous said...

I'd be very interested in what they have to say about trying to contain a flash flood.Speaking of ponics of one sort or another,did
you get Murray H's DVD on aquaponics ?

Larry G said...

Federal dollars ? I thought you were opposed to Obama type govt help?

what gives?

Jon H said...

Chemical fertilizer? Naw they'll just compost the bullshit in that article about reducing carbon blah blah greenwash. How much power will they generate with wind? I'd be interested in what % it will be of what they consume. Good thing you can grow your own soon enough.

2 Dogs said...

I'm think'in when I try hydroponics I would use dung and compost tea instead of chemical fertilizers. Would be a good experiment on a small scale. Hint, hint.
Then there are the people that have a fish tank below and hydroponics above. The fish waste feeds the plants, the plants clean the water for the fish tank.

Unknown said...

Federal dollars to build you a personal flash-flood dam?...John, I've followed you awhile....this doesn't seem right. Texas must be some strange country. You're lucky your dam burst didn't cause any downstream damage.

Mike said...

Wow were do I sign up for fed. Dollars to build a dam, to bad I don't have a river. I'm still waiting on my farm subsidie check, too bad I'm not a farmer.there must be something for me.

Susie said...

Okay I read the article on the Monahans greenhouse, so does the produce grown by them taste as good as the old fashioned grown tomatos???

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John Wells said...

Mark...the program is for creating wildlife habitat. http://www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/index.html
Was never really concerned about the consequences of a dam breach - nothing to damage between here and Terlingua - 25 miles away. The surge in Terlingua creek after a good rainstorm is huge compared to my little tributary.

bayrider said...

Federal dollars for the Field Lab dam in the middle of an economy destroying government debt binge? What is wrong with this picture? I am sure you must have been joking about this.

alam0tx said...

Well John...
You have stired up your readers, now...Everyone thought it was fun to watch you spend your money for the dam and provide water for all the animals, both domestic and wild...When it washed away I guess LarryG, Mark and Bayrider thought you should spend more to repair it, of course with all their help...The WHIP program is designed to encourage joint efforts to help wildlife growth and maybe they should read about it...Good luck... I hope the Tex/Fed program helps you rebuild the dam, bigger and better...Maybe something out of concrete...

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Allen Hare said...

I say "go for it". If the feds are willing to fork out for your dam project, they must see some merit in it.

Interesting article on the greenhouse project in Monahans. I don't know why they wouldn't go green in their operation. Green practices make sense on the bottom line, as they are usually cheeper, especially with the economies of scale they are bringing to the project. Will look for them as we pass through there on the way down to Terlingua.

bayrider said...

providing water for the wildlife? if they can't find their own then they should not be lingering in your compound. if they are wildlife appropriate to the area they can certainly find natural sources of water. or has that area been overrun by development resulting in loss of critical habitat? I don't think so. I follow this blog because it is all about an individual acting on his own behalf in an independent manner outside the mainstream way of life. now you are going to go along with one of the federal govt's many scams of distributing money forcibly removed from the citizens all across this country to the benefit of particular individuals and all in the name of 'doing good'?

John Wells said...

Bayrider...relax my friend - Im just exploring the possibities.

Larry G said...

I just thought John was opposed to Obama type govt policies...

that's all..

I can see I must be wrong, eh?

;-)

Terry Lively said...

Uhhh, our govt. spends millions of dollars on people who are too lazy to get off their ass and get a job...and are junkies who milk the system. We have been destroying our earth and natural habitat...and fund programs that contribute to this, and are also ruining our environment so we can have all the stuff we "need"....

I'm thinking some government funds to help wildlife habitat, green projects, as in this case, are justified. In fact, I'm proud to see my tax dollars supporting something like this instead of the lazy ass people in line applying for welfare checks. (I'm not talking about people who truly need govt. help like veterans, disabled, etc.)