Farming in stage four drought - what's working, what's not?

We have officially entered stage four drought conditions, which is apparently the worst we have.  It means that the government can start making emergency legislation to reduce water usage including industry and farming.  It also means that we are at risk of not having enough drinking water next year if the drought continues through the rainy season.

Since water-less and water-free farming is the main focus on the farm, I wanted to share some updates on what's working and what techniques we are still developing.  It's all experimental.  There's lots of theories on what works, but what works for one may not work at another location.  That's why it's so important to try things for yourself.

During extreme drought, even the grass beneath the apple trees turns brown

Even before the rain stopped this summer, the grass was already turning brown.  The heat hit with such ferocity that the plants couldn't cope and many that would have survived the summer without aid, needed assistance.

This tree is nearing a hundred years old, so it has a deep root system.  I'm always facinated by these old fruit trees.  The settlers planted them but didn't do all the things we do now.  They didn't water them much if at all, because water needed to be hauled by hand.  They didn't cosset these trees.  And yet, they still thrive and produce an abundance even in terrible weather.

This sheer total utter neglect (STUN) system for growing trees works long term.  It does require hardening ones heart against loss as very few trees survive this method, but the ones that do are resilient!​

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