Starting this thread to track how these things work out. We have a family property NW of San Antonio up on the escarpment. We have converted over from an Ag tax valuation for goats to a wildlife valuation for songbirds and turkeys. One of the things we have been working on is increasing the tree species diversity on the property. Right now it is about 90% live oak, 5% red oak, and 5% ash juniper/cedar. The goats on the property for decades (at times badly overgrazing) were really hard on understory trees and shrubs trying to grow on the property, so one of our efforts has been to plant some other types of trees that will be good for wildlife and add some understory to the pastures as we remove the goats.
We have planted some trees in the past few years, but a combination of extreme drought and overfertilization by a helpful, but forgetful family member killed those off. So what I was looking for was a way to plant trees that would allow them to withstand very dry conditions with very infrequent watering. I ran across a product called the Groasis Waterboxx being made by a Dutch company that was being used in large scale projects to combat desertification in extremely arid climates. It works by collecting condensation that occurs due to differential temperatures in soil and the air. The box sits partially buried in the soil surrounding a tree sapling and acts as part mulch, part weed barrier, part waterer. The idea is that the water is delivered through the bottom of the box via a nylon rope wick that controls the rate at which the water drains out of the box and creates a saturated column for the taproot of the tree to follow downward during the initial growth phase after planting.
We bought 5 of the boxes to try out and planted the trees today. They are supposed to last 10+ years and you can remove them once the tree is established and reuse them. Taking a mix of trees that are very suited for dry conditions, very suited as understory trees, and good for wildlife (particularly birds), I just wanted to see what might work and what doesn't, so this thread is here to track progress and see if it is something that could be a good tool for planting trees in the face of Texas heat and drought conditions.
First batch of five trees: Possumhaw Holly, Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum, Soapberry, Arroyo Sweetwood, Huisache
TL;DR - We planted some trees using a new thingy, let's see how they do.
Arroyo Sweetwood planted in hole before adding waterboxx. Paper sheets act as mulch and evaporation barrier around tree opening.
Base of water box in hole, you can see the wick in the bottom. You can plant two trees per box if you want, and we will probably try that in the future with bare root saplings.
Top of collection chamber placed in box.
Top of box installed. Condensation occurs on top of and under the top, filling the collection chamber below. Rainfall can also flow into the box. Depth of outside of box blocks adjacent grass roots from trying to grow under the box to access the water being dripped in by wick.
Tree planted with box in place and some mulch scattered around it to hold in more soil moisture and limit vegetation growth around the tree that could compete for moisture.
The other product they sell with these boxes is a set of plastic sheets that can be locked together into a rolled tube. The plastic is semi-transparent at the wavelength plants need for photo synthesis, but block some of the UV that can scorch young trees during the summer. They have air holes to allow ventilation, but the idea is that they protect the tree from livestock or deer munching on them, while insukating them against extreme heat or cold, while allowing them to grow vertically. You can stack them vertically as high as you need to go to protect the tree. We will be staking ours down with 4' plant stakes and planting wire.
This is what the inside of the tube looks like. We can add sections as the tree grows. The blue plug in the lid can be taken out to allow you to add water manually. We expect to maybe have to add water every 3-6 months if things stay as dry as they have been, but that is still far better than needing to water them 2-3 times a week for the first few weeks with traditional plantings.
I plan to update this thread each time I am out there to check on them over the next year or so. Wish us luck!
We have planted some trees in the past few years, but a combination of extreme drought and overfertilization by a helpful, but forgetful family member killed those off. So what I was looking for was a way to plant trees that would allow them to withstand very dry conditions with very infrequent watering. I ran across a product called the Groasis Waterboxx being made by a Dutch company that was being used in large scale projects to combat desertification in extremely arid climates. It works by collecting condensation that occurs due to differential temperatures in soil and the air. The box sits partially buried in the soil surrounding a tree sapling and acts as part mulch, part weed barrier, part waterer. The idea is that the water is delivered through the bottom of the box via a nylon rope wick that controls the rate at which the water drains out of the box and creates a saturated column for the taproot of the tree to follow downward during the initial growth phase after planting.
We bought 5 of the boxes to try out and planted the trees today. They are supposed to last 10+ years and you can remove them once the tree is established and reuse them. Taking a mix of trees that are very suited for dry conditions, very suited as understory trees, and good for wildlife (particularly birds), I just wanted to see what might work and what doesn't, so this thread is here to track progress and see if it is something that could be a good tool for planting trees in the face of Texas heat and drought conditions.
First batch of five trees: Possumhaw Holly, Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum, Soapberry, Arroyo Sweetwood, Huisache
TL;DR - We planted some trees using a new thingy, let's see how they do.
Arroyo Sweetwood planted in hole before adding waterboxx. Paper sheets act as mulch and evaporation barrier around tree opening.
Base of water box in hole, you can see the wick in the bottom. You can plant two trees per box if you want, and we will probably try that in the future with bare root saplings.
Top of collection chamber placed in box.
Top of box installed. Condensation occurs on top of and under the top, filling the collection chamber below. Rainfall can also flow into the box. Depth of outside of box blocks adjacent grass roots from trying to grow under the box to access the water being dripped in by wick.
Tree planted with box in place and some mulch scattered around it to hold in more soil moisture and limit vegetation growth around the tree that could compete for moisture.
The other product they sell with these boxes is a set of plastic sheets that can be locked together into a rolled tube. The plastic is semi-transparent at the wavelength plants need for photo synthesis, but block some of the UV that can scorch young trees during the summer. They have air holes to allow ventilation, but the idea is that they protect the tree from livestock or deer munching on them, while insukating them against extreme heat or cold, while allowing them to grow vertically. You can stack them vertically as high as you need to go to protect the tree. We will be staking ours down with 4' plant stakes and planting wire.
This is what the inside of the tube looks like. We can add sections as the tree grows. The blue plug in the lid can be taken out to allow you to add water manually. We expect to maybe have to add water every 3-6 months if things stay as dry as they have been, but that is still far better than needing to water them 2-3 times a week for the first few weeks with traditional plantings.
I plan to update this thread each time I am out there to check on them over the next year or so. Wish us luck!
