Rainwater Harvesting Project at Corrales Classic Farms for the 2025 Corrales Garden Tour

-by Bette Allen, SEMG 2021

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the Rainwater Harvesting project at Corrales Classic Farms yesterday! Thanks also to those of you who wanted to come but were unable to. There will be another opportunity to see the property during the Corrales Garden Tour on May 17th.

SEMG volunteers worked under the direction of staff from Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District and Bernalillo County Water Conservation to install a 10′ x 20′ x 1′ rainwater harvesting basin at Corrales Classic Farms. This will direct rooftop drainage to an area not served by flood irrigation. It is amazing what a group effort can achieve! A variety of appropriate plants were also installed in the basin, then covered with mulch.

In addition we were able to install multiple soil sponges around 4 pecan trees near the garlic fields at the front of the property. Even though the fields receive drip and flood irrigation, that supply has not been enough for deep watering of the pecan trees during our recent drought. Many 18″ deep holes were placed under the tree canopies. Most of these were filled with a soil sponge mix – a proprietary blend of wood chips, pumice, and compost, then covered with mulch. (One could also use a home mixture of biodegradable materials.) This combination allows air and water to reach the roots of the trees. Bottomless plastic buckets were placed in some of the holes. These were to hold compost. Covered buckets allow the compost to break down and fertilize tree roots. When the bucket is full it can be pulled out and placed in a new area.

Many thanks to the Trujillo Family for joining in and for allowing us to install these water harvesting features on your property. We look forward to seeing what the summer brings!