Trees And Bushes Are Different
Your understanding of growing plants may be based on agricultural items such as wheat, rice, flowers that:
o Grow in top soil
o Have roots that are under 10 inches deep.
o Have life of few months
o Irrigation by channel, sprinkler, or drip irrigation.
• Vegetables are similar.
• Trees and bushes are different.

New Root-Feast Method
For trees and bushes, top soil is not the key.
o Roots go deep, more than 10 feet
o Draw resources from the deep soil and not the top soil.
o Long life span – many years

Root-Feast Method
o Takes best available methods
o Creates a new way of growing trees and bushes
o Any plant with deep roots can be grown by Root-Feast.

Root-Feast - Very Low Water Use
• Sprinklers consume far less water than channel irrigation.
• Drip irrigation consumes far less water than channel irrigation.
• Root-Feast method uses about a glass of water per month to grow a tree.
• Its incremental cost is about Rs 10 per tree.

Root-Feast: Overview
• Works for growing trees in most types of soils including rocky/arid soil.
• Uses very limited water
• Survival rate of over 90% in a scientific trial
• Incremental cost of Rs 10 per tree
o Full cost of about Rs 85 per tree.

Root-Feast: Succesful Trial
• Trial supervised by BAIF,a prominent Research Institution in India.
• 150 trees in two groups of 5 different species.
• Results show no difference in any parameter of growth and survival across trial and control groups.
o The survival rate of both groups is above 90%.
o Height and girth growth are similar.

Root-Feast –How does it work
• Minimizes water not going to roots
• Water is traditionally lost due to
o Due to evaporation
o By capillary action that draws water away from roots.
• Root-Feast delivers water directly to the roots
o Need less water than piped drip irrigation

Root-Feast Methodology
• Saplings are planted in a hole 15 to 18 inches below the surface.
• Water is directly delivered to the roots.
• By a protected wick so that the upper soil layers cannot absorb the water.

Root-Feast Methodology
Growing Trees- 1
• Before plantation, the root ball of a sapling is pruned.
o All roots not pointing straight downwards are cut away.
• Saplings previously grown in small plastic bags will lose a substantial
number of roots without any harm to

Root-Feast Methodology
Growing Trees - 2
• Saplings are grown on a single stem
o all branches except one are pruned.
• Roots go deep down
o taking the cue from the crown.
• Roots reach depth of about 4 feet in 1 year
• Later, roots serve all the needs of the plant by themselves.

Root-Feast Methodology
Four Components
1. A hole to plant a sapling 15-18 inches deep
2. Recycled water bottle
o 1 litre or more.
3. Nara नाड़ा or cotton wick thread - about 3 ft. long.
4. Plastic tubing - about 2.5 ft. through which Nara नाड़ा is passed.

Hole 15-18 inches deep about 4 inches wide
Planting the saplings 15-18 inch deep ensures almost no water is lost to eveaporation or side-ways capilllary action.

Root-Feast Methodology
Bottle/Nara Materials required are :
1. One recycled softdrink .bottle minimum one litre size.
2. Cotton wicks (30”)
3. Plastic Tube (24 “)
needle, scissor, fevicol in case necessary.)

Root-Feast Methodology
Sapling with pruned root
Saplings grown in black plastic bags develop circular roots.
We need roots that are pointing straight down.
Disturb the root-ball and prune all curved roots.

Root-Feast Methodology
Planting Steps :
1. At the bottom of the hole put some good soil and place the wick on the top. of it.
2.Plant the sapling on the top of the wick.Tap it down in the place.
3.Fill the balance hole with good soil.
4.Give about 1 litre of water.
5.Fill the recycled bottle with 1 litre water.

Root-Feast Methodology
Sapling plantation completed.
After 2.5 months refill all the bottles with water.
For forest trees stop watering after 1 year.

Root-Feast Methodology
Trees planted in November 201

Earlier attempts at growing trees with limited water.
Water Boxx Works very well but costs Rs1200 per box
Saurs/Earthen pot method : Cost lower but not reliable

What to expect in near future?
More PPT’s will be posted on:
• Fruit-bearing trees
•Forest trees, other problems and new devices.
• Growing vegetales by Root-Feast .
• Other opportunities.

More Planting pictures
Sapling, hole vermicompost, wick bottle, water.
Wick being inserted into bottle.
Root ball of a sapling must be disturbed and circular roots cut away.