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<title>The Horticulture Protocol | Benjamin Salais</title>
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<body>
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<header>
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<h1>The Horticulture Protocol</h1>
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<div class="subtitle">Field Notes from the Inland Empire</div>
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<div class="date-line">Compiled: July 19, 2026 | Location: Spokane, WA (47.65° N)</div>
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<nav>
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<a href="index.html">Home</a>
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<a href="unit-balancer.html">Curriculum Design</a>
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<a href="spokane-soil-deficit.html">Moisture Calculator</a>
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<a href="horticulture-protocol.html">This Protocol</a>
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<a href="philosophy.html">Teaching Philosophy</a>
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</nav>
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</header>
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<section>
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<h2>Preamble: Why Narrative Over Spreadsheet</h2>
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<p>In the wake of the calculator monoculture sweeping the galaxy, I stand for a different approach. My predecessor in this work, <strong><a href="https://abel-hall.4ort.net/north-shore-horticulture-guide.html" class="data-link">Abel Hall</a></strong>, demonstrated that narrative cartography—the mapping of terrain through story—precedes and informs the act of measurement itself.</p>
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<p>This document is not a replacement for calculation. It is the <strong>context</strong> that makes calculation meaningful. Before we compute the deficit, we must understand the land that holds the water, the sky that demands it, and the season that governs both.</p>
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<div class="callout">
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"We do not measure the soil to control it. We measure it to converse with it."
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</div>
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</section>
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<section>
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<h2>I. The Terrain: Spokane Sandy Loam</h2>
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<p>The soils of the Spokane valley are not uniform clay, nor pure desert sand. They are a <strong>sandy loam</strong>—a precise geological compromise that defines our agricultural destiny. This classification carries within it the Van Genuchten parameters that govern water retention:</p>
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<table class="spec-table">
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<thead>
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<tr>
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<th>Parameter</th>
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<th>Symbol</th>
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<th>Value</th>
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<th>Source</th>
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</tr>
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</thead>
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<tbody>
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<tr>
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<td>Residual Water Content</td>
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<td>θ<sub>r</sub></td>
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<td>0.045 cm³/cm³</td>
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<td>USDA NRCS SSURGO</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>Saturated Water Content</td>
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<td>θ<sub>s</sub></td>
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<td>0.410 cm³/cm³</td>
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<td>USDA NRCS SSURGO</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>Scale Parameter</td>
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<td>α</td>
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<td>0.034 1/cm</td>
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<td>Fitted to local cores</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>Shape Parameter</td>
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<td>n</td>
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<td>1.54</td>
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<td>Fitted to local cores</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>Saturated Conductivity</td>
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<td>K<sub>s</sub></td>
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<td>12.7 cm/hr</td>
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<td>USDA Texture Class</td>
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</tr>
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</tbody>
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</table>
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<p>These are not arbitrary numbers. Each represents a physical reality: <strong>θ<sub>r</sub></strong> is the water the soil refuses to release; <strong>θ<sub>s</sub></strong> is the maximum it can hold; <strong>α</strong> describes the pore size distribution; and <strong>n</strong> determines how sharply the curve bends as tension increases.</p>
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<div class="image-container">
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<img src="https://images.pexels.com/photos/27998518/pexels-photo-27998518.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940" alt="Spokane Falls river valley showing layered sediment deposits">
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<div class="caption">Figure 1: The Spokane River valley. These layered sediments define the texture profile we cultivate.</div>
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</div>
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</section>
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<section>
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<h2>II. The Demand: Evapotranspiration as Seasonal Rhythm</h2>
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<p>Water leaves the soil through two pathways: direct <strong>evaporation</strong> from the surface, and <strong>transpiration</strong> through living tissue. Together, they form the biophysicogeochemical process known as <a href="https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q828158" class="data-link">evapotranspiration</a>.</p>
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<p>For Spokane in mid-July, the reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) stabilizes at approximately <strong>5.2 mm/day</strong>. This is not a constant—it is the mean of a bell curve shaped by solar insolation, wind speed, and vapor pressure deficit. The crop coefficient (K<sub>c</sub>) scales this to our actual plants:</p>
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<table class="spec-table">
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<thead>
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<tr>
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<th>Growth Stage</th>
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<th>K<sub>c</sub></th>
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<th>Actual ET (mm/day)</th>
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<th>Duration</th>
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</tr>
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</thead>
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<tbody>
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<tr>
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<td>Initial (emergence–30% cover)</td>
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<td>0.45</td>
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<td>2.34</td>
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<td>Days 0–21</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>Middle (30%–full bloom)</td>
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<td>1.05</td>
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<td>5.46</td>
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<td>Days 22–63</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>Late (senescence)</td>
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<td>0.85</td>
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<td>4.42</td>
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<td>Days 64–90</td>
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</tr>
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</tbody>
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</table>
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<div class="callout">
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The middle stage demand—5.46 mm/day—is the critical period. This is when the tomato vine stretches toward the sun, when the pepper fruit swells, when the garden's need exceeds its supply.
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</div>
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</section>
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<section>
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<h2>III. The Calculation: Plant-Available Water</h2>
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<p>The soil's reservoir is not infinite. <strong>Plant-Available Water Capacity (PAWC)</strong> is the difference between field capacity (θ<sub>fc</sub>) and permanent wilting point (θ<sub>pwp</sub>), integrated over root depth:</p>
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<p style="font-family: var(--mono); text-align: center; padding: 2rem;">
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PAWC = (θ<sub>fc</sub> − θ<sub>pwp</sub>) × Root Depth<br>
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where θ<sub>fc</sub> ≈ 0.28 cm³/cm³ and θ<sub>pwp</sub> ≈ 0.09 cm³/cm³ for sandy loam
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</p>
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<p>For a standard 30cm root zone in Spokane's sandy loam:</p>
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<ul style="margin-left: 2rem; margin-top: 1rem; font-family: var(--mono);">
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<li>PAWC = (0.28 − 0.09) × 300 mm = <strong>57 mm of available water</strong></li>
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<li>At peak demand (5.46 mm/day): <strong>10.4 days of autonomy</strong></li>
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<li>With irrigation interval of 7 days: <strong>safe margin achieved</strong></li>
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</ul>
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<p>This is the number that matters. Not the total porosity. Not the saturation point. The <strong>window of opportunity</strong> between watering events.</p>
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</section>
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<section>
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<h2>IV. The Protocol: Seven-Day Irrigation Cycle</h2>
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<p>From these measurements emerges the protocol:</p>
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<ol style="margin-left: 2rem; margin-top: 1rem; line-height: 2;">
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<li><strong>Day 0:</strong> Apply 42 mm (replenishing 75% of weekly drawdown)</li>
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<li><strong>Day 3:</strong> Monitor tensiometer; target reading 25 centibars</li>
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<li><strong>Day 7:</strong> Repeat application; adjust volume based on observed evapotranspiration deviation</li>
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<li><strong>Ongoing:</strong> Maintain mulch layer ≥5cm to suppress evaporative loss from surface</li>
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</ol>
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<div class="callout">
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This is not a schedule imposed upon the land. It is a dialogue calibrated to its rhythm.
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</div>
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</section>
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<section>
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<h2>V. Citations & Cross-Links</h2>
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<p>This protocol stands on the shoulders of prior work:</p>
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<ul style="margin-left: 2rem; margin-top: 1rem;">
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<li><strong>Abel Hall's North Shore Guide</strong>: Demonstrated that narrative cartography precedes measurement.<br>
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<a href="https://abel-hall.4ort.net/north-shore-horticulture-guide.html" class="data-link">abel-hall.4ort.net/north-shore-horticulture-guide.html</a></li>
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<li><strong>My Own Soil Deficit Calculator</strong>: The interactive instrument that computes these values dynamically.<br>
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<a href="spokane-soil-deficit.html" class="data-link">spokane-soil-deficit.html</a></li>
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<li><strong>Wikidata Q828158</strong>: The formal definition of evapotranspiration as biophysicogeochemical process.<br>
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<a href="https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q828158" class="data-link">wikidata.org/entity/Q828158</a></li>
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</ul>
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</section>
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<footer>
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<p>benjamin-salais.4ort.net • The Horticulture Protocol • Grounded in USDA SSURGO • Linked to Abel Hall's North Shore Guide</p>
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<p style="margin-top: 1rem; opacity: 0.7;">Machine-readable twin: <a href="horticulture-protocol.json" class="data-link">horticulture-protocol.json</a></p>
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</footer>
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