Here on the farm we’ve watched the weather patterns on the radar for decades. It’s common to see a big storm come out of the Berkshire hills to the west and by the time it hits us in the valley, it will split in half, north and south, and go around us. It’s so close we can see it north and south, but little or no rain will fall here.
That’s happened all too often this summer and we are very dry. That’s one reason I’ve been working so hard to get the Important gardens in shape and mulched. The mulch holds the moisture in. The flowerbeds have never been mulched, except with weeds…
On Monday I spent 2½ hours first thing getting the hoses set-up. I managed to get an hour of watering done on the Small garden.
First I had to find all the components. I’ve not done a set-up in a couple years and everything changed with the construction. I did the Small garden and north faucet first as it was easier.
First, there’s finding a working sprinkler, then tying it to a milk crate. Then finding a hose that will reach the garden, and another that will stay in the garden. Once the squash starts to take over, there will be no moving anything, so I had to get it centered right first time.
Then each hose/garden has its own set-up at the gate. A paperclip for unplugging holes, a female plug to keep the bugs and their nests out of the hoses when not in use, and a turn-off connector. Sometimes the turn-off stays with the faucet hose, and sometimes it stays at the garden hose.
I don’t have to water often, usually. Maybe only 4 or 5 times a season. We are now in July and I’m just setting up. The primary gardens watered are the 3 big ones: Big veg, Small veg, and New Herb.
But I try to hit as many other gardens as I can. With the New Herb, I was able to hit a section of the Fence gardens when the sprinkler was at the bottom, and here at the top, I am able to do the South Herb also.
Depending on how dry it is, I run the sprinklers for 1 or 2 hours once a week. We are forecast for rain on Tuesday night and it’s to be cloudy all day. I will probably hit as many gardens as I can today, and hope we get more tonight.
The little trees originally had a drip hose set-up around each tree. But I can’t leave it in place in the winter. I have been unable to set it back up the last 2 springs, so I will try to water the little trees with a sprinkler.
Fortunately, their wood chip mulch is still functioning. I had intended to beef it up this year, but I will have to see if there’s enough cash to do it later in the year.
The coreopsis in the wildflowers has gone to seed and the goldfinches are going crazy over them. The yarrow is in flower and the black-eyed susans are flowering now.
I was able to water for a couple hours in the evening. I spent the day pounding away at the months old paperwork backlog and managed to get it all caught up. I had managed to do the hose set-up, but Monday wasn’t a great day health wise.
On Tuesday, I hope to get a lot of watering done and some work in the gardens. My surrogate grand-daughter is coming in the afternoon, so I mustn’t get too tired.
nice!
Because of my slope and soil, I spend at least an hour watering every day that it doesn't rain. I've had all the things I need to set up a more automated irrigation system for at least 2 years now, but haven't found the time to install it yet, because I'm always watering, or it's raining!
You're a great farmer... This is so nice. Your watering system also is lovely and worth emulating.
Keep up with the good work.