Biggest Watering Can EVAR!!!

So, in honor of it raining a bunch lately, I thought I'd do a lil' post on irrigation. The only active field currently in range of a hose at SVF is Field 497.  Field 502 will have to rely on rain, manually carried water, and terra-forming/permaculture methods to meet those crops watering needs. As 502 is contour-cropped into the side of a hill, I have gravity on my side.  By using swales (mini-ditches along the rows to allow water to pool and sink in), I can increase the soil's ability to hold water increasing the days without rain the soil can go before drying out. If and when the soil does dry out I am in the process of setting up a super-huge watering can on wheels. We located a 275 gallon plastic tote on CraigsList for supah-cheap.

Rain On Wheels

Stored empty, it is placed into the bed of the truck, filled from the well (future plans have us acquiring another similar container and attaching that to the barn roof rain spout and using that rain water to fill the mobile can), truck drives to where water is needed then we have a lil in-line pump that can be run off a 12V battery to pressurize the water coming out the hose equivalent to a regular garden faucet. Of course, with as wet as it's been so far we haven't had to use it yet but it's there for if and when we do.

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