Wednesday, July 22, 2009

drip irrigation and rain barrels

So my drip irrigation in the hoophouse works great when there is good strong water pressure, i.e. from the tap. But when I use the rain barrel the water pressure is very low and I'm just not sure that the 60 gallon barrel is enough. The barrel is not usually totally full, and the barrel spigot is probably 15 gallons above the bottom. After that barrel is done with, I have to use a barrel at almost the same level as the hoophouse, so that pressure is SUPER low. What I end up doing is just hooking up a hose and watering by hand from the barrel once I reach that point. Or hauling buckets of water over and dumping them on the ground.

I'm not sure how much I can change things this year as the plants are getting big so it's hard to reach in and remove fixtures and add in new ones.

I don't mind watering by hand too much. It's nice to have it automated but I think it's even nicer to use rainwater when I have it. And I don't have much to do in the garden lately so it gives me an excuse to hang out in there. But watering can be tedious and I think I'd like a better solution for next summer.

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