I wasn't going to post about our watering system because I really don't understand fully how it works, but after some urging from Mom I did go out with with my younger brother and sister before breakfast and took some pictures before they buried it.
It was a beautiful cool misty morning and it was fun to spend time with the two youngest. These will be the times that I will cherish when I head back out to college this next January.
Anyhow, we already have a watering system like this in our fruit orchard. We wanted something that was connected to our well, could water one or multiple trees at a time and was below ground so we didn't have to move it every time we mowed. So we came up with a series of valves/shutoffs, a network of underground PVC pipe that was connected to the pump at the top of the hill, and a small sprinkler above each of the trees.
It worked so well that we put it in our raspberries rows, only this time we used drip-line instead of sprinklers. We can fertilize through the system too through a pump that sucks up the fertilizer at the top of the hill and distributes it evenly through each row through the drip-line.
Didn't I just write a post about stray drop-off animals? Well, here's something to prove it. This little dog wandered onto our property a week or two ago, and because he found food he decided to stay. He's just like most drop-off strays: patches of no hair, wants to be inside, afraid of brooms, etc ...
We're not sure what to do about him. He's quiet and hasn't caused any trouble so it's easy to forget about him. Once we have a spare minute to two we'll decide whether he stays or goes.
This watering system weaves through the blueberry plants and also runs all the way down to our kiwi plant. Both the blueberries and kiwi were neglected this year (as far as watering goes) so hopefully this new watering system does the trick for us next year.
It's almost time to blow the water out of the underground pipe with an air compressor to prepare for winter. We don't want water to freeze in the pipes because they'll burst.
My sister and me (and the stray) under the kiwi trellis
I love efficiency and this watering system really does a great job. Besides that, it's an excuse to do something big and challenging together as a family. I love having ongoing projects around the farm. There's always more to do and I LOVE IT! What with finishing some of the basement, harvesting, canning, building the watering system, putting the gardens to sleep and starting school we keep quite busy around here. AND, we're excitedly planning next year's projects.
A farm is a lovely ongoing adventure! Life Is Wonderful!
