Water. Next to air, our most precious resource! You can’t grow vegetables without it. Drip irrigation is about supplying the right amount of water, at the right time, and supplying it consistently to the vegetables throughout the whole season. At Cane Creek Asparagus & Company CSA drip irrigation conserves our supply of water and ensures our plants have a fighting chance in a drought! We use drilled deep wells as a water supply so we can be assured of the quality of the water we are using on our gardens and vegetables.
The first step is to drill the wells. While this sounds simple, it usually requires at least a week of time and perhaps more depending on the weather. We were doing this in the winter and there were some delays. Once the wells are drilled, underground water and electrical lines are dug and laid to the pump house. Plumbers and electricians are handle this phase of the work. Our interests are in farming vegetables so we have no problems delegating these tasks!
Trenches carrying the water and electric lines to the gardens must be dug. These tasks are best performed with a backhoe. Underground “T’s” direct the lines to the various field gardens. Hose bibs (or water faucets) are installed at various intervals as needed.
Finally, all the wires and pipes are laid and covered and the next phase awaits.
The drip lines are run from the hose bibs out and down each row to be irrigated. We use water permeable fabric to control weeds in an organic manner and the drip lines run between fabric rolls. This “setup step” is performed early each season—and then removed during the Fall cleanup phase.
This is the look of a happy farmer when there is visual proof that everything is working properly!
Cane Creek Asparagus & Company CSA 