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We decided on a non-pressurized irrigation system, primarily because
of the distance
from the garden to our potable pressurized water system, and there was
a concern about possible contamination to it.
— Bernadell, HCMG
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Gravity-fed Water System |
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Bernadell's Gravity-Fed Watering
System for the Raised Beds |
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Shade
cloth was added to approximately two
thirds of the raised-bed garden this
past summer. Why only two thirds you
ask? I mistakenly purchased 75% UV
blockage instead of the 50% UV
blockage and was worried that the
plants would not get enough of the
sun’s rays. So I thought I would do
an experiment to see what difference
the shaded vs non-shaded cloth would
make on the plants. I left the
shading off of the okra, Anaheim
peppers and asparagus sections. I
knew okra and Anaheim peppers loved
the sun, but was not quite sure of
the asparagus. The okra and peppers
did great, but we had a lot or rain
this summer. The jury is still out
on the asparagus since it is a
biennial plant. |
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With the shade cloth
up, it was time to start on the irrigation system. We decided on
a non-pressurized irrigation system, primarily because of the
distance the garden is from our potable pressurized water system
and a concern about possible contamination to it. As it turns
out, there is a lot of information on pressurized irrigation
systems, but very little information on non-pressurized /
gravity fed irrigation systems. We still opted for the gravity
fed system (trying to keep things simple). A 1,500 gallon black
poly water tank was purchased and will be tied into the existing
collection system. Stu is currently in the process of building
the tank pad (above, right), which will have a sand base for the
tank. |
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The water going into the tank will
have one filtering but will not be
potable. The two side beds will have
one irrigation tube and the center
bed will have two irrigation tubes,
and there will be shut off valves on
each of the tubes for individual
controls. When we tested the
irrigation tubes with water fed via
a garden hose out of the big tank,
we discovered that the beds were not
getting equal amounts of water. (Due
to the natural terrain, the beds are
sloping down and to the left.) The
goal is to have timers on the
irrigation lines, but we will have
to see if there is enough pressure
coming out of the tank to kick on
the timer and feed water through the
irrigation lines.
We
will keep you updated on our
progress. |
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