one thing I am seeing with my garden since I have to water every other day. I water with city chlorinated water. The chlorine kills or stunts the soil microbes that the plants need. So the plants get watered but they cant use it until they rebuild their bacteria neighborhood. About the time they get it right again I have to water and it starts over with. I fill tubs with water and let the chlorine air out. once they put down deep roots it is better.
This system works good, but I left out an important part of the raised beds, not a big deal, easily worked around, but will show the details in an upcoming video.
Basically, my beds are a bit too high and erode easily. this was because I buried the weeds under them and couldn't work it down with the rake like I normally do. Plus, I'm a bit rusty. 🙂
I'll show the better raised beds in the future video.
I used to know that but forgot until you mentioned it Randy. I suppose the barrel will help with the chlorine chloramine issue.
Nice thing about well water too, is it has minerals in it that are generally lacking in city water, like iron and sulfur, other trace minerals too.
this is supposedly city water that I'm using. I bought some organic fertilizer that is supposed to have beneficial microbes in it, likely fungi of some sort.
looking goof my small garden starting to look better BTY i was checking my hazelnuts and many of them have clusters of nuts i will make a video on them soon does your water bill go up much?
Your garden is coming along nicely!
But then again you have worked hard to get it looking like it does.
I also hope the mole have not taken swimming lessons:o)
Thank you for sharing my friend!
All the best
Rob
my next door neighbor has a shallow well (20 or 30 feet) that they use for their outdoor plants. It saves on their water bill and the water is free minus the electricity it takes to draw it up. The water isnt really good for drinking since it is a shallow well and there was a hog farm near enough to put nitrates in the water. But the plants dont mind nitrates. The well was dug by hand a century ago for cattle watering.
good job there my friend .though here at the moment we dont have to water nature is doing it her self lo we have lots of rain at the moment a months worth fell in one night …………all the best
I'll just keep using city water, 🙂 , seems to be working. the cost effectiveness of a filter would be prohibitive. One 55 gallon drum full of water ids not enough to water, but a third the garden.
Not my water bill, it's the city's, but when I had a water bill it didn't go up much, but then I used soaker hoses instead and had the entire garden covered with weed barrier to hold in moisture. .
We had a good rain yesterday and that's about it in over two weeks. I hear one inch per week is good for a garden, we are getting about a fourth of that. But, i saw cayenne peppers, green bell peppers, and my beans and okra are coming up.
Oh man see if you can ring them in a and sell tickets to people who want to see them…;o))
They are very good diggers so they probably made a drainage system to coupe with the water:o)
Stumbled across your channel yesterday while looking for Michigan hiking trails for 3-4 night trips. Being a Michigander myself I find your channel to be very helpful. Keep on making the vids, much appreciated.
This is the most easiest way of irrigation process that I've ever known in a smarter way. This will help a lot specifically to the garden beginners and raised bed planters. Just a simple tip but this will really count a lot!
I would think a good sprinkler or soaker hoses would be more efficient with the amount of water your using anyway. "T" off the hose and run 2 sprinklers maybe for that size garden. My job as a kid was water can and every plant in the back 40 😉 Love the videos.
Nice video, as you say make life as easy as you can! I am lucky in that I have a stream some 300 feet away from my garden it is also about 50 feet beneath the level of the garden but what I have done last year is to build an hydraulic ram pump, this just uses the gravity of the stream to pump water up to a holding tank without the need for any form of motor, I only get a trickle at that height and distance but it is running 24 hours a day
Came on here to see if the system I just dug around my garden would even work, turns out you've already thought about it about 10x more than me and thank you for doing so, because not only did it validate 'my idea' but you also gave me several improvements that I will be making in the next few days. Keep on keeping on, God bless and I hope you're alright even though this vid was in 2012!
36 Comments
one thing I am seeing with my garden since I have to water every other day. I water with city chlorinated water. The chlorine kills or stunts the soil microbes that the plants need. So the plants get watered but they cant use it until they rebuild their bacteria neighborhood. About the time they get it right again I have to water and it starts over with. I fill tubs with water and let the chlorine air out. once they put down deep roots it is better.
Thanks Stu,
This system works good, but I left out an important part of the raised beds, not a big deal, easily worked around, but will show the details in an upcoming video.
Basically, my beds are a bit too high and erode easily. this was because I buried the weeds under them and couldn't work it down with the rake like I normally do. Plus, I'm a bit rusty. 🙂
I'll show the better raised beds in the future video.
That is something I hadn't considered, Thanks!
I used to know that but forgot until you mentioned it Randy. I suppose the barrel will help with the chlorine chloramine issue.
Nice thing about well water too, is it has minerals in it that are generally lacking in city water, like iron and sulfur, other trace minerals too.
this is supposedly city water that I'm using. I bought some organic fertilizer that is supposed to have beneficial microbes in it, likely fungi of some sort.
google permaculture, "wild gardening". more efficient than anything especially on this small, self-sustaining level.
That's a big garden, nice! At 2:35 there is a crow laughing. Probably the same one that laughs at my place.
looking goof my small garden starting to look better BTY i was checking my hazelnuts and many of them have clusters of nuts i will make a video on them soon does your water bill go up much?
Your garden is coming along nicely!
But then again you have worked hard to get it looking like it does.
I also hope the mole have not taken swimming lessons:o)
Thank you for sharing my friend!
All the best
Rob
my next door neighbor has a shallow well (20 or 30 feet) that they use for their outdoor plants. It saves on their water bill and the water is free minus the electricity it takes to draw it up. The water isnt really good for drinking since it is a shallow well and there was a hog farm near enough to put nitrates in the water. But the plants dont mind nitrates. The well was dug by hand a century ago for cattle watering.
good job there my friend .though here at the moment we dont have to water nature is doing it her self lo we have lots of rain at the moment a months worth fell in one night …………all the best
I'll just keep using city water, 🙂 , seems to be working. the cost effectiveness of a filter would be prohibitive. One 55 gallon drum full of water ids not enough to water, but a third the garden.
That's a great idea though, thanks.
That sounds like a good idea.
I will check it out, thanks. This method does seem quite efficient though.
That's the lady down from me, she has a very loud laugh.
The moles live. Thanks!
Not my water bill, it's the city's, but when I had a water bill it didn't go up much, but then I used soaker hoses instead and had the entire garden covered with weed barrier to hold in moisture. .
Rob, I believe these are aquatic moles with a taste for juicy fruit chewing gum and hot pepper. They live! 🙂
Thanks Tito, gravity and capillary action does most of the work.
and extremely low maintenance…except for the moles.
Thanks!
You're welcome!
We have had very little rain, you are a lucky man Geza.
We had a good rain yesterday and that's about it in over two weeks. I hear one inch per week is good for a garden, we are getting about a fourth of that. But, i saw cayenne peppers, green bell peppers, and my beans and okra are coming up.
Oh man see if you can ring them in a and sell tickets to people who want to see them…;o))
They are very good diggers so they probably made a drainage system to coupe with the water:o)
I will have to get the sound of the crow it sounds like that, don't tell the neighbor.
Stumbled across your channel yesterday while looking for Michigan hiking trails for 3-4 night trips. Being a Michigander myself I find your channel to be very helpful. Keep on making the vids, much appreciated.
Thanks! So, did you find any Michigan hiking trails for 3-4 night trips? I would like to find some locally in southern Michigan if possible.
Thanks, Roosevelt
Good job bro. I know of trails in West Mich. Going to make some vids this weekend bud. Please check them out. I like your input.
thanks!
stumbled on to your channel here. only to realize i took a few pages out of your book making syrup this year.
I hope the syrup making went well.
This is the most easiest way of irrigation process that I've ever known in a smarter way. This will help a lot specifically to the garden beginners and raised bed planters. Just a simple tip but this will really count a lot!
I would think a good sprinkler or soaker hoses would be more efficient with the amount of water your using anyway. "T" off the hose and run 2 sprinklers maybe for that size garden. My job as a kid was water can and every plant in the back 40 😉 Love the videos.
the easy way indeed
Nice video, as you say make life as easy as you can! I am lucky in that I have a stream some 300 feet away from my garden it is also about 50 feet beneath the level of the garden but what I have done last year is to build an hydraulic ram pump, this just uses the gravity of the stream to pump water up to a holding tank without the need for any form of motor, I only get a trickle at that height and distance but it is running 24 hours a day
great video!
Half the reason I do furrow irrigation is just so I can remember where I planted the seeds…lol.
Came on here to see if the system I just dug around my garden would even work, turns out you've already thought about it about 10x more than me and thank you for doing so, because not only did it validate 'my idea' but you also gave me several improvements that I will be making in the next few days. Keep on keeping on, God bless and I hope you're alright even though this vid was in 2012!