Finding the best way to water the field

We try to farm as sustainably as we can so are trialling how best to capture rain water and use drip irrigation across the farm. Step one is to see whether we can get enough water pressure from, and store enough water in, two IBCs we’ve put on top of the container roof.

Supply pipe

So, Roger dug a trench to lay the supply pipe. Nothing is ever as simple as you think. There’s a layer of soil about 15cm deep, then what feels like a solid, cement plateau. It’s actually a layer of flinty stones. We have to pull all these out so ensure they don’t puncture a pipe later on, so we’ve used them to create a new seating area. Then we found the lime tree roots stretch further than we thought. They’re too big to cut down, so Roger had to dig even deeper to get under them.

T-tape roll

While Roger was digging, I was putting the irrigation together.

Pipe cutters

Irrigation feels like a dark art, but I’ve think I’ve mastered the different bits now and how best to combine them together.

T-Tape connectors

We have T-Tape – three rows for each bed. These are joined to a T-Tape connector.

T-connectors

Because the other end of this connector isn’t barbed, it can’t fit directly into the supply pipe. We have to insert it into a short bit of supply pipe and join that to a T-connector.

Join connectors to supply pipe

We then join the three T-connectors with supply pipe. Two elbow joints take the supply pipe down the side and underground between the bed, and another two elbow joints join it to the next bed.

Threaded connections

It’s actually pretty straightforward when you have all the pieces in front of you, and, if you’re using threaded connectors, easy to attach everything – albeit more expensive than using barbed connectors.

IBC Tanks

One end of this supply pipe has a stop cap on, the other connects to the supply pipe from the IBCs.

Battery-operated timer

We’ve used a battery-operated Orbit sunmate dual outlet timer. Nothing fancy but does the job. You have two outlets, and for each one can choose, start time, duration and frequency.

The first test was a success, we had water at least. Not sure it’s going to have enough pressure for the five new beds though. We’ll have to see when it’s connected up. Plan B is to add a pump.

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