Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] preferred water source

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Barking Cat Farm <barkingcatfarm AT mindspring.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>, KAKerby AT aol.com
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] preferred water source
  • Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:36:09 -0500

On Apr 11, 2010, at 8:47 PMApr/11/10, KAKerby AT aol.com wrote:
Anyone out there using pond water or roof collection water for their gardens?  If so, how has that worked out for you?

Hi Kathryn,

We put in a new pond in 2006, and have been using it with t-tape drip irrigation on perennial crops ever since without problems.  We worked with our local NRCS office who designed the pond; we then had one of their preferred contractors put it in at a fraction of the cost of what it would've been had we just gone out and hired somebody ourselves to do it all.  We might could have even gotten partially funded through the NRCS if we'd chosen to pursue that.  Even though we had a couple of years of drought early on, we've not yet come anywhere close to seeing the pond level drop much.  This is our only water source on the farm.

The only problem we've had, and it is a doozy, is algae.  We didn't even know it was a problem as long as all we had was the t-tape/drip tape.  The problem first surfaced when we put in a fruit tree orchard and a blueberry patch early last year.  The orchard is fed off of emitter tubing, the type that has the pressure compensating emitters pre-fabbed into the tubing.  The blueberries are fed of of self-installed emitters off of poly tubing at each plant.  We've not yet seen problems in the orchard (although I suspect we will soon if we don't get the algae under control), but the self-installed emitters in the blueberries are forever being clogged by either the pond algae, the algae growing in the line, the suspected iron bacteria in the lines, or pick 2 or 3 of the above.  It is awful.  Until I get this problem under control, I get to spend several hours each week walking the blueberry lines and manually checking and clearing the emitters at each blueberry plant.  I've tried different types of emitters and they all clog.  My "bandaid" on this front is the a type that is the least hassle to pull apart and clean until I get a more effective solution.

The algae discussion is a whole different thread and I could write much more on that, but it seems a bit off topic for this thread.  Just wanted to tell you that if you are thinking of using your pond water AND if you are using barbed emitters (t-tape should be okay either way), I'd get a water test done to see if algae is going to be a problem.  A visual self-inspection is huge. If you see a lot of that webby  type green algae floating on the surface, almost guaranteed you will start an algae farm in your lines like I did.

Laurie
Zones 7&8 where it is finally gloriously dry enough to work the fields again and the temps are heavenly right now.



Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page