Water from the Heavens

One of the major reasons, a recent visitor suggested, that our plants are so healthy on the farm is our water. This may be true. Montana is arid. 10-13 inches of rain during the season is average. With a creek running nearby and a couple of wells, the farm has a complex watering system which involved lots of drip lines, a few soaker hoses, and some long, heavy pipes (known as hand lines and main lines -- seen as a silver pipe in the grass of the photo below, and rain birds seen spraying water in the photo below).



We don't have these pipes laid out in permanent positions, that would be expensive and ridiculous. We rotate them by hand four times a day. Someone has to move those pipes.

That's why we all end up with nice biceps by the end of the summer. A pair of students each week is responsible for moving the lines, rotating where the water flows, drips, and sprays, and generally getting to know the farm in a brand new, wet, and dirty light. I had a great partner in Erin, so we actually enjoyed it. Although we don't plant, harvest, or weed on the weekends, it was our responsibility the following weekend to keep the water going (and feed the chickens and pigs, of course).



It's pretty here. Especially early on a Sunday morning.