Making it Rain

We all know that plants need water to survive and grow. Not many people know how the water gets to the plants on commercial farms. No, we don’t all run around with watering buckets and colorful rubber boots; although that would probably be more fun…

All of the water for our produce field and greenhouse comes from one pond. We use an electric pump to get the water out of the pond and into sand filters.

These two metal tanks are partially filled with sand. Pressurized water is forced through the sand to filter out all of the algae and mud that might have been accidentally sucked up by the pump. At this stage we can also add fertilizer and nutrients to the irrigation water using the yellow tank on the right. We call this process “injecting.” By putting nutrients in the irrigation lines we can give the plants whatever they may need directly to their roots.

After the water is filtered and nutrients are added, the water is sent up the hill to the field where it goes into drip lines. Drip lines are special tubes that allow a regulated amount of water to drip out. We use them in both the main field and the greenhouse. Without the sand filters, any mud or algae sucked up by the pump could clog the emitters in the drip lines.

We can control which rows in the field the water is applied to using valves. Not all crops need the same amount of water. This is why farmers who have irrigation systems installed generally prefer dry weather to overly rainy. It is easy to make it rain, but it’s not so easy to make it stop. Even when it does rain our plants don’t get too much water. We grow our crops on plasticulture. That means we cover all of our beds thin a thin plastic layer and punch holes to plant the crops. It helps us control weeds and moisture in the soil. Even if it rains 2 inches in a night our plants won’t get too much water since they are under plastic. Sometimes we even have to run irrigation while it’s raining!

What does this mean to us?

Without water we wouldn’t have any plants and you wouldn’t have any fresh produce! The ability to inject nutrients ensures that the produce you buy is large and flavorful. Using this process, all of the fertilizer goes directly to the roots. Not only is it more efficient, the plants can have all they want without coating the leaves or fruit. It is a safer way to make sure the plants get the nutrients they need. Healthy, well fed plants make delicious produce.

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