Water...trust me, you'll want to read this post!

Ok...not the most exciting topic...

But as a gardener/homesteader, water is VERY important.

Trust me...have one dry year, where you are hauling water to the garden

for what seems like an eternity, and you'll know the importance of water.

As far as I'm concerned, your water source can 

never be close enough to your growing area.

(especially thirsty stuff like corn)

A few years back we acquired a couple of water barrels.

The first place we had them, they fit right under our downspouts.

That is a GREAT location...as long as its also close to the garden.

By the end of the summer...as short distance can feel like a million miles.

We bought the barrels for $15 each from a neighbour.

Ches bought the taps from the hardware store, installing them himself.

The lids came like mason jars, so we just removed the inner lid and replaced it with

plastic mesh to keep leaves from really accumulating, 

while still allowing the water to drain into the barrel.

The first year...we placed the barrels on the ground and 

started collecting water from our downspouts.

Great!

Except when we started draining the barrels...we noticed it only trickled.

A wonderful part of science was learned.

Raise the barrels for better water pressure!

We raised the barrels on several old pallets.

Problem solved.

Our success was confirmed when it only took a few 

minutes to fill a watering can rather than an hour.

Pallets Dual Purpose:  Makes for a great snakes hiding spot...

keeps rodent population WAY down.

Keeps me on my toes though...

Since we don't have the garden anywhere near our downspouts,

We started placing buckets around the barrels.

After a good rain, you can usually fill the barrels half way.

Its a very primitive method...but the alternative is equally primitive.

You can't see it but our garden is about 15-20 feet from our dock.

The dock is our access to Holleford Creek.

I can fill up our watering cans from there and walk them over...but like I said earlier

in this post...a short distance can feel like a million miles after a whole summer.

My father in law Willie gave us a water pump!

It looks like a generator but it actually pumps water.

He also gave us a giant hose to go along with it.

When Ches tried to assemble and place it by the dock...we lost all of the gas.

There seems to be some sort of leak...

so once we find and fix said leak...we will be ROCKING the water situation.

(and probably ditch the buckets)

How do you solve the water problem as a gardener?