How much water for a 1 acre garden?

[RobertN]

Go see these folks Smith County Master Gardeners | Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

The Master Gardeners here have 2 hour "classes' every Saturday; my wife teaches some of them(el dorado county, ca master gardeners)

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Maybe I read it wrong but post # 5 reads as though the 1 acre will consist of garden, chicken house, greenhouse, koi pond and deck.

I don't think Eddie was planting 1 acre of produce, that is unless he plans to supplement Oscar's diet

 

[daveshoot]

When using drip, remember it does not take much pressure. Regulate it down to 10-15psi. All the drip buttons are sensitive to debri in the water and will clog; make sure to filter the water(we filter at the pump, and filter at each circuit).

Don't use cheap 1/2" tube and components from the box stores.

Lots of very good advice in that post. Filter a lot, pressure regulate, and stay away from the really small emitters (under 1 gph), as they will clog sooner. Also use check valves, if there are any elevation changes/slopes in the plot. You don't want suction to occur from draining lines at any point, or it brings the dirt into the line from the emitters.

Your pump/well guy should advise on the tank. Until you have a well, you don't know what production is going to be. You want to avoid cycling the pump on and off as it keeps up with demand, so the tank would be sized according to your daily (nightly) need and the capacity of the well.

 

[Sinecure]

Eddie,

I will be following your progress with great interest. I am about a year out from doing a very similar project.

My initial thinking was similar to yours - basically, use a solar deep well pump to fill (keep filled) an above ground cistern and then use the cistern gravity/water pressure to target water my garden layout . I also struggled with how to "blend" the cistern into the area without looking like an after-thought.

With the help of a farm designer (who knew they had people who did that sort of thing), I decided to make the cistern a focal point to a greenhouse and garden layout that will be more formal in nature, but still a working garden.

I have linked below the cistern look I will be going for (Taken from a photo I saw on Houzz) and the greenhouse/garden layout.

The cistern will be in the center of the garden area versus trying to hide it or stick it next to the greenhouse like a sore thumb. I know your longer term plans for your property, so you may want to do something similar if this will be a visible area for your property and future guests.

As I am still in the design phase, so I don't have too much to offer you on a proven method. However, I have spent some time googling small winery irrigation examples. There are several examples of small vineyards using cisterns to water their vines and nut trees using small drip and emitter runs. Nobody seems to be doing the "just throw water in the air" and cover everything approach with a cistern.

My initial thinking was a 3000 gallon vertical tank sitting on a concrete pad that I would surround in cedar and get the lid/cover fabricated to hide the poly tank. They have cisterns all over Texas that can be erected on your site and then lined with a liner, but I figured it would be cheaper to just buy a vertical ploy tank and frame around it. I am not 100% this is correct, however.

If I come across some specifics in my research I will be sure to post the findings. Good Luck!

 

[jinman]

Maybe I read it wrong but post # 5 reads as though the 1 acre will consist of garden, chicken house, greenhouse, koi pond and deck.

I don't think Eddie was planting 1 acre of produce, that is unless he plans to supplement Oscar's diet

Yep! But even with chicken house, greenhouse, koi pond, deck, and hog pen, he'll still have 3/4 acre left over. A full acre is huge. A quarter acre is a good size for gettin' your feet wet.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Yep! But even with chicken house, greenhouse, koi pond, deck, and hog pen, he'll still have 3/4 acre left over. A full acre is huge. A quarter acre is a good size for gettin' your feet wet.

Jim,

Are you sure about that...You have seen Eddie's lake Koi Pond may be 3/4 of an acre.

 

[jinman]

Are you sure about that...You have seen Eddie's lake Koi Pond may be 3/4 of an acre.

David, I've seen Eddie's pictures of the crowds of deer and feral pigs at his deer feeder. I'm thinking Oscar might be the least of his troubles. He may need a stone stockade fence to keep critters out.

 

[forgeblast]

One thing to think about might be to make a solar greenhouse. Its different from a poly or glass greenhouse.
Solar Greenhouses will give you a great idea. These can be used to grow tomatoes in the dead of winter in Colorado. It would extend your season.

 

[johnnyvol]

Eddie,

I know you specifically asked about irrigation, but don't forget how important good soil is to your garden's success. The proper soil mixture will make a big difference in your watering needs.

Good luck, sounds like a great project.

 

[R_Walter]

Old saying... "An acre... too big to garden... too small to farm"