Need advice about adding a well.

[CJBOTA]

We have a 12 acre orchard (peaches, apples, and nectarines) plus about an acre of strawberries. The orchard is 5 years old and every year I find it necessary to water. I also need water for spraying chemicals. I have access to a large pond about 3/8's of a mile (one way) from the orchard. Hauling water has become a real pain in the #@*%. It is very time consuming and costly. I have a spot right in the middle of the orchard where I am thinking about adding a well. There is no electric so i will need to figure out a way to use the tractor or buy a generator to run the pump. Also, should I install a storage tank, if so how big? Should I rely on the submersible pump to do all the pumping? I am looking at using a series of hoses with drip nozzles strategically located. The furthest point from the well will be about 900'. I would appreciate any advice or to hear aboutyour experience with tring to use a well for watering. I will never need to try to water the whole orchard at one time. I have different varieties in each row so the watering is determined by variety. The hoses will run the length of the rows (under the trees where i don't mow. I would conect to one of multiple headers with a retractable hose. I know this all sounds expensive but I don't know what else to do. Once the well is in I can add the rest of it at a piece at a time on an as needed basis. Hauling water is not cheap and is very time consuming. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
CJ

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

alot will be determined by the numbers:
- how much water per day will you need?
- how much water during peak period will you need?
- what does your well driller think he can yield from a well in the area?

For me I am in a very wet area. My well is 100' deep, water table at about 20', set pump depth at 65' and the well yields 25 gallons per minute out of a 5" casing with little or no fear of pumping it dry. Pump is submersible becasue we get more than 4 months per year sub zero, submersible self primes, will not overheat or loose prime, etc...

Once you get these numbers from a well yield test (or a guess from the local well drilling experts) it is really hard to answer your questions. But once you get the numbers (even the estimates) then it is easy to calculate if you need to pump and hold in a cistern or can direct pump from casing to field, etc...

 

[logan97]

don't know the lay of your land . you may consider a small shed with metal roof and a 1000 gal tank for collection of rain water. I posted some info and pictures of our set up awhile back.One of our hydrants gravity feeds the other we use a small AC pump. A solar pump would work too. I can say that it was most definetly worth the expense and labor now that it is all said and done. The only regret we have is we should have put in 2 tanks, although we have not run out of water yet this year.

 

[Western]

Another option to consider, windmill. Very common in West Texas, combined with a cistern or water tank. Gives you several options on pumping or gravity fed. Upfront cost may be comparable to a good generator and pump +the added cost of a storage tank, but free to operate with minimal maintenance. I have seen tanks from enclosed 500-2000 gallon storage tanks, to open top cisterns in the 5000 gal range. If and when you get electricity, you can use the windmill for something else, sell it or aerate/ maintain a pond with it possibly. Just thinking out load.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I like Western's idea. Even if you have to build a raised platform for the storage tank, you can gravity feed the orchard. If you don't have sufficient wind for the windmill, consider a gasoline powered air compressor and blow the water from the well into the holding tank.

 

[Stimw]

The first question is how deep is your aquifer and how high will the water need to be lifted.
Also if you are just watering with it you can make an open vinyl lined type of storage.

 

[LazySusanFarms]

Biggest issue with a well and drip irrigation is that gravity-fed drip is almost impossible to regulate. I would suggest talking to one of the online drip companies about your intended set-up.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I like Western's idea. Even if you have to build a raised platform for the storage tank, you can gravity feed the orchard.

You have to think carefully about this because he said he wanted to do drip irrigation. Drip irrigation systems typically require about 15-30 psi. 1 psi = 2.3 feet of head, so that's 34.5 to 69 feet of elevation required to run the drip irrigation system. I say this as someone who has tried to do drip irrigation via a gravity feed system: as far as I can tell, both practically speaking and by the numbers, it doesn't work.

 

[rambler]

There are _so_ many variables!

Think this will get expensive in a hurry.

How deep to water, how many gallons a day do you need, what kind of ground - level, one slope, rolling hills....

Too many variables to really give you any sort of helpful answer.

You can gravity feed water, or pressure feed water, but youll need to match they type of irrigation to the pressures your pump will produce. Wind, solar, or a tank tend to have very low pressures, electric or a diesel pump can do high pressure.


Is it legal to harvest pond water in your state/county? Do you have electricity by the pond? Running a hose (bigger than a garden hose!!!!) from the pond to the trees might look cheaper, if allowed, once you do all the numbers.

--->Paul

 

[Soundguy]

the issue with running a well off a generator, and having varried water times is this:

1, if you have multiple zones to water.. you may be waiting for well recharge inbetween watering. meaning you will need to go out there and start that tractor / generator ALL day.

You may consider putting a 'standby' generator out there and see if you can get one that will come on at a set time based upon a timer, and also have your watering schedule setup to fall within that timer setup plan.

other option is to run power out there.


I have some slightly rmeote farm property away from my house. I used to haul water out there for animals and fill stock tanks with about 25 5g buckets in the back of my truck.. put a well in and then used a tractor and pto genset to run it for a few monts. finally bit the bullet and pad the 8k$ to have power run out there and not be tied to water duties a day a week...