Thursday, October 26, 2006

Setting up irrigation in a Mittleider method garden

I am working on the irrigation part of settting up my new garden
scheme and would like to ask a question about figuring the exact
water flow. How would be the best way to figure what was actually
getting to the beds. My water system gives a gallon every 10 seconds
through the end of a water hose, but this will not be the actual
amount given through the PVC pipe in the bed since there would need to
be excess capacity to the PVC in order for it to remain pressurized
its full length and deliver a uniform amount. Any thoughts will be
helpful. Mabe it doesnt matter but in order to use .65 gallons of
water per sf a week I would need to know more closely the rate of
application it would seem. Thanks
D

D & Group:

Let's not complicate things. Take a ruler and measure the depth of the water. When you measure 1", that's enough water.

To apply 1" of water to a 30'-long soil-bed requires approximately 2 1/2 cubic feet, or 18 gallons of water. This assumes your planting area is 12" wide. This is figured by multiplying width by length by depth, or 1' X 30' X 1/12'.

For me the simplest way to determine the amount of time necessary to water a soil bed is to turn on the water, look at your watch, when you have 1" of water in the bed look at your watch again, and subtract the first time from the second (or use a stop watch). Or you could do the following.

If you're watering with a hose:
1) place the end of the hose near the head of the bed,
2) place it in a 5 gallon bucket,
3) turn on the water,
4) simultaneously look at your watch,
5) look at your watch when the bucket is full.
6) subtract the beginning time from the ending time,
7) this is the time for five gallons,
8) divide by 5 to get the time for one gallon,
9) multiply by the number of gallons needed to water the bed.

If you are using a PVC pipe system your first step is simply to remove the pipe and place a bucket next to your ball valve.

Man, that's complicated. I just water them. But I guess if someone is going to automate completely they should know how long it takes for each bed, so they can water when they are away from home. That's a trick though, since the water pressure to the end of the last bed may be different than that going to the first bed. Life's tough, isn't it!

Jim Kennard

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Volunteers sought for the Food For Everyone foundation

Dear Friends:

Thank you to all the people who volunteered to help spread the word
about the Food For Everyone Foundation. We would greatly appreciate
it if you will contact me (Jim AT growfood. com) and tell us what you
really enjoy doing from a marketing and public relations
standpoint. We realize most of you have families and limited time,
so we want your volunteer work to be not only rewarding but also fun.

We can use all the assistance we can get, so if you would like to
help the foundation help others now is the time to step up and be
heard.

Please email me directly at Jim AT Foodforeveryone.org and tell us what
you would really enjoy doing.

This can include:
Contacting local newspapers
Contacting Education institutions about the foundation and method
Putting up and passing out fliers about the foundation and method
Contacting local and/or national religious organizations about the
foundation and method.
Contacting potential groups who will help fund the next mission(s)
Contacting individuals who will help fund the next mission (s)
Contacting local and national TV stations to do an interview with me
about the foundation (phone interviews are fine)
Contacting celebrities who have expressed interest in donating to
humanitarian groups (an example would be Paul Newman and Bono from
U2)
Brainstorming and setting up exciting new marketing ideas, concepts
and ad copy
Assist with spreading the word about the foundation via other non-
profits
Assist with contacting other gardening organizations to tell them
about the foundation and our method of gardening.

We currently have four volunteers assisting the foundation. Each of
them works full time and/or has a family, so we are trying to take
some of the load off their shoulders. They are all doing a
wonderful job but the foundation wants to make sure we do not take
away from their personal quality of life, both family and financial.

If you want to help the foundation help others now is the time to
step up and be heard.

Thank you very much,

Jim Kennard