At the beginning of the month I turned 50. My MIL gave me a birthday gift. It was a check for $500 with a stipulation that it be spent on something I wouldn't already buy. Now you might not see that as cruel, but as I'm sure you could guess, my mind immediately went to the garden. I started thinking about irrigation systems. Then I started to think about whether it was really worth putting one in or not. Oh the dilemma. I've been doing calculations and debating this in my head for weeks.
Monetarily it is a bad choice. I did the math. I'm guessing that I water the garden overhead about six times a year. We get rain here. It is not a dry spot. Our average rainfall is 4" per month, with a high of 4.5" and a low of 3.5". So I have to water on occasion, but not a whole lot. A quick back of the envelope calculation says that if I water 6 times a year I pay about $46 per year in water (which I might point out has never been calculated and never put in my tally - ah well I'm not perfect). If I had an underground watering system it may (or may not) save me about half. Say $20 per year. The inexpensive systems will cost me over $200. I haven't done the math there, and it might be more like $400. The plastic only lasts for about 8 years or so left outside. Some of the items like soaker hoses and T-tape lasts much shorter. So it is cheaper not to put one in.
The additional plastic in my gardens is always a negative too. Since it has a real time limit (the T-tape especially doesn't last long) replacements would always be coming. I'll do that for row covers as row covers save me so much time in spraying Bt, but I'm not sure it is worth it for the little watering I do.
In addition it doesn't save me any time. The system requires maintenance and construction. Setting up an overhead sprinkler is so easy. It does help with watering one section more than another. Which right now I can't do unless I do it by hand. Is it worth the aggravation and upkeep? Probably not. It might be worth it to do a small section. The circle garden and the herb garden along the house might be nice. Then I don't have to water the 3' brick path all the time (which had to be done to include that in the watering). So maybe I'll be doing about 1/8 of the garden in soaker hoses of sorts. And I do want irrigation for my rock wall garden. That place is impossible to water and takes forever to do by hand. So I'll probably put a small bit into irrigation. And I'm going to buy a really expensive but highly rated sprinkler whose width can be switched. Then I'll be able to water my whole raised bed area at once (minus the circle garden and the herb garden along the wall). Cost $89. Yes a damn expensive sprinkler. But hey I'm supposed to be buying things I wouldn't already buy.
Then there is the idea of a rain barrel. I've been thinking about a pretty one. They make lovely fake terra cotta ones with planters on top. So pretty. But then I thought about my roof. My roof is an asphalt roof. Asphalt has a ton of really nasty toxic chemicals in it. Do I really want to water my garden with that? Before I bought the house, my dream was a roof that had a material that you could drink from and an underground cistern. But I'm not about to replace the roof. And even if I wanted to, I couldn't get it past my townhouse mates. It would be very costly and their dreams are hardly the same as mine. And what a waste to throw out a new roof. I would only have done it if we had renovated an old house. So anyone know the answer? Is the water coming off an asphalt roof toxic? See the problems my MIL has caused?
An easy thing to spend it on is row covers. I've been drooling over the Veggiecare ones from Australia for years. I'd love to have about three of them for half beds. So three that would cover an 8'x4' bed. Plus I'd love some clips. Price $220 to $270. Now there is really something I wouldn't buy myself. That is a ton of money. Supposedly they last longer (about 8 years). I hope so. I hate the Agribon. With our winds it rips too easily. And the heavier stuff gets too hot in the summer and blocks too much light. This one is similar to Agribon 19 in light transmission. I'll still use the Agribon I have, but I'll use it for temporary things. Things that are there for a long time I'll use the new stuff.
Oh and I'm loving the company already. I asked them which of the clips I should be using as my pipes are not 3/4" or 1". They said they would send me a sample and I should test them. So I will. That is why there are two prices. If I get the Jumbo clips it is much more expensive.
I'm still debating in my mind but for now I think I'll ignore the rain barrel since I don't trust my food to be watered from it. I'll get the sprinkler. I'll get the Veggiecare row cover (and maybe some clips). And I'll start with a small irrigation system for the hard to water rock wall garden and the herb garden by the wall. And I'll think about the circle garden.
What would you all buy if you were given such a nice gift?
That's a hard one to answer, but I'd probably have my entire sprinkling system redone. It's all automatic and underground, but I've changed the landscaping enough through the years that there are now areas that aren't covered as they were 20 years ago. I'd also like the garden areas to have their own independent faucets, so I could actually drag out hoses and water when I want, where I want. As it is, everything is watered overhead, and there are some things I would prefer to soak. Or maybe have drip irrigation installed in the gardens. That's it! I'd go for the drip irrigation.
ReplyDeleteMe again ;-)
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add, we only get about 6" of precipitation per YEAR here. I have to water a lot.
I love my drip system here. I runs almost everyday in July. Someone turns off the clouds the 3rd week in June and we get very little in the way of rain until October- usually the end of October. I have an automatic timer attached to a hose bib. We also have a 16 zone sprinkler system that my husband and I installed ourselves. This year I am going to change out the pvc pipe that the drip lines attach to. I want each T to have a regulator on it. But you know what I really want to do? I want to put in a cement wall all the way around my garden. Something that only goes about 8 inches higher than the soil. Then add a fence above that to keep the deer out. I want to double my garden in size too. We are on a hillside and after the rain we got this winter I know I really need to level my garden. Oh and a beautiful garden house would be nice too so I can start things outside instead of my kitchen window.
ReplyDeleteI would get a nice broadfork. That wouldn't use up $500 though.
ReplyDeleteI would hire out some of the house projects I never get to. Not much that $500 would cover, but some.
ReplyDeleteOr I'd stash it in the bank in a 5 year CD.
What a fun dilemma to have! I wouldn't trust asphalt water, either. I hope you love the row covers, and everything else you decide upon. I would get hardscaping! I hate doing it myself, and it never looks professional, but I'm cheap!
ReplyDeleteOh I got a good chuckle out of this, Daphne:)
ReplyDeleteOh, I'd go to a knitting retreat. But that's nothing having to do with the garden.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is a good dilemma to have. I've always wanted rain barrels as well but I have the same questions about the asphalt roof.
ReplyDeleteI'm very jealous of your rain fall. We get about 15 inches a year and 80% of that falls between November and March. If I don't water my garden twice a week it reverts to desert. :)
I would take watercolor classes from a pro! Perhaps I would then paint scenes from the garden.
ReplyDeleteGet a few rain barrels girl, you wont regret it, we use them to water the garden as well as flowers, shrubs and our trees. I have (3) 55-gal ones, I painted them my self. Go here to read about them - oh and I have a new asphalt roof too ; )
ReplyDeletehttp://sproutbabysprout.blogspot.com/2009/05/rain-barrels-are-in-big-rain-comin.html
I've been wanting a watering system too. It's definitely not cheap and it's going to be a pain to install. We do have hot, dry summers so watering is necessary. The problem is that it makes zero sense money wise because we have well water, but for some reason I still really, really want one. Have fun deciding what to do with your gift!
ReplyDeleteIs there any evidence that asphalt leaches anything harmful into the water?
ReplyDeleteScyrene Yes. It is a known hazard of roadways. It has a lot of chemicals in it but the primary hazard is PAHs or poly aromatic hydrocarbons. They don't leach from asphalt easily, but they do leach. I don't think the plants bring them up (but I could be wrong about that), but like lead in the soil you wouldn't want it in soil that you picked carrots or lettuce from.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun problem to have to sort through. Hmmm... if it were me, I would toss it into my "tree removing" fund. I intend to slowly start removing some select trees to improve sun availability in the older part of the garden - unfortuanately they are HUGE trees and near buildings so it will cost me an arm and a leg just to remove one - let alone the many I really need to do.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday by the way!
Well I just got some money like that and I spent it on an electric smoker, a lemon tree, things to make wine with, wood carving chisels, a few things I needed for the garden like another hose, a watering wand (I tried soaker hoses one year and they lasted just one year, worked great but cost too much), a new canner, more jars and assorted other things. I did well, actually :)
ReplyDeletejustified! "something you wouldn't already buy" would be something you don't buy on a regular basis!! Go for it!
ReplyDeleteYou totally sidetracked me with that question, and I didn't wish you a happy birthday! My bad....hope your day was terrific! Our birthdays must be very close.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday... belated Daphne!
ReplyDeleteHow fun to contemplate what to get!!!!
I've been drooling over an iPad... so... that's what I would get!
I suspect $500 wouldn't quite get me a pizza oven but I would absolutely love to build one. Otherwise more ceramic pots for my dwarf citrus - black plastic has its place but it would be nice to have something a bit more asthetically pleasing. I enjoyed reading about your dilemma.
ReplyDeleteGes ago I consulted with a chemist from the campus where I work, and he said that once the roof has aged a few years, the amount of leaching is practically nil in rainwater because the rainwater doesn't sit on the roof long enough.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a lot of birds landing on the roof you might need to worry about fecal contamination, but it would have to be a lot of birds. He also suggested that any roofing granules would settle out into the bottom of the rain barrel.
So there you have it. Maybe I'll ask him if he could analyze a sample for me, but he seemed to think there would be little worry in using a rain barrel.
ps. I like Liz's idea of a pizza oven. Someday I'll build one at Henbogle.
ReplyDeleteOoo! Tough one! I'd put that toward a little greenhouse.
ReplyDeleteYou've got me thinking about the rain barrels, though. I have two, one being connected to the downspout system. I haven't used any of the water yet, but your remark about the asphalt shingles gave me pause.
So I did a bit of internet research. The experts are split on asphalt roofs. Some say it is fine. Some say no. Asphalt gives off PAHs mostly when it is hot or something degrades it (urine can do this, so maybe bird poo can do it too, but there isn't a lot of bird poo on the roof as few trees overhang the roof). So a cool rain might be OK. If I tested the water to see, I'd have to do it in the middle of the summer when it is hottest and the rain barrel would be used most often.
ReplyDeleteBut everyone agrees that roofs with cedar shakes are very very toxic. I even came across a dog died from drinking the water from a cedar shake roof. The reason being is that they are treated with an anti fungal so moss won't grow on them.
Oh and most experts agree that you should let the first flush of a storm run off elsewhere as that is the most toxic (on any roof). And don't wash your veggies in it as bacteria can grow in the barrels.
But of course we all know that the plants love rain water much more than the chemically laden tap water. Chlorine is bad for plants (and us). So I might revisit the question again sometime.
Rain water is actually much healthier for your plants than tap water - that is a given fact. I don't see why you would avoid doing so.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably spend the money on something for the garden myself. Though I'm not shy about buying garden stuff myself. What an interesting problem.
ReplyDeleteI've been dragging my feet on putting in rain barrels myself. I wonder how the purity of rain water coming off a roof compares with the water coming out of our tap? I know that's not so pristine wither, at least it isn't around here.
Happy belated birthday - and welcome to the 'club'!
Thanks for the link to Veggiecare, just what i have been thinking of purchasing(lots of rabbits and kangaroos).I think i'd spend the money on some advanced grown trees,maybe japanese maples just love their colors in Autumn.
ReplyDelete