The photo shows an upclose view of one of our wobbler sprinklers, which is the type of irrigation we use here at Good Soil Farm.
In our climate, spring often brings lots of rain. Summer rains fall less consistently and often are heavier, shorter rains. Just as you might drink a glass of water and then two hours later be thirsty, so too spring rains do not sustain the water needs of the vegetable crops that we are growing. The spring rain was harvested in the lettuce crop and is now long gone when the tomatoes are bearing. In this short piece, I hope to explain why we rely so heavily on summer rains rather than irrigation. While we are not a “dry-farm” which is one that does not use irrigation at all, we try to minimize our use irrigation.
TASTE
Everyone knows that too little water fails to produce good vegetables because it is too stressful for the crop. Many also know that too much water stresses the crops in unique ways, and for fruiting plants yields watery fruit because the sugars in the fruit are distributed across too much liquid/mass. Many vintners best wines are from seasons where rainfall declined in the last couple of weeks before the grape harvest so that the grapes had a more concentrated taste. The same is true of strawberries and apples, in their own turn. It’s even true of tomatoes on some level. Some argue that a little stress for the plant actually improves the level of the chemical compounds that make it healthy for you. Since nutrient density is one of the aims of regenerative agriculture, even if quantity/yield decreases, we aim for more nutrient density and so water less than we could.
SALINIZATION
Salinization is the process where salt levels in the soil increase causing the health and growing capacity of the soil to decrease. Sometimes it occurs from tidal rains (think Eastern Shore farmers). But oftentimes salinization arises from irrigation because the water in the underground aquifers that the well is drawing from has salt compounds that are distributed on the land, then evaporate, and over time build up in the soil to detriment of plant health. In arid/semi-arid climates, salinization can exacerbate desertification. While we live in a temperate, not arid/semi-arid region, given the drought conditions of the seven out of eight years we have been farming, we do not want to risk harming the soil by excessive irrigation. The point is that we are not interested in hindering the long-term ability of the soil to bear abundant, healthy food. So irrigating the right amount becomes of paramount importance.
EXPENSIVE
For us to irrigate the vegetables, we have to pump water from our 408 feet deep well through the well pump, through our house’s water pump, back outside to the outdoor spigot, through hundreds of feet of hose, through costly irrigation equipment, and run that for 6-12 hours in one zone. There are at least 15 zones on the farm that could be irrigated. That means it costs us electricity AND longevity of the pumps, etc. In an effort to keep our costs reasonable, but still have healthy vegetables to sell, we rely heavily on rainfall, and really think twice before irrigating.
IN SUM
At Good Soil Farm LLC, irrigation is a balancing act of soil health, plant health, and financial health. If you ever have questions on our practices, please ask!
Subscribe to our email list and learn more about our farm!
More From the Blog
Catechesis on the Farm
The Good Shepherd calls you by Name. This is the sign that has greeted the 7-year olds when they’ve stepped into the farmhouse for Sacrament Prep every Thursday this month. You see, I’m a catechist for Parable Pastures Atrium, our local Catechesis of the Good Shepherd group and for the past several years, I’ve had…
My First Time Hosting Easter Dinner
Fourteen years ago, Stephen was going through chemo for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma and was not allowed to travel, even for Easter. It was my family’s turn to celebrate Easter with us, so they came to us, and that is how I ended up hosting Easter Dinner for the first time! I decided to mix…
Eat Like A Farmer
“When the chores were done and he came back with Father and Royal to the warm kitchen, breakfast was almost ready. How good it smelled! Mother was frying pancakes, and the big blue platter, keeping hot on the stove’s hearth, was full of plump brown sausage cakes in their brown gravy. Almanzo washed as quickly…
Leave a Reply