Low-Tech Veggie Watering System
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Clark Kadis wanted to try his hand at vegetable farming without spending a lot of money. He needed a cheap way to water his plants, so he used a 55-gal. plastic barrel to build an inexpensive gravity-fed waterer that he pulls behind his 4-wheeler. It’s equipped with a 3-ft. long “boom” on one side of a 2-wheeled trailer that the barrel sets on.
“It’s simple and easy to operate,” says Kadis, whose vegetable garden measures 400 ft. long by 250 ft. wide. “I worked for 7 years for a commercial vegetable grower who uses raised beds with drip irrigation and plastic mulch for weed control. I wanted to try it without a lot of expense, but to do that I needed a way to water right after planting. I grow pumpkins, green and wax beans, turnips, and carrots.”
He leaves a 5-ft. wide unplanted area between each set of rows, where he drives the ATV and waterer. “I go back and forth down the field. I use the same gaps at harvest with the ATV and a wagon to collect buckets of vegetables,” says Kadis.
The watering pipe is made from 1/2-in. dia. pvc and attaches with connectors to the bungee hole at one end of the barrel. It has a series of holes spaced about 1 in. apart in it and is equipped with a shut-off valve and an end cap.
“It works good. I use the shut-off valve to adjust how much water comes out of the holes,” says Kadis. “The end of the pipe is braced by a rope that runs up to the top of the barrel. I cut a hole on top of the barrel to fill it. I run a rope over the top to keep it from bouncing around.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clark Kadis, 63 Crest Ave., Longmeadow, Mass. 01106 (ph 413 636-2419; ckadis13@gmail.com).
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Low-Tech Veggie Watering System IRRIGATION Irrigation Systems Clark Kadis wanted to try his hand at vegetable farming without spending a lot of money He needed a cheap way to water his plants so he used a 55-gal plastic barrel to build an inexpensive gravity-fed waterer that he pulls behind his 4-wheeler It’s equipped with a 3-ft long “boom” on one side of a 2-wheeled trailer that the barrel sets on “It’s simple and easy to operate ” says Kadis whose vegetable garden measures 400 ft long by 250 ft wide “I worked for 7 years for a commercial vegetable grower who uses raised beds with drip irrigation and plastic mulch for weed control I wanted to try it without a lot of expense but to do that I needed a way to water right after planting I grow pumpkins green and wax beans turnips and carrots ” He leaves a 5-ft wide unplanted area between each set of rows where he drives the ATV and waterer “I go back and forth down the field I use the same gaps at harvest with the ATV and a wagon to collect buckets of vegetables ” says Kadis The watering pipe is made from 1/2-in dia pvc and attaches with connectors to the bungee hole at one end of the barrel It has a series of holes spaced about 1 in apart in it and is equipped with a shut-off valve and an end cap “It works good I use the shut-off valve to adjust how much water comes out of the holes ” says Kadis “The end of the pipe is braced by a rope that runs up to the top of the barrel I cut a hole on top of the barrel to fill it I run a rope over the top to keep it from bouncing around ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Clark Kadis 63 Crest Ave Longmeadow Mass 01106 ph 413 636-2419; ckadis13@gmail com
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