We need a way to water our upcoming garlic field, carrying buckets of water over to it is not an option for a whole acre... lol
So a well is going to be drilled next to the field and a pump house will be constructed to extract the water from the well and bring it out into the fields for watering. And power will be ran out into the pump house to power the pump, and a light bulb to heat the pump house in the winter to make sure nothing freezes.
We hope not to need to use it much, with all the rains the area gets. But we do go through droughts as well so having a way to water is important. As we do not want to lose a crop over a later of rainfall.
First we must trench from the storage building where the power will be. Building out a solar array for that as well.
We do not trench very deep for the power wires. But for the water line from the well to the pump house will be very deep to keep it from freezing. The trenching attachment for the skidsteer has proven to be a valuable addition to my collection of farm tools. We have trenched hundreds of feet with it already.
Once the trenching is done, we start laying in 3 inch sleeving to run the wires and water lines through.
I unpack the pressure tank that will be in the pump house. It is 119 gallons, quite big. Most in homes are around 40 gallons.
Having this reduces the load on the well pump, and allows us to store and use pressurized water even if the power goes out for some reason.
With the 6x6 timbers put in, they are secured on the outside with 4 foot rebar stakes. I drove them in the ground using a rotary hammer, and a sledge for the stubborn ones.
My foreman brings over gravel and we start leveling the foundation.
Once done we cut the pipes to the surface level and plug them to make sure nothing falls in.
A few days later, the shed arrives. I ordered a prebuilt 8x8 foot shed. Its the smallest one the builder I used has.
I was amazed with the machine they used to bring it up on the foundation. Never seen such a machine before. Though I had to help him with my skidsteer to nudge it into place. So I guess its not perfect.
And now we have the pump house in place, next is to run power wires, insulate the shed, get the solar array built to power it all, install the pressure tank and water lines. And then wait for the well driller to do his work and complete the setup. I got less than a month to get that all done, so I will be quite busy for awhile.
Though once setup I will be thankful to have water whenever we need it, and no need to haul it over. Though that is always an option if need be. I do have a large water tote now, though the plan is surely to use the well and pump house instead. But having two ways to water is nice to know if one stops working.
