Water Water Everywhere

As we all know the great saying, "April showers bring May flowers" and we can and have come to expect decent rainfall amounts in the early Spring with vigorous plant growth to follow thereafter. Throughout the first half of April we have had 2.3 inches of rain, well over the requirements of an inch of rain per week for healthy vine growth. But with just one week of scant rainfall and growth will begin to get stunted. This is where an irrigation system can come in to play.

The initial plan is to use available rainwater, collected from the Hall Manor to collect in rain barrels above the vineyard. By placing the barrels as high up as possible, we hope to achieve a downhill flow to the vines. This would create enough water pressure to press through the hoses but also reach the ends of the rows evenly. The barrels would drain through standard hoses out to the vineyard where drip irrigation lines, attached to the line posts, would thoroughly soak the ground. This would cover us through the dry spells in the spring, summer and fall and allow us the option to still tap into well water should our rain barrel supply run low.

This will be our next significant project as we want to be prepared for a slowdown in rainfall well before it gets here. As with the drought we had last summer, we hope for the best but prepare for the worst. With everything going on in the vineyard this year, we hope to chronicle our irrigation development with photos as the plan becomes reality.