The first irrigation of the season is always a thrill. Will the pump work? Are the pipes cracked? Are the sprayers clogged? Undoing the winter's entropy always takes some effort on my part before the irrigation system works properly. This year, since the pump hadn't been worked on since the 2006 flood, I decided to take it in to Turner Electric and have them install new o-rings and seals. Only cost $65 -- not bad for over 4 years of irrigation. That was a lot of hours and many thousand gallons of water.
Yesterday I added a new top to the pump platform. The old top was slanted because of the flood, so I finally got around to adding a new -- level -- one. This raised the pump a couple of inches higher, so I had to add extensions to each of the 6 pipes coming out of the pump. This took me a couple of hours. This morning I primed the pump, turned it on, and lo and behold, water started spraying onto my garden, as the above photo proves. A few minor adjustments, and I was in business. There was no damage to the pipes this winter, mainly because I remembered to open the drain valves after my last irrigation. Clever Gordon-of-the-past!
I have tomatoes and peppers in the wall-o-waters. These clever devices not only protect from frost, but create a high-humidity micro-environment that also filters out the harsh sun. Just what baby seedlings appreciate. Buy your wall-o-waters today!
