An Unexpected Find

An Unexpected Find

         About 7 months ago Julie and I walked our newly purchased land. We battled vines and briars as we worked our way through a very overgrown 7 acres and once we pushed through the heavy brush to the back edge of the property, we were thrilled to find a small brook. The brook was great news because it meant that we would have water for gardens that we intended to start even before moving onto the land. Now, with large areas of the property cleared, we made an unexpected discovery.

        

It turns out that there is a natural spring much higher up above the garden plot. I’m not quite sure if the spring is only seasonal, but for now it is a wonderful find.

         The next step was to figure out how to take advantage of our newfound water source. A friend and co-worker had given me a large amount of 1 inch PVC pipe, so I dug out a small well at the spring and ran pipe from there down hill for a couple of hundred feet.

            Once I was able to verify that I had good water flow, I installed a hose bib in the bottom of a blue plastic 55 gallon drum. This allows for a regular garden hose to be hooked up. I then plumbed the PVC pipe into the top of the drum and presto! 

          We have a gravity fed water supply and the pressure from the drum allows for enough pressure to fill buckets and possibly support a drip irrigation system.

~Terry