Watering Trees Around the Farm
Here in the Northeast, we're expecting thunderstorms tomorrow, but warm, humid, and dry conditions the rest of the week.
Because of this typical summer weather, we're doing a lot of watering around the farm to keep the many gardens, trees, shrubs, and plants well-irrigated. We use a number of sprinklers and hoses, but we also use a large caged 275-gallon water tank for young trees that would otherwise get stressed without a deep-root soak. The tank is loaded onto a truck and hooked up to a pump and battery that help provide enough force to move the water through the hose and hand-held wand.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Over the years, I’ve planted thousands of trees around my Bedford, New York farm. These young trees need water to thrive, but I always try to water as efficiently as possible. Fortunately, we aren’t under any water use restrictions. These trees are located near my run-in paddock.
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- This is called an intermediate bulk container with a protective metal cage. It holds a lot of water. We load it up onto the truck for transporting around the farm.
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- It has a two-inch ball valve opening for connecting to a hose and standard hose adaptors if needed.
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- The tank is hooked up to my Martha Stewart MTS-APGH100 100-Foot 5/8-inch Heavy-Duty Max Flow All Purpose Garden Hose available on Amazon. It is constructed of rugged, kink-resistant high-grade PVC for maximum durability and performance. It’s also available in a 50-foot length.
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- The hose and tank are also connected to a pump and 12-volt battery.
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- And then used to give these young hazelnut trees a good drink. When temperatures exceed 95-degrees Fahrenheit, it is important to water them deeply to prevent heat stress. Some signs of stress include drooping branch tips, wilted or curled leaves, and change in color.
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- Chhiring waters the center of each tree. Trees absorb water from the soil through their roots. That water is spread throughout the tree and, in hot temperatures, is released as water vapor from the leaves. This cools down the leaf surface.
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- The American Hazelnut, or American Filbert, has a rounded top and an open, often wide-spreading base. It bears annual, abundant crops of small, sweet-tasting nuts about three years after planting. When mature, it reaches a height of 15 to 18 feet and a spread of 10 to 12 feet.
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- The medium-sized leaves are a crisp green color in summer that changes to an attractive yellow to orange in autumn.
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- Across the carriage road is my row of Osage orange trees. Despite its name, it is actually a member of the fig family. The Osage orange is native to a small area in eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, and southwestern Arkansas. This region was home to the Native American Osage Indian tribe hence the name.
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- The Osage is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, which can reach a mature size of up to 40-feet tall with an equal spread.
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- The branches are armed with stout, straight spines. When used as protective hedges, they were constructed by planting young Osage orange trees closely together. In fact, during the mid 19th century, the trees were planted as cattle-deterring hedges before the introduction of barbed wire in the 1870s. Afterward, the Osage orange trees became an important source of fence posts. The Osage orange is also known as a Bois D’arc, a name that was given by French settlers meaning “bow-wood”.
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- Chhiring gives this sapling a good, deep drink.
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- And further down this road are these willow oak trees, Quercus phellos. The willow oak is a North American species of a deciduous tree in the red oak group of oaks. It is native to the eastern and central United States from Long Island Sound south to northern Florida, and west to southernmost Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas. They thrive in floodplains and near streams or marshes but are also remarkably drought tolerant.
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- The willow oak has distinctive longish, linear leaves that grow up to five inches in length.
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- We also use sprinklers around the farm. I love these Gilmour tripod sprinklers – the height, distance, and spray patterns can be adjusted to suit so many garden needs. They’re also very, very sturdy, and because they’re all metal, they can stand up to frequent use around the property.
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- The round dial on top makes it easy to set the direction and length of spray.
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- The collars of these tripod sprinklers can be adjusted for partial to full circle coverage, and each sprinkler’s pin diffuser allows for a customized spray from a powerful jet to a gentle mist.
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- Here at my farm, every single spigot has a hose and at least one sprinkler nearby ready to be used. This one is located on the terrace outside my Winter House. After the season, all these supplies are cleaned and stored.
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- Once the watering in one area is done, it’s important to turn off the water at the source. Just turning off at the sprinkler puts a lot of pressure on the hoses and pipes.
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- I have more than 200-fruit trees in this field. The adjustable tripod can reach a height of 58-inches and has spiked feet to keep it stable on gravel, grass, or soil.
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- Look how far the sprinkler can reach – and the spray is very consistent. During the summer, a good watering is done to a depth of about six to eight inches. I hope all your gardens and trees are getting the water they need this season.
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