We finally had a good rain shower last week after a long dry spell. It is a welcome break from the hot dry weather of the last 6 weeks. Although the total was only about 20 mm (less than an inch), it was enough to fill up one of our ponds thanks to the large runoff area of our sheds and stables.

If you multiply the rainfall by the roof area it is easy to calculate the total volume of water. The trick is then delivering that water to a place high on the property away from buildings where it can be stored for as long as possible. We’ve run this water uphill.

In this image you can see the roofs and the spouting and the pond above the swale. The green hose delivers water to the pond.

This image from the side shows how the water travels from the roofs across the road and up over the swale. The green hose runs just behind the chicken tractor.

Now that we know the system works, we can cover the hose with stone to keep it out of site and protect it from UV damage.

The pond will trickle-feed the swale where 10 peach trees are planted along with blueberry bushes and black currants. The tagasaste are being used as nurse trees.

All of the earth works and trees in the images above are a year old.

Peace, Estwing