Water Needs

[digitS']

I thought that this information from Texas A & M may be helpful for folks considering their garden water needs thru the season. Those needs depend on how long our gardens (or different parts of our gardens) are growing crops. Those crops are in the ground for different periods of time.

Summer rains can be factored in - for those of you who have such events .

Texas A & M offers these 2 pearls of advice:

"If irrigation water is limited, plant no greater acreage than can be irrigated optimally. Also, chances of success will increase with the production of crops with the least water demands."

Table IV-1. Relative Vegetable Water Needs - Seasonal water demand in inches

High

Broccoli 20 - 25
Cabbage 20 - 25
Cauliflower 20 - 25
Slicer Cucumber 20-25
Eggplant 20 - 35
Onion 25 - 30
Pepper 25 - 35
Potato 20 - 40
Pumpkin 25 - 30
Sweet corn 20 - 35
Tomato 20 - 25

Moderate

Asparagus 10-18
Pinto Bean 15 - 20
Cantaloupe 15 - 20
Cowpea 10 - 20
Pickling cucumber 15 - 20

Low

Lettuce 8 - 12
Mustard greens 10 - 15
Radish 5 - 6
Spinach 10 - 15
Turnip 10 - 15
Watermelon 10 - 15

 

[digitS']

Does the price of water keep you from having a vegetable garden? I hope you don't have restrictions on use. These numbers can help to determine water costs.

My area has a large aquifer and inexpensive water. I pay only $1 for every 1,500 gallons for residential water. (This doesn't include all the additional charges for water service - just usage.) Every square foot of my garden will receive .625 gallons of water with 1 inch of irrigation. I have about 5,000 square feet of my gardens on this residential water rate. Therefore, 3,125 gallons are used every time 1 inch is applied to the soil. Dividing that by 1,500 ($1) means that I pay a little over $2. Actually, it is $2.08.

If I have a garden with crops that require 20 inches of irrigation, I'll pay $41.60 per season. The crops with 30 inches of water needed will cost $62.40.

Despite this fine aquifer beneath my feet, this part of the world receives negligible rain during the growing season. The season, however, is fairly short. I am applying 30 inches - at most - thru the entire growing season.

I feel real good about the water needs and costs for what most folks would see as large gardens. Water rates elsewhere can be quite a bit higher than the 50 cents per 748 gallons (100 cubic feet) that I pay. San Jose California charges its residents more than 3 times my rate. And, here is a real kicker - I have an even larger garden in a location where I don't pay for the water.

Before cussing me out . . . most people are applying 1 inch of irrigation per week to their lawns. A porous soil requires a bit more than that my gardens but they are productive. And my lawn . . . it could nearly fit on a postage stamp.

Steve's digits
edited to say - and most people have Summer rains!

 

[ams3651]

it is very helpful to see what needs the most water, hadnt really thought about that. I just wanted to add, I will be using rain barrels this year as well. We do get rain here in the summer but it seems like its all or nothing some years.

 

[digitS']

Since I mentioned water needs for the potato, I thought I'd better check what is authoritive. When I couldn't find the TAMU link, I did a TEG search and found the info here.

Since many of you have just been thru a summer of irrigating your gardens, I thought you may want to see what Texas A & M has to say about water needs for various crops.

Irrigation is always necessary here. We only had an 1/8th inch of August rain and that ain't unusual. Fortunately, water is fairly cheap. I don't even have to pay for it for the big veggie garden! The property owner has to pay for water thru his irrigation district tax whether it is used, or not. I paid "overuse" only once in 15 years of gardening in that district.

Steve

BTW - here is the new link (click). After 4 1/2 years, TAMU has moved things around.

 

[thistlebloom]

Good information there Steve.

I wonder about the potato classification though. I know they can be dry farmed, my mom grew up on a dry farm in eastern Idaho. No irrigation at all, and I don't know the summer rainfall amounts down there, but I doubt it's any more than what we get.

Obviously, potatoes probably produce a lot better with summer irrigation.

Just thought I'd zero in on the crop closest to my heart!

 

[digitS']

Well, it is a good question, Thistle'. And, one of the reasons I thought I'd see what TAMU had to say about potatoes.

Keep in mind when Idaho gets its moisture AND when potatoes are planted & harvested, in a dry-farm situation. Winter snow saturates a field and with a few spring rains . . . We will have nearly all our precipitation between late November and mid-June.

By mid-June, the potato has been growing for at least 6 weeks. It will only have about 12 more weeks at most before the farmer will kill the vines in preparation for harvest.

Steve