When I tally things up, I have spent a good deal of my time irrigating/watering trees! Even in the commercial nursery here in New Zealand where we have good technology, it always takes time!
At Reidston we had a submersible pump down in the Kakanui River, but it could be guaranteed that if there was a long weekend or the Easter break approaching - the thing would break down.
Daily watering of cuttings was required - even though there were misting systems, and then in the yard, the sprinkler heads had to be checked that they had not jammed - always a soaking for me!
And out at Hilderthorpe the same was true, though we had no submersible pump! Though from time to time it would not prime and this involved time as well.
Not to mention the shifting of pipes in the paddock or the big mobile irrigator and its particular idiosyncrasies.
In Tanzania the lack of technology made irrigation a routine each evening. I stuck to my philosophy that I would always water by using a hand watering can, because if I did not, how then could I expect the village planter to water their trees by the same, daily method.
This was quite and undertaking because no matter how long my day or how tired I was, the job had to be done. Of course when I was away I made arrangements, but always it was obvious that sometimes the watering was missed.
I learned never to take the advice of locals who would say, 'Listen to the thunder, rain will soon be here - no need to water!'
Usually I would begin watering at 6:00pm as the sun was going down and it would take as much as an hour and a half. It was always in the evening so the plants utilized the water and evaporation did not occur.
As the weather became hotter, it was a matter of maintaining the plants, not encouraging growth - there was never enough water to do that.
By planting time the rains usually had come [otherwise we could not expect survivals on out-planting] and it was easier to add moisture to the pots for transportation.
So, if I tally it all up, a good part of my life has been spent watering plants to keep them alive.
This was quite and undertaking because no matter how long my day or how tired I was, the job had to be done. Of course when I was away I made arrangements, but always it was obvious that sometimes the watering was missed.
I learned never to take the advice of locals who would say, 'Listen to the thunder, rain will soon be here - no need to water!'
Usually I would begin watering at 6:00pm as the sun was going down and it would take as much as an hour and a half. It was always in the evening so the plants utilized the water and evaporation did not occur.
As the weather became hotter, it was a matter of maintaining the plants, not encouraging growth - there was never enough water to do that.
By planting time the rains usually had come [otherwise we could not expect survivals on out-planting] and it was easier to add moisture to the pots for transportation.
So, if I tally it all up, a good part of my life has been spent watering plants to keep them alive.
