Setting up the irrigation

Last year I pulled up the irrigation to the garden and the back group of 21 fruit trees.  I had hoses going everywhere and we still had to drag them all around.  If we weren't careful the hoses would knock over plants.  So I decided to start over.  I'm looking at everything with a permanent or semi-permanent outlook.  I don't want to keep redoing things.  I can't tell you how many times I've redone and redone around here in 16 years. It's stupid as well as a waste of time and money. 

I put new drip irrigation out into the back and this time configured it right.  I used 500 feet of 5/8" hose and at each tree put in a sprayer on a foot high post that runs on 1/8" hose.  I turned it on yesterday and it worked great.  When I want to mow the orchard, which is about 4 times a year, it won't be hard to pick up each line of hose and hang it up on the fence.  I can mow then roll the hose back in place.

I haven't redone the water for the garden yet.  I'm not sure how to do it best so for now, I'm hand watering.  That certainly isn't best!  But I can water on Tuesday, Friday, and the weekend so it shouldn't suffer from not being on a drip.  Sure it uses more water this way but I don't really care about the water at this point in time.  That may change in the future!  I want irrigation hoses to each of the 12 garden beds but I don't want hoses running all over.  I suppose I can bury them under the paths but I'm still thinking about it.  As I said, I'm done investing the time and money only to change my mind later.  And the hand watering works.  It gets me to look at every single plant three times a week!

I also fixed the water in the front, although it's not completely done.   First, I had the front orchard and the raspberries all running off the same irrigation hose.  That was a bad idea because the raspberries need to be watered a lot more than the orchard.  So I'd have to walk that irrigation line and turn on and off the valves for each tree.  Stupid waste of time.  For $30 I used another 300 feet of 5/8" hose and put the raspberries on their own line.  Now when I turn on the water at the house I have lots of options.  I can switch on the raspberries, trees, roses and asparagus, strawberries and rhubarb, lawn, the stock tank, or a regular garden hose.  Just ten feet from the front door!  

What's left for the front?  I have two more trees that I have to move their irrigation lines. That's about 300 more feet of hose. I also have a planter that doesn't have any water going to it.  A friend of mine told me to run the irrigation hose over the grape arch.  Good idea, I just haven't done it yet.  I may get to some more today...Monday!  Yes, I'm home from work.  Boy got sick Friday night and is just getting better now.  I called work and asked if I could work from home, after all, Boy is sick, not me.  I brought some stuff home so I would have plenty to do.    The boss said no I can't work from home.  Also I can't take a sick day if Boy is sick, only if I'm sick.  I can take a vacation day or a day off without pay to care for him.  Well then, I'll take a day without pay.  My boss said that perhaps I should stay home as a sick day for me to make sure I don't get what he had.  After all, we don't want anything to spread around the office.  OK boss, I'm taking a sick day for me.  Whatever... I just don't think I'm going to get what he had.  Somehow, eating a bowl of fruit smelling play-dough just doesn't appeal to me!