I have a small garden located in a hilly area and farming it is a challenge during the dry season due to the labour intensive nature of manual irrigation as well as the cost of installing or purchasing an irrigation system for a small area. I have come to adopt bottle irrigation as an effective method. It is a cheap form of drip irrigation and saves both on water expenses and the cost of installing or purchasing an irrigation system.
As I have a fairly extensive area to cover - as I grow all my own produce year round - fruit, vegetables, nuts and herbs and also live in an area with a desert like climate where drought is almost common place and therefore water is not only scare but extremely precious. I've always used ground water - via a gravity fed drip system with adjustable drippers for everything but my pots - the latter of which I water with a watering can when needed - as not only does it save a huge amount of valuable time - but more importantly - as this type of irrigation conserves water - its the most efficient and cost effective method altogether - as it saves time, water and money.
I have a small piece of farmland, just about 5 acres. I have a installed a deep boring for the purpose of irrigation. I water my farmland through the ground water that comes through the boring. I spend just about 10 thousand dollars to install this irrigation system, when I am not irrigating my farmland, I use boring water for drinking purpose, for humans as well as animals.
We have an extended garden situated in the vacant lot beside our property. Early this year when there was a drought, I have been complaining of the high water bill so my husband tried to innovate by using the sewage water for irrigating the crops. In fairness, the sewage water is not that dirty, not really polluted. It is mainly from the washing of cars by the neighbors. That innovation had saved at least 20% in our water expense. Right now it is rainy season and we have lots of excess water. We are thinking of installing a rain catchment for that purpose so we can irrigate the garden with free water when there is no rain.
