With the installation of an
off-grid water distribution system this past winter, I thought I'd try growing some of our own food this summer in a small garden. Because water pressure in our off-grid system is too low for sprinkler irrigation, I decided to try using drip irrigation.
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| A closeup of one of the drip emitters. |
Because drip emitters irrigate small circular areas I planted in hills rather than rows. Each hill has it's own drip emitter and, if it hasn't rained in a while, I typically only need to turn the system on for an hour or two every other day.
This year I thought it would be best to grow things that were easy and familiar to me like corn and beans. During our
trip to Peru last summer I greatly enjoyed a food they prepared called cancha that is similar to the familiar corn nuts eaten in the United States excepted, rather than being deep fried, the corn kernels are toasted. After some research I found a type of heirloom dent corn, called "Hickory King" that grows well in Virginia. This is the corn I've planted and hope to use as a substitute for the corn used to make cancha in Peru.
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| Three types of beans were planted, but I've forgotten which beans I planted where, so we'll just have to see what grows where. |
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| Probably thanks to the honeybees one type of bean is already yielding fruits. |
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| I'm also giving squash a try. |
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| In addition to the drip emitters, I've bought a few micro sprayers to use with some herbs I planted. The herb in this picture is mint. |
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| Basil |
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| Blue giant hyssop (Agastache foeniculum). |
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| Some kind of hot pepper (I forget which kind). |
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| Current tomato (Solanum pimpinellifolium), not to be confused with the cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). |
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| Dill (left) and cilantro (center and right). |
Also being grown, but not pictured, are yellow onions and garlic.
