Nutrition

Athlete’s Garden: Bucket irrigation

Cooper likes to warm his old bones in the sun. Note the perimeter
fence around the raised bed. This keeps Cooper from adding his
special water to the veggies.

The summer garden is mostly in at this point. So far, I hope to start enjoying the following bounty by early June:

• Artichoke
• Arugula
• Basil
• Blackberry
• Broccoli
• Brussel Sprouts
• Bush Bean
• Cherry Tomato
• Chives
• Cilantro
• Corn - Sweet & Navajo Blue
• Cucumber
• Dill
• Garlic
• Green & Yellow Bell Pepper
• Green Grape
• Iceberg Lettuce
• Jalapeno
• Muskmelon
• Nasturtium
• Onion
• Oregano
• Peach
• Pea
• Pole Bean
• Radish
• Raspberry
• Romaine Lettuce
• Sage
• Spinach
• Squash
• Strawberry
• Swiss Chard
• Tomato

I’ll discuss the various fruits and veggies (I have more than one variety for most of the plants above) in more detail in the weeks ahead. For now, I want to talk a bit about irrigation.

If you live in wetter parts of the country, watering your garden may not be an issue for you. Just let Mother Nature take care of giving your plants the water they need. Here in Las Vegas, however, water is a precious commodity. Located in the Mojave Desert, our annual rainfall is four inches.

That’s it.

Four inches…per year.

The simplest irrigation system: A five-gallon bucket.

To get around that challenge, I need an irrigation system of some sort in place so I can give the garden the water Nature doesn’t provide. The simplest to set up and easiest to use is a five-gallon bucket. Just fill it with water and place it in a sunny spot. Give each plant a cup of sun-warmed water as needed.

This is a great way to get to know your plants and monitor their health. One long-time gardener friend of mine encourages people to talk to the plants as well. He swears by it!

The downside to the bucket is that it has to be frequently refilled and it may just be easier to use the hose at that point. The bucket worked great when I had one raised bed. Now that I have 10 raised bed gardens of various types on my 1/10-acre, one bucket isn’t enough to do the trick. Since I don’t want to have a bunch of five-gallon buckets littering my landscape, I have moved on to other irrigation systems.

Next week: More automated irrigation systems.

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