Diggy Diggy Dig

One of this year's projects was to run two more irrigation lines out to the chicken shed (one to offer a spigot of water for filling the watering can or rinsing hands, and another to help water the compost, and yes I know how bad that sounds). So much for only ever digging that trench once, but plans change.

We delayed digging the trench for this project all winter, but when it rained this last weekend Noel noted that we'd better dig now while the ground is soft from the rain, instead of waiting until it has dried and hardened to the texture of concrete.

Over the last couple of days he has dug and dug all along the eastern fence, doing me a huge favour and root-pruning the Cecile Brunner in the process.

Then today he laid in the long straight lines of pipe for two more circuits; the trench used to end where the pipe makes a turn to the left there, which is the lawn sprinkler on the far side of the lawn.

One pipe will end at the soil line by the shed, and I will run some small sprinklers from there to the compost pile to keep it moist in the summer, and also use that to water some plants I'm planting around the shed to help settle it into the landscape a little. The other pipe will come up and end on a hose bibb, and I'm thinking of using one of my many sinks (don't ask) under it to make a little outdoor washing-up area. That pipe will also connect to a float valve in the chicken water tank (up in the attic of the shed, above their room) to auto-fill it.

I've been too busy to do my half of this, including ordering the pieces we don't have on hand, but Noel filled in the center part to keep dogs and other passers-by from falling in the trench.

I still need to even the soil out with a rake -- this will eventually be a narrow path behind the greenhouse with a narrow planting strip along the fence, but for now it's just a dog-trail through the tall grass -- and I still have a lot of work going around the yard repairing irrigation fittings that have been damaged by time, weather, or dogs. But it looks pretty nice.

Technorati Tags: chickens, compost, digging, irrigation, plumbing, shed

posted by ayse on 05/07/09