Without access to running water on the farm, we rely heavily on Mother Nature to keep our plants hydrated. This has given me a deeper appreciation for water – especially rainwater. 

Last summer, we installed a gutter system on the raggedy roofline of the old store building that’s on the main property. We have one downspout which runs into a 100 gallon, collapsible rain barrel. We plan to, necessarily, expand our rain harvesting and storage systems this year.

With the temps getting colder each week, I’ve been able to implement a sort of “slow release watering system”. It’s not as fancy or sophisticated as it may sound though. The system involves me randomly scattering empty 5 gallon buckets (sourced for free from local restaurants) around the property to harvest any form of precipitation. In the early mornings, I carefully fish formed ice rounds out of the buckets and place them on our beds. As the sun rises and the day gets warmer, the ice eventually melts into the soil around the plants. 

There’s something strangely satisfying about this task (not to mention it’s WAY easier than hauling water buckets from the rain barrel). It also encourages the deep-seated, nagging notion that everything we need is within us and all around…if we dare to see things differently.