How to Get Water to Outdoor Gardens

Growing medical marijuana is legal in lots of places. All you need to do is get the right permits. Once you do you can grow outside. Doing this has some unique challenges, including securing a good water supply. The plants require water. The more they get the more they'll grow. Drainage is important, of course. This isn't to say that marijuana likes swampy ground, or that it likes to be wet. It likes being well drained, and can take some drought if it's prepared for it, but a steady water supply is beneficial. If you grow close to your house this isn't a problem. You can drag your hose to the plants. It may be outdoors, but a steady supply of water is convenient. Except some places have watering restrictions. If that applies to you then you do have a problem, just like a guerrilla gardener. You have to store water and plan, because you can't just leave the tap running. Like many situations, the best solution is a range of options. Being close to a water source is an obvious benefit. Something to store water can contribute. Improving the soil to retain moisture also helps the crop. Having water close means situating the garden downhill from a stream, creak or lake. Being within walking distance or the length of several hoses limits your distance. It's conceivable that an irrigation ditch could be dug as well. Carrying water is hard. It's very heavy. It also take sup lots of space. You want to be close to your water source if you have to pack it. Remember - the less time you spend packing the less chance you'll be discovered. A hose based supply system should run downhill. If you try to go uphill you'll need pumps. Pumps mean gas and noise unless you use rechargeable batteries. That's an option but requires ingenuity. Hoses must be hidden or else they'll lead right to the garden, and that means plant theft. Digging troughs is hard work. It also requires a gravity feed. They can also be hard to disguise. After all, little streams run toward water sources, not away. The delivery schedule is another thing to consider. It should be constant, or at least regular, rather than an occasional soaking. If the system is self regulating then you aren't required to be there, and that's good. You can vary your schedule and visit in a more low profile way. If you miss a visit you'll know that water isn't a problem. Your plants won't die of thirst. There are two ways to handle this. Storage of water, in containers of some sort, is the first. The second is water retention through the soil itself. Storage requires something to hold a lot of water. You want something that will hold lots of water and yet be low profile. There are a few options. One is a series of five gallon buckets. They are small enough to hide in vegetation and debris. They are easy to acquire. They are also easy to fill, either by hose or directly from a water source if it's close enough. Paint them black, green or camo so that they disappear into the background. Plastic 55 gallon drums are now quite common, and you can even use the older metal ones. They are heavier, but may be advantageous. For example, big drums are harder to hide, but old rusty metal drums may be regarded as trash and ignored. Your watering system could be hidden in plain sight! These kinds of drums can be hose filled. You can also attache plumbing fixtures to the bottom to control release. Soaker hoses can improve the system, and they can even be buried to make watering slow and steady. If you're trying to hide them in plain sight you'll have to be creative, though, because discarded drums don't have hoses attached! 55 gallon drums with wide open tops will also capture rainfall. This will help by reducing how much water you have to carry to the site. It won;t solve everything, but every little bit helps. Perhaps the best way to store water is an old waterbed mattress. They can be very low profile, and they hold lots of water. If you can fill it automatically from a creek and let it drip slowly over the crop you'll do well. The last method is to improve or alter the soil so that it retains more moisture and water. Farmers across the globe have practiced this for centuries. There are also modern additives that help retain water and release it slowly. When your plot is on a hillside it will tend to drain more quickly. Terracing the area will help. You can also dig pits lined with plastic sheets to capture and retain rainwater. Mulching around the base of the plants will also retain moisture. Cover the area with prunings and clippings. A new compound is being used now. Made either of starch or polymeracrilides, water retention crystals swell when wet and then disperse water slowly back into the soil. These products are also called hydrogels. I have used these products and I think that they work, although I've never conducted a strict scientific test of them. I think they will help plants survive longer between waterings. Learn about ways to grow marijuana? Castulo Zane knows all about it. If you want to talk marijuana seeds google www.growyourownstone.com.