How does one figure water needs?
 

How does one calculate water needs for an orchard, crop or veggies/garden?

For example if a property has a well and you want to figure out how much it is capable of.

Cheers!

Re: How does one figure water needs?
 

i once got a tour of a property in Willits. the owner was a marijuana grower who grew under Prop 215 laws.

he had 25 plants, the limit, and he said he gave them 5 gallons of water a day. 150 gallons a day.

the yield at the end was about 10 pounds per plant wet weight and 2 pounds dry weight.

may, june, july, august, september were his growing months. 5 months of water, 125 gallons a day, 30 days a month - 625 x 30 - about 20,000 gallons (150,000 pounds) of water to produce 250 pounds of "wet" crop. (most food plants are consumed without that much drying)

i don't know how these numbers compare to conventional produce but i think the ratios of water used per pound of produce is "in the ballpark".

the most parched property i loooked at was a 5 acre parcel in East Oregon that got about 10 inches of rain a year ... basically the 'high desert'. the well there produced .9 gallons per minute, which is not much. i would have needed a cistern of some kind to store up water if i was going to farm 1 or 2 of the acres.

Re: How does one figure water needs?
 

Wow thats pretty interesting. I am surfin the net for more info.