A lot of ins, a lot of outs, a lot of what-have-yous

In order to grow stuff, you have to have water. We have a very small pond on our farm, but it is it not adequate for irrigation, so our only option was to drill an irrigation well. We started the process in the most logical way, we thought, by calling up a well drilling guy. Michael got in touch with Kevin, the well-drilling guy, and asked him about coming out to consult with us about a well. He asked if we had a permit for the well. We didn’t, so I called the county and asked for an application for a well permit. The nice lady asked me our address. I told her that we don’t have an address. Our farm is just a field, and no house will be built there for quite some time. In an effort to clear things up, I told her where our farm is located (“It’s right on Batten Farm Road across from the red brick house.”). As it turns out, it’s not quite enough to let the county people simply know the directions to your farm. You have to have an actual address. She kindly informed me that the 911 operator is the person to contact to get an address. Who knew?!? I got in touch with the 911 operator, and our field now has an address. We applied for an irrigation well, but before it could be approved, a county inspector had to come out and take a look. His visit was very anticlimactic (I’m not sure what we were expecting), as he simply asked where we wanted the well, spray painted an orange circle with a “W” inside of it (which we can only assume stands for “well”), and stuck a pink flag in the ground to mark the spot. With the approved well permit in hand, we got back in touch with Kevin. During this second conversation, he asked Michael if we had electricity on the farm. Electricity?? Oh yeah, I guess the pump has to be powered somehow. At this point, we both were feeling very embarrassed. I must say, that in spite of our obvious lack of knowledge at every level, every single person we talked to was incredibly helpful and kind.
When you need electricity, you call the power company, right? So, that’s what we did. A fellow from Progress Energy came out to the farm. We were nervous about this visit, because we had heard stories of the high cost of having to run electric lines. As it turns out, we had a bit of luck, and he told us that he could run a service line out to the pump for free since there was a transformer directly across the street. Yay!! He then asked us if we had arranged for an electrician to set the electrical pole. Again, we were confused. I mean, isn’t setting electrical poles what the power company does? Evidently not. We remembered that the father-in-law of a neighbor (who has also been incredibly generous and helpful to us since we moved here) is an electrician. We called him up, and in a few days we had ourselves a brand new electrical pole, and he even put in an outlet for us. When the well guy came back out, he remarked about what a great job the electrician did in setting the pole. He shook the pole back and forth, and it didn’t move a bit. The well drilling rig came out last week, and we were delighted when they hit 60 gallons per minute at 160 feet, a veritable geyser in the world of irrigation.
So, where are we now with the well? Well, we don’t have water yet. Kevin gave us some options for a pump: expensive, more expensive, and super expensive. We took the middle option. It’s in and waiting to be installed. Also, Progress Energy let us know that the transformer is located on the property of our across-the-street neighbor (the guy who lives in the brick house), and they have to get permission to get an easement in order to run the service line out to the pole. I wondered, can’t we just walk across the street and ask him, but evidently it requires official paperwork. That was two weeks ago. Meanwhile, we have potatoes and onions in the ground, 50 sweet potato slips to be planted this week, and several hundred tomato plants outgrowing their soil blocks and waiting to be planted. Presently, we are carrying water over to the farm in a big water tote in the back of the pickup and watering with water cans. We can make-do for a little while with this method, but it is very inefficient and won’t suffice once it starts to get hot (which apparently starts tomorrow, with several days predicted to be in the upper 80s and 90s). When Michael and I decided to start farming, we new that we had a steep learning curve ahead of us, and this experience has only served to confirm that. But, we are learning, and we are making-do. I think there’s something to be said for having to make-do. Let’s just hope that we don’t have to make-do for too much longer.
Good night folks,
Caroline & Michael