Sprinkler Test

Last Friday six members of the BHSEC Garden Committee met to try out the new sprinkler equipment that had arrived. The main purpose was to check out the trajectory to see how many tree beds one sprinkler could adequately water and thereby know how many more sprinklers we needed to order. It was a very chilly day, but several people gamely got wet in the service of the garden.

I have posted the pictures below to remind everyone how and where the water fell to help in planning the placement of the sprinkler heads and hoses.

Tying the hose

The sprinkler head

Aiming the spray (southwest corner)

Heavy coverage from the southwest sprinkler (a good spot to place lots of potted plants)

This bed barely got any water. The puddle bypassed it.

Longshot looking toward northwest corner of yard

The Secret of Getting Students to Use the Garden

BHSEC student use of The Bard Yard has been a regular topic of conversation every time garden committee members get together. Reports of how many were seen, in which section, and what exactly they were doing always comes up whenever we meet.

This year there is more of everything to draw people toward the yard--more shade, more seats, and more flowering plants. But I heard something through the grapevine that really indicates to me that the students will be using the garden more than ever--there is a wifi hotspot somewhere on the Mangin Street side!

The New Garden Shed has Arrived!

Lowe's delivered the new garden shed today. We'll be using it to store the garden supplies to hide the mess while at the same time making everything more accessible for our BHSEC gardeners!

It's not assembled yet but here's what it will look like:

The initial parts for the irrigation system are also now here too. After much debate the team opted to go with an above ground sprinkler system. This design is less costly and still provides BHSEC with the option of upgrading to an in-ground drip system later on.

Here are the sprinklers that we will be using:

The sprinklers will be set on an automatic timer and will have their spray patterns adjusted to minimize any unnecessary water run-off. We're testing them this Friday so stay tuned for more updates!