Installing an Irrigation well, at 52 °N

Currently there is a drought in Netherlands, particularly in our area.

We are about 7 metres above sea level and  200 kms from the coast.

The soil is sand, no rocks or clay.

The local farmers have been irrigating their crops with water from the irrigation ditches, canals and rivers,  but these levels have dropped and farmers have resorted to drilled wells.

Our yard was bone dry.  Watering your yard and garden with treated house drinking water is expensive and inefficient in NL.

Having a bit of water well experience from the Abacos and seeing quite a few local domestic irrigation wells, got curious.

We researched shallow domestic irrigation wells in our area and found that the local farmers equipment shop would sink and case a shallow irrigation well for a couple hundred euro bucks. Pumps were expensive, but we bought a practically new 1/2 hp pump at a yard sale for about €30.

Took the local blokes about 15 mins to jet the well, drop the casing and have a cup of coffee.

7.5 metre perforated casing, with a nylon filter sock to keep out the sand.

No high-pressure water or air lift, just the volume of water in the tanker trailer.

Water settled out at about 2.5 metres.

No volume tank, no pressure switch, just pump straight out of the well to the sprinklers.

PH is still high at 8, so still prefer rainwater for the more sensitive medicinal plants

Look like Fredericks Farm and Supply (John Deere),  have this tractor set up with skinny wheels for row crops
The water tanker trailer is to jet the well.

So dry......