WATER MANAGEMENT

When Silk Grass Farms began operations in 2019, water drainage and retention on the farm was poor. This led to flooding during rainy season and droughts throughout dry season, accentuating weather extremes brought on by climate change.

After heavy rains, we collected drone footage to see where water was naturally settling and where storm runoff was further eroding the land. Observing how water moves over and through the land informs our evolving water management plan. After seeing where water naturally settles and flows, we replaced eroded culverts with French drains and created 13 reservoir ponds. This slows storm runoff prevent erosion, spreads the water more evenly across the land to reduce flooding, replenishes groundwater, and stores water in reserve for the dry season.

Our reservoir ponds are designed to slowly replenish the water table and to help feed our irrigation system.

November 2019

November 2019 October 2020

October 2020

January 2020 Building French drain to redirect storm runoff and prevent flooding February 2020 french drain in progress

August 2021 french drain redirecting water to natural waterway

We also set up 8 water table measuring stations at various locations on the farm to test the impact of our water management methods in consideration of the local watershed and downstream communities, and installed drip irrigation in our annual crop beds.

Left: Water table measuring station helps us monitor ground water levels.

Above: Placing coconut coir at the root ball of newly planted seedlings acts as a sponge to retain water.

Below Right: We are currently working with hydrology consultants to design a custom irrigation system as part of our Water Management Plan. For now, manual spot watering is the most water efficient method for hydrating plants in the field. Below Left: For shade house irrigation we use a misting system to conserve water.

Misting system for vanilla orchids Manual spot watering at seedling root base