The Water Source: Planning Our Well and Irrigation

Why water comes first

Every other decision on Kingdom Farm — what we grow, what we raise, where the house sits, where guests sleep — is downstream of one number: how much water we can reliably get out of the ground.

We have been scouting parcels for two years. The properties that “felt right” but had marginal water all eventually fell off our list. Water first. Romance second.

What we actually need

Rough daily demand for the working homestead:

Use	Gallons / day
House (4 people)	280
Garden + orchard (peak season)	500
Poultry + small livestock	80
Greenhouse + propagation	120
Hospitality / RV pad	220
Total (peak)	~1,200

Average across the year is closer to 700/day. But we plan for peak.

Well siting

We’re working with a local driller who has logs from neighboring parcels. The pattern in the area is:

• Shallow (60–120 ft): good water, but seasonal — drops in late summer.
• Deep (250–400 ft): lower yield per minute but reliable year-round.

Our plan: one deep production well for the house and livestock, plus a shallow second well for irrigation. Two sources is the upgrade that matters more than a bigger pump.

Irrigation: drip + swale, not sprinklers

Our soil tests came back as the local clay over a thin loam. On our slope, sprinklers would mostly run off and pool. The plan instead:

1. Keyline-style swales along contour to slow and infiltrate rainwater.
2. Drip lines on the orchard and main garden — low pressure, low loss.
3. One small overhead for the greenhouse only.

Drip cuts our peak draw roughly in half compared to sprinkler designs we costed.

What’s next

• Finalize the well contract and lock the deep-well budget.
• Lay out swale lines on the topo map (we’ll publish the GIS files).
• Start the orchard layout so the drip mains can be roughed in before planting.

We’ll keep showing the work — actual depth, actual gallons, actual costs — as it happens.