Week Six: Background Information

Total Watering Area:

Based on the area spreadsheet for each bed on the farm, the total area of the beds as well as the watering area for each plant was calculated.

Plant Name	Area  (ft^2)
Garlic then cherry then tomatoes	40
Arugula	16
Beans then spinach	40
Corn	72
Tomatoes	80
Black eyes peas	104
Collards	16
Carrots	84
Peppers	64
Broccoli	40
Bubba’s bed	8
Garlic then beets	104
Sweet potatoes	40
Okra	40
Beans	88
Beets	32
Chard	16
Eggplant	24
Kale	80
Total area:	1132

The amount of the rainfall will definitely vary, depending on the seasons and the weather. Because of the storage provided by the rain barrels, hopefully the amount of water will not run scarce but will be enough to provide watering to all the beds continuously. Based on an average rainfall on that area, an approximate amount of water collected monthly was calculated.

Since the plants need 164 mm of water depth (6.4566 inches) to be fully watered, the total amount of water needed to water all the beds at the same time was calculated.

The Budget

The budget is organised into a bill of materials (BOM). The BOM, shown below, lists all the items to be used in the project and the location they can be purchased. 

(Click to View)

The first three sections, roofing materials, water catchment and hosing, are parts included in the system. The tools/transportation includes all the tools necessary to build the system. The optional section includes items that may or may not be included in the final  design. There are also price totals with and without all the optional items; however, if one optional item is used the others optional items may or may not dinner. Thus the "totals with optional items" amount is the absolute maximum cost, but probably more than the project will ever cost.