Watering

The booster pump is still inop. I am waiting for a replacement switch and a tri-wing screw-bit.

I settled into a five day cycle. I turn on the single, impulse sprinkler on top of a T-post. I rotate through four different positions, one each night. On the fifth day I take a break.

As more of the fenced-in garden gets filled it will be a six-sprinkler rotation. Once I have the pump working (or replaced) will be able to run at least two impulse sprinklers at a time.

I start sprinkling at approximately 8:00 PM and switch off at 6:00 AM. I move the hose to the trickle irrigation feeding the orchard and run it for another two hours. The emitters are nominally two gallons per hour but I think they are all over the place after several years of use.

Then I top-off the cattle's water and spot-water places where I intend to hand-weed later in the day. Weeds pull easier from damp soil.

I run at night because there is less wind, less evaporation and because it stressed the electrical grid less.

July electric use is in orange/yellow and peaks about 4:00 PM in July. Lowest use is about 6:00 AM

Wind-speed peaks about 4:00 PM in my part of the world. The energy-density of wind is proportional to the wind-speed cubed. Approximately half of the available wind energy is in the five hours from 2-to-7 PM. Wind does not "complement" solar. Its peak is only slightly staggered from peak solar.