So How Are We Saving Water at IL Fiorello!

The drought is full on and everyone is making concerted efforts to save water. We are very lucky at IL Fiorello because the founding fathers of Solano County developed Lake Berryessa. We have some water, precious but present. We have water available from April through October, but from October to April we have no supply and rely on rain to replenish the systems and support our trees. This is one of the reasons we planted olives because they are drought tolerant. Our newest planting is Chemlali, a North African olive tree that is drought-resistant. We are anticipating planting 100 more Chemlali trees next year.

Consult the Master Gardner’s program; they have a lot of information on how to conserve water and keep plants alive.

So what are we doing at our Farm? Here is the list of measures we have undertaken to be water efficient. We are complying with Solano County water restriction guidelines.

• Science based watering system for the trees, continuous in-ground monitoring system
• Fertigation: water and fertilize at the same time
• Our baby trees are surrounded with olive pits from the last harvest to protect from water stealing weeds and for water conservation.
• We water early in the morning or very late at night to herb and vegetable gardens as all landscape and turf irrigation is prohibited between Noon and 6 p.m.
• No washing down of patio or walkways unless there is a health hazard, such as bird or animal droppings
• Shut off valves installed on each hose
• The fountain in front of the Event Center provides water for the birds but uses recycled water.
• No extra cleaning in the olive mill when we are not milling or bottling
• Solar supported Event Center and Mill
• Water for customers is always offered but served upon request at the tasting room
• Only fully loaded trays in commercial dishwasher, cycle 3 minutes long.
• In the Kitchen all extra clean water goes to plants in our herb gardens
• On site commercial septic system to recycle potable water out to the trees. This includes water from the Visitors Center, the Commercial Kitchen, and the Olive Mill.
Here are some resources for water conservation
• Solano County Water Agency: www.solanosaveswater.org
• California Department of Water Resources and Association of California Water Agencies: www.saveourwater.com
• UC Cooperative Extension – Solano County – Master Gardener Program: www.cesolano.ucanr.edu