Farm water in 275 and 330 gallon totes

01Small quantities, delivered

A grower rarely needs a pad of totes. A few at a time, delivered to the farm, is the usual order, and it is one the desk matches the same way it matches a trailer. Put the count, the size and the delivery ZIP on a NEED ticket. The desk looks for empties posted nearby, which is often a plant on the same side of the river.

Chester County mushroom farmers produce more than 500 million pounds a year, roughly half the U.S. crop, most within 10 miles of Kennett Square. South Jersey farms around Vineland sell through the produce auction there. Those are the growers who store water, and the area pages describe their districts. They are named as context, not as the desk’s customers.

02What a farm ticket says

03Water and weight on a farm

A full 275 holds 2,294 pounds of water and a full 330 holds 2,752, so a stand on soft ground sinks. A concrete pad or compacted gravel is the usual answer. Place the tote where the delivery truck and the forklift can reach, and keep it out of direct sun to cut algae.

04Livestock water

One extension source says a 1,000-pound heifer may need about 20 gallons of water a day in hot weather, so a 275 gallon tote is about two weeks of water for one such animal and shorter for a herd. Use it as a rough size check only; your own vet or extension office sets the figure for your animals.

+More in Uses

• IrrigationUsing a 275 or 330 gallon tote for drip or gravity irrigation on South Jersey and Chester County farms and gardens: grade, setup and freeze care.
• Mushroom growersThe Kennett Square belt: water totes and food-grade history.
• Farms and nurseriesSouth Jersey and Chester County growers who store water and mix spray.
• Chester CountyThe mushroom belt, Exton pharma and Coatesville steel.
• Rowhouse rainwaterHow much roof runoff a 275 gallon tote catches on a Philadelphia rowhouse, how it fits with Rain Check's free barrels, and which totes are fit for it.
• Garden hose hookupWhich adapter fits a tote's 2-inch butterfly valve, how to reduce it to a garden hose thread, and how much pressure a raised tote gives.
• Spray tanksUsing a tote as a nurse or spray mix tank on farms and nurseries, which last contents are safe to reuse, and how to keep the mix straight.
• AquaponicsCutting a tote into a fish tank and grow bed: which grade to start with, light and algae control, and the cuts to make.
• Back to Uses