A blueberry grower in P.E.I. is using the power of the sun to irrigate and fertilize his crop by way of a custom-designed system of solar panels and pumps.

Gerard Morrison planted six acres of high-bush blueberries eight years ago at The Berry Orchard in Launching, east of Cardigan. He started harvesting them three years ago.

It was very dry the year he planted, and Morrison ended up watering them by hand.

That inspired him to search for a more creative way to irrigate.

Morrison also uses the solar irrigation system to deliver liquid fertilizer to the plants. (Nancy Russell/CBC)

“We’re located probably 700 metres from the highway from the grid, so it was quite expensive to run power lines in,” Morrison said. “We came up with a solar design, which I only need when the sun is out.”

There are six irrigation zones, one per acre of berries.

Morrison grows 11 varieties of berry, and designed the system of underground hoses and valves so he can control how much water each type gets.

He didn’t have to use the underground irrigation last August because it rained frequently, providing enough natural moisture for the berries.

‘Brilliant idea’

Morrison also uses the system to deliver liquid fertilizer to the plants.

“It helps give nutrition to the plants. We do it once when the blossom comes out in the spring and it makes the plants healthier,” Morrison said.

“Plus, we can give irrigation water to the berries themselves once they’re ready to get ripened. So it helps the quality of the berry.”

Morrison said the system cost about $12,000 to install, and the orchard received a 30 per cent rebate from the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture.

The solar panels have meant there is no monthly electricity bill for the blueberry operation.

Pumps powered by solar energy send water through the drip irrigation lines under the blueberry plants. (Nancy Russell/CBC)

“We’re only here about two months of the year that we have to irrigate,” Morrison said. “Definitely we’re not paying a bill monthly — and it’s once it’s set up, it’s almost maintenance-free.”

Custom solar installer Andrew Walsh created an irrigation system powered by six large panels, which generate more than two kilowatts of electricity to operate the pumps that send water through the drip irrigation lines under the berry plants.

“Honestly, I thought it was a brilliant idea,” said Walsh, owner of Montague-based WCD Solar.

“When it’s sunny out, you’ll be able to provide water, and when it’s not sunny out, it will be raining and you can irrigate the crops either way. So the solar and the irrigation really goes well together.”

The biggest challenge was figuring out the volume of water needed for irrigation, Walsh said.

He positioned the solar panel array to meet the needs of the berry crop in the summer months. In the winter, when the sun is lower on the horizon, the ideal tilt for ground-mounted residential solar panels is closer to vertical.

“It’s pointed directly south. We specifically picked that inclination for his growing season when he needs the irrigation,” Walsh said.

“The peak generation is exactly when he needs to irrigate, and we knew that all beforehand and it was designed directly into the frame.”

‘I love working on people’s crazy ideas’

Walsh thinks this kind of system could be of interest to others doing small-scale agriculture.

Andrew Walsh of WCD Solar stands in front of the solar-powered irrigation system at The Berry Orchard. (Nancy Russell/CBC)

“I think it would be very useful for a lot of farmers, mainly because taking the grid in and running things the traditional way can be quite expensive,” he said.

“This would be a much more economical solution for a lot of the farmers out there that have their fields way off the road and infrastructure costs would be just crazy.”

Walsh said it has been exciting to see the project come to fruition.

“Oh, I love working on people’s crazy ideas,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to just start off with just an idea in your head and then you can kind of watch it grow like a seed.”

A few of the high-bush blueberries at The Berry Orchard (Nancy Russell/CBC)

Morrison hopes the solar irrigation project will inspire other Island producers.

“I would think people that are in produce could probably probably use it for their crops,” he said.

“Plus, it could be used in remote areas for livestock.”

Morrison said he has a backup generator to use if he ever needs to irrigate at night.

The Berry Orchard will be open until mid-September for U-pick and the sale of boxed berries.