First of all, thank you for your response and good idea! as they say, great minds think alike, using the y connector with an open ended hose is how i relieve the pressure now(i failed to mention that in the post) and it does serve to save me a trip back to the other end of the hose. the problem is that the water pressure at my house is so strong that i have had hoses burst during lunch breaks, and a couple of times when i'm just catching my breath or doing something else for a little while. it seems like a spring loaded pressure release valve is what im looking for, that way i dont have to worry about it. just something that gets to a certain psi and lets go of some water untill the psi comes down. i worry about hoses breaking all the time and still, every summer, i break a hose or two. im always in the yard and eventually, without fail...i forget and boom! i just want something that works without my being there, so its worry free...and i can buy cheap hoses. my yard is 325 feet deep and i have one spigot. can u think of anything else? thanks again.

I use 2 liter soda pop bottles buried with all of my tomatoes. I would think that gallon jugs of any kind would require alot of effort to dig big holes if you are planting many tomatoes. The 2 liter bottles have holes in rows along one side, but not in the bottom. I use a spray wand without the end on it to go along and fill them, once a day when it is hot and dry. As for fertilizer, I bought a long funnel (like the ones used for transmission filling) to pour the powder into the bottles, but I found this cumbersome and unneeded if the soil is prepared properly when the bottles and plants are put into the garden. Also, a side dressing mid season or just spraying with a soluble fertilizer is easier. This method also works well for peppers. I curently have 61 tomatoes and eight peppers each with their own bottle. Takes me about 30 minutes to water them.

I'm clear to use small amounts of water from the creek. Regulations only cover very large commercial crops. I was reading up on calculating head, and I think I get it. Maybe? It seems like the very low depth of the creek (maybe 1-1.5 feet) will negatively affect the pump's rise. I'm guessing that a pump with 25 feet of total head would be able to lift water up a 20 slope and have it drop back down the other side. The main issue is none of the pumps I see mention the head. I found one the pumps I was looking at on another website, which has a more detailed explanation. https://www.waterproductssupply.com/product/guzzler-hand-pump-3-4/ It states, "The practical suction lift is 4 m (13') and the practical discharge height is 4 m (13')." Does practical mean that it could lift higher, but it would require more effort? Or do you think it means that is its limit? Also, thank you to everyone (especially northeast_chileman) who is trying to help me out. I found a local juice manufacturer that sells 55 gallon food safe barrels for $20 each, so I'll get at least one of those to fill for quick access too.

My preference would be neutralizer (2 in parallel, or one larger)==>iron removal (there are a variety of options - often the best choice is the one your local treatment folks are most familiar with, but I'll post a list of options to consider)==> GAC (you may find it unnecessary with proper iron filtration) ==> softener. Some iron removal options: Softener: You are already living with this method - A softener with specialty resin is capable of removing dissolved iron, up to 7 ppm (mg/L) but asking a softener to remove iron at those upper limits is really pushing it. In addition, a softener will become fouled with particulate iron over time. I don't recommend this method but, in your case only, it has the benefit of already being installed. Oxidation/Filtration: An oxidizer such as ozone, air, or chlorine may be used to react with the iron and force it to become particulate iron that can then be removed via filtration. This will also remove most sulfur compounds. A typical setup would involve the oxidizing unit, a holding tank, then a media filter. This type of system works quite well, but takes some expertise in sizing - you would want a water treatment pro that you trust to help you with this option. Oxidizing filtration media: This type of treatment consists of a sealed tank filled with one of several media. Water passes through and is oxidized and filtered by the media. Most will remove sulfur compounds as well as iron. These are relatively easy to operate and what I would recommend for the average homeowner. There are several different media that can be used: Manganese greensand: water runs through for treatment. The media must be regenerated with potassium permanganate. Care must be taken with dealing with potassium permanganate as it readily dies organic material, such as your skin, a purple-brown color. Some people are quite comfortable dealing with the chemical; others are not. Synthetic greensand: This is essentially the same as option (a) but consists of a coating of greensand on a silica sand core so does not require as much backwash flow. Service flow rate is 2 - 5 gpm/sqft. Backwash flow rate is 12 gpm/sqft. Birm: This media acts as a catalyst to force oxidation of iron. While it does not need to be regenerated, it does need fairly high dissolved oxygen in the water. If your water does not have adequate dissolved oxygen (and it probably doesn't since it is well water), air injection would be necessary prior to the birm. Additionally, birm requires a minimum pH of 6.8. Service flow rate is 3.5 - 5.0 gpm per sqft. Backwash flow rate is 11 - 20 gpm, depending upon water temperatures and desired bed expansion. It is old tech so lots of water treatment pros know how to use it. Pyrolox: an ore that oxidizes then filters the iron out. It does not need regeneration, but needs to be backwashed (to rinse out the iron) at a high rate. pH range is 6.5 - 9.0. This type of filter works very well, but backwash is critical. Service flow rate is 5 gpm/sqft. Backwash is 25-30 gpm/sqft. Backwash daily. Terminox: Similar to Pyrolox, but a proprietary formula . It does not require as much backwash flow rate and is more resistance to a low pH. The particulars are only available from the company that sells it. Backwash daily. Filox: Also similar to Pyrolox. pH range 5.0 - 9.0. Backwash flow 12-15 gpm/sqft. Service flow 6 gpm/sqft. It must be backwashed daily. This one may be a good fit for you as it can take the lower pH. If you choose this option, your treatment order could be: Filox==>Neutralizer==>GAC (maybe)==>softener