Jeana recently purchased a large blue plastic barrel on Craigslist and she's going to turn it into a homemade rain barrel to capture the rain that would normally run out of a downspout into the ground. Lynn received the rain barrel pictured here as a holiday gift from her daughter. Both Jeana and Lynn are concerned with the amount of water they use each year to water their outdoor plants. Rain barrels are a great way to harvest the water from your roof, and cut down on the amount of water you draw from the municipal supply. This is especially important now, since Mountain Lakes had water restrictions last summer, and they will likely continue. I've been really excited about getting myself a rain barrel since I realized that we could probably hook it up to drip irrigation tubing and have it water my window boxes & flower pots! I'll post about it again when I get it up & running.
Another great tool for harvesting rainwater is a "Drought Buster" downspout redistributor. This nifty device attaches to the open end of a downspout on one end, and has a hook-up for a soaker hose at the other end. You can direct rain water to individual plants, instead of having it run onto walkways or pavement. You can find "Drought Busters" at cleanairgardening.com.
And don't forget to get a rain gauge. It can be really helpful in determining how much water your garden receives in a rain storm. You many not need to do any additional watering!
And don't forget to get a rain gauge. It can be really helpful in determining how much water your garden receives in a rain storm. You many not need to do any additional watering!
