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How about a rain barrel? |
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In this day and age all are being asked to take part in helping to preserve our planet. After all like our bodies we only have one.
Many of use already recycle a large amount of items in our communities everyday. This ranges from paper, metal, oils & so on. So why shouldn’t we not put rainwater into the recycling mix? This is a great way to water flowerbeds & gardens. It saves on your water bill, if you have one or even lessons the burden on your well. It’s really hard to measure just how much water is flowing out of the end of a hose, but you know with a rain barrel.
Rain barrels are nothing new; they have been around for many years and still are today. Heck in old western movies you can see one at almost every street corner. Most today are found in rural farm areas. As we travel the vast roadways I spot many unique varieties including homemade to purchased water collection systems. I’ve even seen barrels painted with scenery or flowers to be more appealing in a yard.
Today people collect rainwater in many different ways such as pails, tanks, barrels and so on. You can use just about anything as long as it is placed in the right location to collect runoff from a rooftop. There are more expensive systems to purchase or simply make your own. We ran a gutter off the back of our pole barn with a downspout into plastic 55-gallon barrel. ¾” of rain on the rain gage filled it ¾’s up! That’s a lot of FREE water! Our barrel is raised on one layer of level cinder blocks so gravity can pull water through the spigot. I also like dipping 5-gallon pails into the rain barrel and tucking them into my flowerbeds & landscape. This helps to eliminate dragging the hose or hauling water all over the yard. It’s handy at the locations needed and out of site. Then I just us a small watering can to water my plants from the pails. By bailing out water this way I leave room for more runoff into the rain barrel. Plus I get a little more exercise to boot!
Please be advised that this water is NOT SAFE for drinking by people or animals! Use it only for watering plants. Rain collected from rooftops is often contaminated with bird droppings, mold & other debris that stagnate standing water. An open-ended rain barrel is also a good spot for mosquitoes to lay eggs. You can cover the top of the barrel with screen or cheesecloth to help eliminate this.
There are many places to find the right collection system for your needs. You can check local garden centers, on-line or look around your home & see if something could be recycled to serve your need. In my opinion it’s a win, win situation! So start collecting water, just remember if you live in an area that freezes, either empty the barrel or lower the lever to allow for expansion.
Chimes and Birds hopes this has been useful information for you. Please visit the online store & website at www.ChimesAndBirds.net for more tips and yard accessories.
Enjoy your yard & FREE water!
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