My rain barrel system for the HEBs aEBS

Hi all, We have severe droughts here in east TN so we are always looking for solutions. Guess what? The heavens opened up and there was our answer. Several of us in this area rely on rain water for the drought periods but I am also going to use this set up ALL the time because my veggies are far from the outside hose connect. This was nearly free, [some pvc connects,] and fun to do. It sits on a sturdy bench so that the water pressure will be good, [not like house pressure but who needs that?]

The barrels hold 30 gals each so I have close to 120 gals dedicated just to the veggies and it is good water, better than our city water which is SO expensive!

Does anyone else do rain barrels? Devota

This message was edited Feb 26, 2009 10:24 AM

Devota
I don't have a rain barrel but wish I did. I may some day
soon. But your mention of rain barrels reminded of staying
at my Grandmother's in the summer in Mo. We would let
a cucumber grow big then carve it out like a canoe and then
sail it in my GM rain barrel.

Annie

LOL. What fun you must have had Annie. My barrels are a closed system so it would be hard to sail anything in it. I made hollyhock dolls in my Grandmother's garden. Aren't Grandmothers yards wonderful? I can say that being a Grammy myself. D

Devota: That is a beautiful set up.
joy112854

Thanks, I think I will be glad I did this one. Devota

Clean design and inconspicious too, Devota. Perhaps you should go into the cistern installing business? Your photo is a good ad.

Didn't know city water was expensive in parts of TN. Is it because they draw from wells? City water about the only thing that isn't expensive here in Connecticut. Have a fairly large garden and don't even think of the cost of water. The businessmen in my state who, over a century ago, put land and lakes aside for water companies are unnoticed heros.

David_Paul. Heros indeed! Thanks for your comments and interest.
The problem for gardeners and people who just plain like to have a lawn is that in our district the sewer costs are the same or even more than the costs for water so... if say I used 15 dollar minimum for our yard, the cost on the bill would be 30 + just for that yard water and it gets worse here. We have serious droughts from mid usmmer into late fall. Not to say we don't get rain; we do BUT the clay that passes for soil here just allows the rain to run off once it dries out. [Imagine water running off of concrete.]
The nice thing about these systems is that they fill up quickly and are a blessing for those times but I also plan to use this system on an ongoing basis because of it's proximity.
I wish more people did harvest the rain. It is a green thing to do and the water is better for the plants. Devota

Hi Devota, I have five 50 gallon rain barrels located around my house on Cape Cod--I'm the only one in my neighborhood, and indeed, the only one in my town (as far as I can tell) who harvests water. (I do so because I previously lived in California, a semi-arid state, and I can't bear to waste rain water.) The water I collect comes down from my roof, and I have heard that water falling on the asphalt tiles and thence into downspouts, isn't all that good for food crops. Have you heard anything regarding this?

Hi CapeCod, I've never heard that such rain water might not be good for food plants. Quite the contrary; all my research indicates that it is superior to treated water. Of course you wouldn't want to drink it. There are many cities now on the west coast that give assistance to people who harvest rain water, in the form of free barrels, rebates and the like. I'm with you on the feeling about wasting such a precious resource. One thing a person could do if they were seriously concerned about dirt, asphalt particles, etc would be to clean the roof surface periodically. There is a procedure for that and also one can filter the "gunk" from the downspout with netting. I'm very happy that you have 5 rain barrels. You made my day!

That is quite a set-up and neatly done.

Thanks Jaywhacker, {I have a nephew named Jay Swecker} I thing of him when I see your name. LOL

I fear re-reading these posts that I didn't give credit where it is due. After a lot of research I decided to build my system after one I found on line. After talking to the designer I altered mine to suit my needs and tweaked the plumbing a bit. But I forgot to give the information and address for his site so let me do that now:

http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/adams/audrey/water_barrel.htm

CapeCodGardener,
You raised a very good question about the safety of using rain water collections in a vegetable garden. I had never heard anything negative about that.
After your post I did some digging on the subject. I saw several pros and cons and in the end I feel that since we have such copious spring rains our roof our water will be clean enough for the use of harvested rainwater. But below is a good address that gives more info than I could pass along.
http://home.comcast.net/~leavesdance/rainbarrels/safety.html
I am sending this as a DMail too, in case you miss the thread. Thanks for making us aware of possible dangers. Devota

Thank you so much, Devota. I really appreciate your researching and then posting the link on roof-collected rainwater--as well as for the D-mail to tell me about it. I read through the information and in my particular case, I have decided to avoid using my asphalt-roof collected rainwater on my veggie garden. I just don't know what contaminants it may have. And while we do have rains in the spring, they're not as copious as yours in Tennessee! That's why I'm collecting it ;-)
But everywhere else in my garden gets rain barrel water, including all raised beds and containers.
Thanks again for the research.

Devota, Thanks for the links I have captured rain water off and have repeatedly asked myself about some of these contamination issues. This is fantastic info. The link with the sand filter is real food for thought. It doesn't seem like it would be all that difficult to put together...given some time. Your setup is really impressive.

Devota, thank you for starting this thread and for actively conserving! I do not have a catchment system yet, but will have one in the near future.

blkhand,
Thank you, I can't take credit for the idea, just the work that went into it. [smile.]
I talked to Michael Hillman, [the originator of the system I have] about the concerns.
He felt that if the roof was clean he wouldn't give the asphalt a second thought because whatever oils were in the asphalt would seperate and rise to the top of the water. His wife is a Master Gardener and has used the system for years. He said he wouldn't give it a second thought and that is how I feel about my system. HOWEVER....
Everyone must decide what is best for themselves and their families.

Moonglow, [what a lovely Ename.]

I know that you live in an area that gets seriously dry and I suspect you have to watch every droplet. Any way I can help, let me know. Devota

Hi Devota,

That is a nicely arranged set of barrels. Show us a picture of how you have led the downspout?

Dinu

Thanks Dinu, I will. I am waiting for the end of freezing weather here. It will surely break the system if I don't. I found a flexable downspout connect that makes it easy to put together. Devota

I guess you don't have problems with dust collecting on roofs. So you wont be needing a filtering system, in that case.

wow never thought about contamaination of rainwater for vegtables but will definitely do it for ornamentals and lawn since already in the process for a new system this year.

Don't they fill up too fast? How long do you recon the water will last you?

I live in CA and we have two 59 gal barrels and it only takes 30 minutes of rain for them to both be full (it is like catching liquid gold in CA). I attached a soaker hose and timer to the barrels and ran the hose through out the garden. Our problems is not enough water pressure with only 1/2 lb of pressure per foot so the end of the hose doesn't get enough water. The soaker hose acts as somewhat of a filter for dust and the strange things that somehow get into our gutters and down into the barrels.

I figure with the size of our roofs and our average rain fall we would need 800 gallons of capacity. The 120 gallons doesn't last long enough. For reference, our household uses an average of 275 gallons a day for all our water needs. During the dry months we catch our wasted water from the house (heating the showers, rinsing veggies, 2x daily rinsing of the sprouts, etc) and dump it in the barrels to hold and use for the garden. I'm always running out of water and it pains me to see rain water pouring out the overflow and into the gutter.

Right now my barrel is full and the blue container is full of water left over from yesterdays' post-surfing rinsing water.

What a lovely garden you have and I like your set up.
I suppose I might be a little obscessed with this subject, but can you ever have too much water?? I have, [not pictured,] a barrel below the first barrel on the left which is connected by an overflow from that first barrel. The lower barrel, [not pictured,] is where I keep the water soluable fert and a small pond pump that sends just enough water to keep a verticle stacker filled with strawberries happy. On the far end of the photo behind a tree is another barrel sitting on the ground fed by an overflow from the 4th.
In the back yard, in an alcove I have three 55 gallon barrels just for the flower beds.
Have you considered a drip system using a pond pump rather than a soaker hose? Mine is attached to a timer at the electric outlet and is simplicity itself. D in TN

I hadn't thought of the pond pump. That's a good idea. I had wanted to do drip with the barrels, but took the soaker hose short cut. I have some more (free) barrels coming my way in a couple months and have been trying to figure out how to make space and arrange to have 475 gallons of capacity. I'll definately need to have the drip system figured out so I can use all the water.

HillaryT: What a beautiful garden, Devota is right there. I like your set up also.
joy

HillaryT. I'm glad you have more barrels coming. Have you considered raising them on a stand? You will get more pressure. Keep me posted when you get it all together. Us rain birds have to stick together.
Joy, girl, did you take your babies out for some fresh air?

Devota: Yes, they are on a field trip right now. LOL I posted some pics of them under the table out front, I'm running out of things to put them in though and asked a question on a thread, possibly you can help me by giving me your opinion?
My greenhouse goes up this weekend!!!!!
joy

I originally had then on a stand but it looked funny. Looks won over functionality. Pretty shallow, eh? :-)

Nah, that's just being human. You can disguise a stand by placing containers of flowers, yard art, etc in front. At least one person I know had shelves build under the stands for pots and tools. Glorify what you wish to hide. I am not that concerned because this is an area doesn't get a lot of attention.

I have to admit that DH doesn't want them in the front. Tee hee

Devota: Who is this DH everyone keeps talkin about?
joy

Dear Husband Joy ☺

DD=Dear Daughter
DS=Dear Son
DGD=Dear Grand Daughter
DGS=Dear Grand Son

I thought it was.Do Honeythings..LOL

Me too.

I have always heard of the Honey Do List..Ya all just reversed the letters to confuse us.LOL

Devota: Oh, I guess maybe I am lucky in a way not to have ones of those, he'd of buried me in the backyard by now for fertilizer. LOL
joy

Hehe, I'm sorry if I'm making it more confusing, LOL! Do honeythings sounds great to me☺

Joy you more likely would end up with one just as wild about gardening as you.LOL

Hmpphh..I love my Jerry but boy he won't hit a lick in the yard, HATES yardwork and gardening because his dad ran him like a slave as a child. He will mow, but that's it. I love him though ♥