Rain barrels?

There are a lot of water restrictions this summer, and I am sure there will be even more next year. I have noticed a few of you mentioned watering your garden from a rain barrel. Did you purchase these barrels? Do you need to put something in the water to keep things(mold, insects, etc.) from growing? Any info. would be appreciated.

I am also interested in purchasing a rain barrel. Any info would be helpful

I own 8 barrels.I bought them at Arronsrainbarrels.com.I use a fine mesh screen between the downspout and the barrel.It keeps insects and debris out.Soaker hoses are attached to the barrels.Soaker hoses are ran all through my garden.The barrels fill up with one good rain.It takes about 4 days for the barrels to drain.If it rains at least once a week,I don't run out.I have had this set up for several years.It works very well.I seldom water my garden by hand and my plants always look great.Plants seem to perfer rain water vs tap.Aaron also sells the hardware if you want to build your own.Edge

My wife and I built 2 rainbarrels at a workshop a couple weeks ago. I still need to get the downspout diverters in place to capture the water.

There are quite a few rain barrels on the market. Simple ones (around $50+) to ornate ones ($250+). Some come with linking kits. You can add water pumps to them if gravity feed won't work for you.

The ones we built have a screen on the top to keep out mosquitoes and debris. You can get mosquito dunks to put in the barrel to prevent eggs from growing. I'd also suggest some sort of screen or filter over the overflow tube to prevent bugs from crawling/flying in.

Just Google "rain barrels" and you'll get lots of information on where/how to buy and/or make your own.

If you go through the Sustainable Alternatives to last summer, there were several threads that discussed rain barrels and gray water barrels and how to make them. You might consider using gray water too, as it can safely be used in flower beds and around non-eatable trees and bushes.

I just bought 4 plastic 55 gal drums for $6 each from a private party that acquired them from a bottling company. Think they had peach flavored tea in them. The barrels can also be found at wineries, soda bottling companies, car washes, etc. The plumbing parts cost less than $5 for each barrel, and they are quite simple to make. My husband just shorten the downspout and you can put regular window screen over the top, cutting a hole for the downspout to fit through. I've only seen them in bright blue or white, but Krylon puts out a spray paint specifically for plastic, that you could use to dress up the barrels or have them blend into the background.

I don't remember the exact number, but you can collect several hundred gallons of rain off of an average size roof in one rainfall. For gray water, I figured my washer uses approximately 65 gallons of water for each load. A lot of water going down the drain.

Robin

Here's where I purchased mine - your local government might have a programe, too

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/LUESA/Water+and+Land+Resources/Conservation/Rain+Barrel+.htm

EdgeoftheWorld,

I think I am going to create my own drip system with the rain barrels I have, however I was unsure of how you know how much water to use with the drip system. I've read that typically a garden needs 1" of water a week. So how did you calculate the volume of water needed to water your plants? If I assumed that each plant needed an inch of water for a radius of 1 foot around it...do you think that would be good? Then I can get a volume from that.

How do you go about knowing how much water is good for your drip system? Or do you just leave it fully open all the time and hope you don't get too much rain?

Thanks.

edgeoftheworld - I tried to find Arronsrainbarrels.com but this link did not work :(

How quickly to you empty your rain barrels? It doesn't rain here in the summer, so if the barrel empties in a week, it won't be filled again for another 6-9 months. If it takes 1-2 months to use all the water, then it might be worth it. :-)

Threre was a rainbarrel co-op going on earlier this spring. I don't know if it's still going on. You might check over there.

Here is a link for Aarons rain barrels

http://www.ne-design.net/

Thaks for the link, MichaelZ

For barrels, go to a carwash (the soap comes in big plastic barrels that can be thoroughly rinsed) or to a fast-food restaurant (they get various things in big barrels, also rinseable) or to your local water plant, which has barrels that chlorine and flouride come in. These are usually free for hauling off, or for a minimal charge.
We have used rain barrels to catch roof runoff for over 12 years. It is the only way to go here in Texas! We have plenty of water for our vegetable garden and container plants, as well as a couple of very large flower beds.
To control mosquitoes we get mosquito dunks, which are doughnut shaped BT, and use 1/4 doughnut per 55 gal. barrel.
For more information and pictures, go to our website rgf-tx.com which is safe--we aren't selling anything! You can also contact us with specific questions, or sign up for our monthly newsletter, also free.

I never calculated the math.Yes I leave the barrel valves wide open.The barrels sit on top of cinder blocks.The pressure is really low.The water just seeps out of the soaker hoses.It does not spray.Plants that like lots of water,I circled the plants.Plants that required less,I just ran the hose several inches away from them.Places that I didn't want any water to come out,I wrapped duct tape around the hose.The end result is the soil is constantly moist,but never soggy.My plants are never dying for a drink.Remember,they still recieve water from the rain also.You know how plants look when they need water.They are all droopy and look like they are dying.Then you water them and they perk back up.My plants do not go through this stress.The barrels are a supplement,between rains.I remember my parents outside everyday in the heat of summer watering their plants.My father would complain about the water bill.He would tell me he hated the high water bill,but had too much invested in his garden.He could not let his plants die.He felt he had no choice but to water.The ends justified the means.Now as an adult,with my own house and garden.I thought there has to be a better way.The rain barrels,were my answer.My parents bought a condo.They don't garden anymore.They visit me once in awhile.My father thinks I am some kind of creative genius.LOL,all I know is it works and I am happy and so is my garden.Edge

Here are inexpensive and very nice rain barrels in Charlotte. He is a local seller. I have a soaker hose on mine, and it waters everything for me.

www.jobvana.com/barrelmonkey