Today I am revisiting a
blog I published many moons ago because it is so relevant to our situation here
in California. Since I wrote this article, I have discovered that it only takes
two or three little rains to fill a good-sized barrel. You might want to have a
barrel ready when winter comes. If El Nino arrives this year, all bets are off.
Even if we have good rains this winter, when summer of 2016 comes, your parched
plants will love chlorine-free barrel water. 550 gallons sounds like a lot, but
if I could do it all over again I would go for 1,500.
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| Elliot riding the range |
Top 5 Reasons to Harvest
Rainwater!
· Protect our rivers
and streams from runoff pollution
· Divert water from
the municipal storm drain system
· Conserve this
vital natural resource and reduce your water bills
· Use the rain water
to grow healthy and lush plants
· Control moisture
levels around the foundation of your home
I convinced my husband we
should install a rain barrel in our backyard because I thought it was a cool
idea. Being a lucky person, I was right. Our Big Bubba water tank holds 550
gallons of rain water, collected from the roof of an out-building. I turn the
red lever at the bottom of the tank and the water is free to move through one
hundred feet of hose, down a slope to my precious plants.
My husband and I installed
the tank ourselves through trial and error—or you can follow the easy
instructions when you buy the tank. There is a big hole in the top of the tank (with
a screw-on cover) so you can look inside and see the water level. A little
further down is the overflow port so you can direct excess water somewhere
else—maybe another storage tank. At the bottom is an outlet hole where you hook
up a hose. It’s all very simple, especially if you are of the male gender. For other
genders, the tanks and barrels come in many sizes and colors, but nothing in
hot pink or leopard.
