How To Catch Rainwater For Gardening
The deal with barrels is that you just stand them in your garden and they collect water as the rain falls.
How to catch rainwater for gardening. Rain barrels catch the water that runs down from your roof storing it for later use in the garden. It is a great way to water your livestock vegetable garden flowers and some even use it for drinking. The larger the roof the more rainfall will be harvested. An inch of rain puts about 600 gallons of water atop a 1 000 square foot house.
If you want to collect rainwater without a roof or downspout you can use a tarp instead. At islandwood environmental learning center on bain bridge island washington three steel cisterns store rain water from a nearby roof. From a downspout you can direct it into a cistern to help water your garden. During a 1 inch rainfall 90 square feet of roof will shed enough water to fill a 55 gallon drum.
As an alternative to using rainwater barrels you can use old trashcans or pots dug into the ground. First of all you need a catchment surface something the water runs off. So today i want to bring you a list of ideas on how you can catch. If all of your rainwater goes to a soakaway rather than the foul sewer you may be entitled to a discount from your water company.
The gutters and downspouts along the edges of your roof are the water transportation system of your rainwater harvester. Rainwater barrels come in different types and you will easily find them in landscaping and gardening centers in your location. Next you ll need a way to direct the flow for rainwater collection. Because of renewed interest in this old fashioned technology you can choose from many types of barrels.
For the home gardener that s your roof. Collecting rainwater rainwater can be collected from the roofs of homes garages greenhouses and other garden structures as long as they have gutters and a down pipe that enters the drain at ground level. Size gutters and downspouts have to be large enough to carry the water running off the roof. You can either make a rain barrel or buy one.
That is why my husband and i began harvesting our rainwater. To collect rainwater you can attach a rain barrel to your home s downspout so when it rains the water flows directly into the barrel. It s the size not the material that s important. Rain gutters capture it.
Rainwater barrels catch water which falls directly and often comes with a drainage system at the bottom which allows you to draw the water out of the barrel. Its large angled surface area allows for easy contact and transportation of rainwater.