another rain barrel thread

[muddy45]

hi folks

I haven,t been on here in a long time,I spend a lot of time on idig forums since I live in missouri and a lot of folks on it are from mo.

now to the subject.

I collect rain water off a 6' x 8' metal roof , which is my flying roller breeding loft,,I have seven food grade plastic barrels for water storage,,I keep water in them year around.

what I noticed on another rain barrel thread is that folks that have only 1 or 2 barrels say that is all they water their gardens with,,so how do they have enough water to do that.

I don't have a water well,so I carry my house water from the nieghbors across the road in 7 gal. containers,7 of them at a time.

I water my dogs and pigeons and chickens with rain water.

I carry the rain water in 5 gal. buckets about 100'feet,,then dipper the water to each plant a sauce pan at a time,,"I quart pan".

I have been lucky the last two years,cause we have had a lot of rain at the right times.

I was wondering how a person can get by with only 1 or 2 barrels for their garden ?

[rainbowgardener]

I have two 75 gallon rain barrels... that's a lot of water when you are pouring it on the soil, not sprinkling or watering leaves. And they are rarely empty because before I get it emptied, we get more rain. It only takes an hour or so of good rain to fill them again.

We get lots of summer rain here; if I lived in a drier climate my two rain barrels might not be enough, but as it is, they are all I need. ... oh yes and I don't have a huge garden... about 15 different beds, plus a ton of containers. I have a small lawn, but I do NOT waste water on the lawn and the back half of our lot is a native plants, woodland shade garden. I only water that in drought times to save specimen plants that are still getting established. If I have to water there, that will be hose water.

[muddy45]

thanks for your answers.

I know alot of folks use rain barrels,,am always interested how other folks do it.

I got a dock pump given to me a couple of weeks ago,he said it worked,,but the darn thing is froze up,,I have to take it apart to see if the impeller has some thing in it,keeping it locked up ,it just hums
when I plug it in.

I want to put a barrel on the ends of my raised beds to make the watering easier on me in the heat.
if I can't get it going I'll buy a cheap sump pump to move the water from my pigeon loft to the garden barrels.

Larry

PS
for the idigers on here,,I go by the name of mudhill on their even though I live on a gravel hill .
any one that knows the lake of the ozarks area ,knows it is gravel ,clay,suirrels,copperheads and acorns.

[731greener101]

First you have to have rain to collect.LOL.Greener

[muddy45]

First you have to have rain to collect.LOL.Greener

no problem around here for rain.

I just had the local radio swap and sell on,and every one is complaining about the weeds takeing over every thing.

I never complain about rain,,just snow and ice storms and super storms with high winds.

Larry

[731greener101]

If they are complaining about weeds then they have not discovered the virtues of mulch in the garden.I would not garden without it.Greener

[muddy45]

If they are complaining about weeds then they have not discovered the virtues of mulch in the garden.I would not garden without it.Greener

I agree with you on that point.

[Gary350]

It is best if you do not water your garden it forces the plants to grow deep roots in search of water then when the hot dry weather arrives the plant is prepaired for the worse, no water required.

The only time I water is after planting my tomatoe and pepper plants. I water for a week or so just long enough for the plants to get going on their own.

If you water your garden it makes weeds and grass grow. If you don't water then you have no weeds. I hoe about 5 minutes 2 or 3 time a week early in the morning the first month of my garden. After that dry weather is here and I don't have to hoe and there are no weeds and no grass and you do not need mulch or plastic.

[muddy45]

It is best if you do not water your garden it forces the plants to grow deep roots in search of water then when the hot dry weather arrives the plant is prepaired for the worse, no water required.

The only time I water is after planting my tomatoe and pepper plants. I water for a week or so just long enough for the plants to get going on their own.

If you water your garden it makes weeds and grass grow. If you don't water then you have no weeds. I hoe about 5 minutes 2 or 3 time a week early in the morning the first month of my garden. After that dry weather is here and I don't have to hoe and there are no weeds and no grass and you do not need mulch or plastic.

do you garden in raise beds ?

any one who does,knows it takes more water then in ground planting.

I can not see not mulching my garden beds.

how do your shallow rooted plants make it with out water ?

do you think a strawberry plant will root down 12 inches ?

my ground under my raised beds is like concrete,I know because I drive rebar and t-posts in to them all the time.
their root systems stay in the 12 inches of soil in my beds,not deeper.

at one time I thought the worms would loosen my soil underneath up,,but they have not in the seven years I have been gardening on this plot.

so you can not make a blanket statement.

if that works for you,then that is great.

but if I tryed it your way my plants would shrivel up and die.

I do not over water,but the plants will tell you they are thirsty.

if I want large and sweet strawberries next year,I need to keep them watered this year,I can't afford to let them suffer from lack of water.

my opinion

Larry

[731greener101]

My beds are 18 inches deep.I planted my tomatoes almost to the hard clay soil beneath with all but the last two branches above bed surface.With no rain(as we have been experiencing since April)I water twice a week at least 40 gals each time.Greener

[muddy45]

My beds are 18 inches deep.I planted my tomatoes almost to the hard clay soil beneath with all but the last two branches above bed surface.With no rain(as we have been experiencing since April)I water twice a week at least 40 gals each time.Greener

I can relate to your post.

I also plant my tomatos and pepper plants at full depth of the raised beds.

I have been lucky the last few years for rain comeing at the right times,but as you know they only stay moist so long,then come out the watering cans.

I have heard about the don't water and let the roots find water idea befor,but not on top of hard pan and gravel,it won't work at my place.

Larry

[garden5]

I suppose it all just comes down to how big your garden is and how much you water it. A smaller garden that is only watered once in a while does not need as many barrels of water as a large garden that is watered often.

It sounds like you have a pretty good system for using your rain water.

[farmerlon]

...Tennessee is a lot different from Texas, and if we didn't water, we'd lose our garden by the end of June, or earlier. We mulch, also and deep water once or twice a week, depending on the temperatures. Even with the mulch, we still have weeds, but a lot fewer than we'd have with bare rows!

I have to agree with you on that one.
I think Gary350 would be the exception around here, as just about every gardener I know in our area does some supplemental watering.

I water as infrequently as possible, and water deeply when I do. Usually, if we haven't seen any rain in 5 to 6 days, I will need to provide some irrigation for the garden... especially during a heat wave.