Rain!

[Tonio]

woo hoo !! finally got some rain, and should for a couple more days.

Excuse me for my excitement, but we So Cal'ers only get it 3-4 months a year. Oh, reminds me I gotta get a rain barrel or 3 installed, before its too late

Anyway, it sure is slow around here, what are the rest of you doing plotting, and planning??

pfft got some mesclun, mizuna, komatsuna, radish, daikon, beets, spinach, carrots(they're sad), toy choi, arugula, cilantro, italian parsely, beets going, I may have to re sow some of the root crops- neighbor half farrel cat got to the bed.

T

[rainbowgardener]

Yay, rain! I grew up in SoCal and still remember how wonderful/ exciting it was when the first rain finally came after many months of none. And I wasn't even a gardener back then!

I have two 75 gallon rain barrels and I love them. But in my climate in non-extreme drought years, the rain barrels stay full most of the time. About the time I use the water, more falls out of the sky and fills them. So there is always a supply. But we have had some bad drought years lately, at which point we are closer to how you usually are. In bad drought years, the rain barrels just sit there empty, mocking me. It makes me wonder how useful they would be to you. To make much difference you would need to have a cistern or something.

At my church we have a 250 gallon rain barrel we got for free from some company that uses them. I will try to find out what the company was that gave it to us and let you know.

[Tonio]

I wondered about the cost effectiveness of having a rain barrel or 2. At the cost of about $100 for per barrel and a diverter. and figuring out the use of 55 gallons would save possibly 1 month of watering at best. Thats a gross guess on m y part-but the water quality would be much better, even with a clorine filter attached to my spigot.
Our city does have a rebate program also, I think it was $.50 per gallon, so can be a savings for the initial material cost.

[DoubleDogFarm]

With a few tools and a little skill you can build your own rainbarrels. More like $10.00

Eric

[Tonio]

$10 ?????? maybe if I can find a free barrel
I can get(purchase) a 55 gal food grade for about 15-$20 add in a $10 spigot, couple of hoses, fittings for about another $10 or so, screen and misc about $40+ diverter about $ 30= $70 IF I did it myself vs $100 out the door hmmmmm savings of beer for the month

But then I would need at least 3 -55gal barrel set up to be worth it, no?
Maybe I should look into a tote instead.

[DoubleDogFarm]

$10 ?????? maybe if I can find a free barrel
I can get(purchase) a 55 gal food grade for about 15-$20 add in a $10 spigot, couple of hoses, fittings for about another $10 or so, screen and misc about $40+ diverter about $ 30= $70 IF I did it myself vs $100 out the door hmmmmm savings of beer for the month

But then I would need at least 3 -55gal barrel set up to be worth it, no?
Maybe I should look into a tote instead.

Ok, Maybe not $10. I stand corrected. We have a consingment store. I pick up many odds and ends pennies on the dollar. Free barrels from the water treatment plant.

Eric

[!potatoes!]

the water quality would be much better, even with a clorine filter attached to my spigot.

what kind of roofing material do you have? not sure I'd call rainwater off an asphalt shingle roof high quality water. something else? maybe better.

[JayPoc]

the water quality would be much better, even with a clorine filter attached to my spigot.

what kind of roofing material do you have? not sure I'd call rainwater off an asphalt shingle roof high quality water. something else? maybe better.

You have anything to read that suggests the water wouldn't be good? I've wondered about this myself and couldn't find anything on the topic. I caught rain for the first time this year, and my garden was incredible. Everything just looked healthier than years past on town water. I do let the first few minutes of a good rain go down the downspout, then catch the rest.

For the other poster...as far as start -up cost goes its cheaper than you think. You don't need a lot of fancy equipment...a 5 dollar piece of flexible downspout is really all you need if you want to divert rainwater on the cheap. I first got a couple of 33 gallon toughneck heavy duty (and food grade) trash cans with lids for less than 30 bucks a piece, and a local plumbing supply then got in a bunch of 55 gallon pickle barrels that they were selling with lids and rings for 20 bucks...

[DoubleDogFarm]

One of these 250 gallon tanks are about $75.00 on the island. They already have a valve in the bottom.



Eric

[JayPoc]

One of these 250 gallon tanks are about $75.00 on the island. They already have a valve in the bottom.



Eric

Wow....75 bucks....? Around here, I couldn't find those for less than 3 times that. Not sure they'd work well in my space and with my method, but I'd love to find a couple of those at that price....

[rainbowgardener]

That's exactly the one my church got for free, except it didn't have the wire grid around it. Did already have the valve at the bottom. We built a big sturdy table for it to sit on, so then the water from it can run down hill to the garden.

[rainbowgardener]

the water quality would be much better, even with a clorine filter attached to my spigot.

what kind of roofing material do you have? not sure I'd call rainwater off an asphalt shingle roof high quality water. something else? maybe better.

You have anything to read that suggests the water wouldn't be good? I've wondered about this myself and couldn't find anything on the topic. I caught rain for the first time this year, and my garden was incredible. Everything just looked healthier than years past on town water. I do let the first few minutes of a good rain go down the downspout, then catch the rest.

...

Somewhere in the distant past a year or two back there's a post I did where I did a bunch of looking on line for the research on water quality coming off your roof and whether it made a difference what kind of roof. Unfortunately our Search the Forum function doesn't work any more (and Eric, I did try the google search for helpfulgardener.com + ... and couldn't find it that way either). I don't feel like re-doing all the research.

So with no citations, I will just say the conclusion was that you probably wouldn't want to drink the water from your rain barrel, but it is just fine fro your garden. Often the biggest pollutant in it is bird poop, which is not a problem for the garden.

[jal_ut]

Glad you are getting some rain.

Anyway, it sure is slow around here, what are the rest of you doing plotting, and planning??

Hmmm, just watching it snow. Won't be doing any growing here until April. The snow is my water for next season. It comes heavily in the mountains and the snow melt fills the irrigation reservoir. We would not be growing gardens here without irrigation. Summer rains are rare.

[ReptileAddiction]

The last few weeks I have been getting on and off showers.


I have to use all irrigation in the summer. We almost never get summer rain.

[DoubleDogFarm]

(and Eric, I did try the google search for helpfulgardener.com + ... and couldn't find it that way either).

Here you go pumpkin.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... ter#117078

Eric

[rainbowgardener]

You are a genius! Thanks so much!

[DoubleDogFarm]

You are a genius! Thanks so much!

Nah man, Not even smart and sometimes just plain offensive, but I did learn how to skirt around a problem.
Roof Water

Your welcome
Eric

[ElizabethB]

Once again you guys and gals impress me to no end. You remind me to be greatful for my long growing season and abundant rain. I am humbled when I read about the heroic measures some of you go to in order to grow your gardens. So next summer when I start whining about the heat, humidy and mosquitoes REMIND me how blessed I am.

[imafan26]

If anyone in Hawaii wants to make a rain barrel, this is the web address for the Board of Water Supply https://www.boardofwatersupply.com/csswe ... m?sid=2091
It contains the parts list for what you will need. You can contact Pearl City Urban Garden center on Tues and Thursdays 9 a.m.-11a.m. to make an appt to have the barrel drilled for you. (It takes a special bit).
Food grade barrels are available ask Pearl City Urban Garden Center for locations. As to cost savings. I does not save a lot of money. Each barrel will hold about 50-53 gallons of water. That's about 10 (5gal) buckets of water. I have 2 barrels in tandem. When it rains, the barrels are full and I don't need the water. (Hint one barrel fills up fast in heavy rain, so why not have 2). I use the water when it does not rain. I use it for my orchids. I can dip about 80 orchids with 10 gallons of water. If it is a long dry spell, the barrel will be emptied quickly.

[ElizabethB]

OMG So glad you got the rain you needed. Personally I rejoiced because it did not rain today. All about perspective.