Rain barrels are ideal for collecting free water for your yard and plants.
Conservation of natural resources, like water, on your property is not only the "green" thing to do in terms of the environment, but also a cost and labor saving strategy. Our ancestors did this regularly in the past. If you live in an area that has ample rainfall or snow fall, you can capture and use that free water in your lawn and garden. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Create rainwater capturing devices, starting with the roof of your house or outbuildings. Your roof and gutter system is a rain gathering device, obviously. Make sure your gutters are clean and properly installed to channel rainwater towards downspouts. Rather than allow rainwater to simply flow away from the house and into the street or storm sewers, collect the water in rain barrels. The downspout should feed directly into the rain barrel, and through a rain barrel cover. The rain barrel must be covered to prevent mosquito breeding. Purchase or create rain barrels that have a faucet outlet near the bottom of the barrel for easiest redistribution of the water. Rain barrels can be attached to drip irrigation lines, too.
2. Install a series of dry wells on your property. A dry well consists of an underground storage tank that collects runoff water from downspouts, french drains and sump pumps. Most dry wells today are made of plastic, but they can also be constructed using concrete. Old fashioned dry wells were made of masonry brick. Water collects in the well, then seeps out of small holes drilled into the side of the tank. The result is a more even, and slower, distribution of runoff that prevents puddles and lakes from forming in the yard. But dry wells can also be engineered to store water underground and deliver it to the surface using electric or manual pumps and siphons.
3. Devise smaller water collection centers in planting areas around your yard or garden. You can create miniature raised "water towers" near thirsty vegetables, for example, made of large tin cans or buckets. Mount the can on some sort of scaffold or a stake. Devise a funnel that fits into the top of the can, with the narrow part of the funnel facing down into the can, to restrict entry by mosquitoes. You can install drip lines leading from the cans to the root systems, or mount the cans on pivots so they can be easily tipped over, like a teapot, distributing water over plants.
4. Gravity and osmosis-fed glass or fired-clay water cups can be installed in container plants. Rain collects in the decorative cup, then travels down the stem and directly into the ground. The water is only dispersed when the earth around the stem is dry.
5. Set out small rain collecting containers near potted plant groups. A vintage china tea pot, with its lid removed, can be placed near potted plants on your deck or patio to collect rain water. The teapot or other decorative vessel will look like part of the potted plant vignette. You can accomplish the same effect with vintage or decorative watering cans. Make the cans "part of the scene." Pour the water that collects in the vessel over the plants during a dry interlude. This equipment will save you the steps and inconvenience of setting up a garden hose or watering can and dragging it from container to container.
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