I originally typed this as a long comment. I thought it might be better as a short post instead.
Each of our five rainbarrels (Raincatcher 4000 from Forest City Models and Patterns, sold through municipal programs in Ontario and at Home Depot and some garden centres in our area) holds 54 gallons.
When they are full we are storing 270 gallons or 1020 litres of water, which I use to fill watering cans for watering containers, new plantings, and other water-sensitive plants (though I usually try to avoid having any of those in my garden). It took about three good rainfalls to fill all five. The more barrels you have chained to one downspout, the longer they take to fill (leaving aside all mention of rainbarrel accidents right now). We have ours chained together in a 3-and-2 setup using two downspouts, one on each side of the house.
The only time we came close to running out of stored water was when we had only two rainbarrels and there was a long dry spell of a few weeks without rain. By the way, it's nice to have at least one barrel on either side of the house, because it eliminates having to carry water long distances around the house.
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There are many types of rainbarrels on the market. You can even make your own. The most low-tech solution I ever read about was putting a plastic garbage can under your downspout and collecting water in it, then just using a watering can as a dipper. I really can't recommend this approach, though, because of concerns about drainage, drowning, and mosquitoes.
A rainbarrel needs to be provided with an outlet for excess water to drain off when it's full. It's best if you can direct that water away from the house (trust me on this). The only drainage with the garbage can was just to let the water spill over the top.
You also need to make sure that the opening through which the barrel is filled is not accessible to small mammals (squirrels, cats, children) who could fall in and drown. Our barrels are designed with integral spokes across the top to prevent this.
Finally, mosquitoes are a concern everywhere. I've read of people who put certain types of fish in their barrels to control algae and eat mosquito larvae. If you plan to have fish inside, you must put screen mesh across all drainage holes. Otherwise you end up with a blocked rainbarrel and a squashed fish. I think it's much simpler to just cover the top of the barrel with screen mesh or have a completely enclosed top.
6 comments:
Fantastic! Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. My yard is pretty big so I'll probably have to invest in a small pump to get the water out to my vegetable garden.
That is a wonderful idea! I certainly will have to try this on the side of the house furthest from the hose. It has been a pain to water the garden on that side of the house. They appear to be covered. Does this keep the mosquitoes out? They are quite a problem where I live.
Where did you find your rain barrels? They're attractive and functional - I'd love to get the same.
I have so much to learn...
Heidi, if you are in Ontario they are available at Home Depot.
No matter where you are, if you have a local Home Depot (or other big box hardware store), I recommend checking there first to see what they stock in the way of rainbarrels.
If you are set on the exact same rainbarrel I have, I think you can order them from this web site:
http://www.composters.com/docs/rainbarrels.html
Ours is called The Rain Catcher and it's listed near the bottom of the page.
This is just a comment to Steven about needing a pump:
You only need a pump if your vegetable garden is at the same height or higher than your rainbarrel(s). Gravity will get the water there if your garden slopes away from the house.
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