Rain barrels are DIFFICULT to find!!! Well, they were. I recently discovered a site that has rain barrels for sale. Finally!
Rain barrels collect, well YEAH, rain! Although we have had no scarcity of excessive rain here in Upstate New York for the past ten years or so, I do not like all the rain that falls from my roof and into the ground by my home’s foundation. I had installed a French drain/dry well kind of contraption (the kids dug a trench 4 feet deep by 24 feet long!), and that has helped immensely. 
But there’s still a lot of water coming down from that roof, and my home cannot support gutters until we re-do the siding.
A rain barrel is predominantly for rain harvesting. It’s great for areas that have little rainfall. The rain barrel has a small spigot at the bottom, so you can hook up your garden hose and utilize the water elsewhere in the garden (say, for watering plants or filling the watering can). It is a TERRIFIC way to conserve water from your municipal water supply or well. Most rain barrels have a slot or hole at the top of them, to receive water from your gutter system and downspout. Me, I’d just place the rain water barrel under one of my roof eaves, where the rain comes shooting down the valley and into my stone foundation.
Anyway, you can find rain water barrels online in a variety of styles and sizes. Some are very elegant! It’s a good idea to conserve water– good for your wallet, good for your neighborhood.
Mon, Sep 6, 2010
Gardening, smart fixes, water problems