i'm not sure what the weather is like at home, but i can tell you that it's raining in new england today. the kids and i drove up on thursday (a ten hour adventure which deserves a blog entry of its own), and today we're in boston. and it is a dreary, rainy, cold day. we'll be staying indoors until the skies dry up. the downpours haven't dampened our spirits though, and lulu and bug are happily playing and are eating up all of the attention from daddy's family.
we'll be travelling on our annual fall pilgrimage north until just before thanksgiving, so in an attempt to keep up with luluandbug while we're on the road, i've brought a thumb drive full of projects and photos to write about and upload as time allows over the coming week. and with all of the umbrellas, raincoats and galoshes in the city today, this seems like the perfect time to post our rain barrel project.
a few weeks ago our family purchased and installed a rain barrel. what's a rain barrel? it's a large barrel (wooden, plastic or otherwise) that has a hole cut into the top (to allow rain to fall in) and a spout at the bottom (to allow rain water out when you need it). our rain barrel came from our local boy scout troop. they buy previously used barrels and repurpose them for rain as a fundraising activity. it's a relatively green idea... save the rain water when it falls so that when the plants and flowers need to be watered, you're not running the indoor tap or outdoor spigot to get water, but instead use the previously gathered rain.
with our new pecan tree going in the ground this weekend (thanks to daddy, who is at home while the kids and i are on vacation this week), flower bulbs and garlic cloves planted, and numerous plants and mums around the house, we don't have any shortage of things needing to be watered... so the rain barrel was a no brainer for us. and, if that wasn't enough incentive, our town even offers a rebate to residents who purchase barrels. perhaps yours does too.
stay dry out there, everyone!
rain barrel projectwhat you'll need: flexible pipe, hack (or other) saw and rain barrel
1. decide where to place your barrel. proximity to plants and flowers is a consideration if you plan to attach a garden hose to your barrel. at the bottom of a downspout is ideal since the spout is already funneling water for you
2. using hacksaw, cut downspout at a distance of two to four feet above the top of your barrel
3. using hacksaw, cut flexible pipe to a length that fits over bottom of downspout and ends at top of barrel
4. place rain barrel under downspout
5. slide flexible pipe over bottom of downspout
6. route flexible pipe into top of barrel
7. optionally, attach garden hose
8. wait for the rains to fill barrel, then water away over following days and weeks
how has your family gone green?
Posts
1 comment:
I tried to water the new tree by hooking up the long hose to the rain barrel. Without surprise, there wasn't enough water pressure for it to work. It might only work with a really short hose for those plants next to it, but even that I am skeptical about. Who knows until we try it. I think the best bet will be to fill a watering can from it and water things that way.
Post a Comment