still don't understand the trend of rain barrels a barrel being about 40 imp/gals or 200 litres, that is not enough captured water to see anyone through a dry spell. it would take 100 barrels to conserve as much rain water as one 22 kilolitre tank. me i just don't get it. we have two 22.5k/l tanks and would like a third, also have some drums/barrels to take overflow if need be. so guess the way we see it save enough water or let the gardens go in time of drought, and yes we do have droughts here only 3 years past the end of a 15 year drought for us. so we've had 3 good rain years good time to conserve water. there are pic's of a tank and drum set up on our permaculture essay page. our tanks are safe to drink out of, drums aren't. keep in mind every 1millimeter of rain that falls onto 1sq/meter of roof = 1 litre of water, son that 1mm on 100 sq/mts(av' capture area) is 100 litres. if you have a corrugated or metal roof in times of heavy due that is more water captured, our smallish roof area gives us 2 buckets of dew on heavy dew mornings. len

You are all suggesting things regarding the roof panels that I have been struggling with. Sliding door panels, if I can get them from one of my window-guys, would definitely be the most cost effective -- since they'd be free. The 'dangerous broken glass' aspect of putting them on the roof is definitely a consideration. We don't get hail storms here like they do in some parts of the country, so the material's resistance to hail damage is lower on my list of priorities. The BH&G greenhouse plan uses the twin-wall polycarb. That's also a contender . . . but I'd rather have some sort of glass so I can look at the sky. Wyndyacre, the idea of renovating and living in an old school is so cool. How much of the old school stuff was still in the building when you bought it? We don't have a web site . . . yet. Like you, I would love to do it one day -- soon, I hope. I'm not dedicated enough to document things in a blog -- tried it briefly, and I discovered it's just not my thing. I have hundreds (maybe thousands) of photos of the place and all the projects at various stages of completion. If it's not too off topic, here's a few for you: A good view of the front of the house -- built in 1848.: What it looked like in 1954, before the previous owners removed the dormer and the original gingerbread trim: This is the view to the rear of the property. I plan to put the greenhouse in the area at the lower right -- approximately in line with the other two buildings. The cedar tree will be limbed up a bit, and I think it will make a great backdrop for the new building. (I think this photo brings us back on topic.) zengeos, if you go to a salvage yard for windows, you have to actually pay for them. Contact some replacement window companies in your area and ask them if they'll save some of the ones they remove for you. That's where a lot of mine have come from. In fact, the ones I plan to use for the south wall of my greenhouse are brand new -- the contractor measured the openings wrong and the windows were the wrong size . . . so they gave them to me instead of throwing them out. Sliding glass door panels are throw-away items. You're probably not going to find them anywhere sold as salvage. To use them on a roof, you would have to do like installing a skylight and use flashing around them before you put on the shingles. I know it's a greenhouse and a little leak shouldn't be a big deal . . . but I'd rather try to avoid leaks if I can. I volunteered with Christmas in April (now 'Rebuilding Together') for many years, and I have seen the carnage that a little leak can create in a wood structure. I'm having so much fun scheming this project. I know my husband loves the idea of my emptying the outbuildings of my salvaged treasures and using them for something worthwhile. I'm very thankful I could use wyndyacre's photos of her greenhouse to show him approximately what I'm trying to do. I know, by my descriptions alone, that he was probably picturing something that looked like it belonged on 'Sanford and Son'. Connie

I doubt that it's wise to use for potted plants in part because the potting mix lacks the various microbes normally in soil which can cope with grey water. And in an in-ground planting, it's wise to limit use to rinse water rather than wash water. You might be able to locate specifics from various greenhouse growers, greenhouse forums, and greenhouse suppliers. And if water restrictions are required in your state, the local water department is likely to have information, possibly also the state university.

Personally I have been researching this for years, and on a average uses, if I conserve water well and get a efficient washing machine, I should be able to meet all my water needs for my home just from yearly rain and snow. I average only 10 to 12 inches a year so most of you get WAY more then that. For each 12 inches of rain per square foot of roof space you will collect 7.5 gallons. Im seriously looking into setting out a slab of concrete or possibly clay I dig up to collect water for my gardens. (our city water is terrible for plants anyway) I have some remote land and wllls here need to be very deep and thus extremely expensive. With NO garante of actually hitting water. at this point being that the science it sound collect water you have water, lol. I only need to figure out how to store this much water over a course of a year. Which will still be cheaper then a well, city water is NOT a option, the closest city line to my and is 30 miles or so. So yes it will be expensive but cheaper then a well and garanteed. Also I do much of the technics, decribed here, and even did a test on my gardens, with grey water. I use all earth friendlier soaps and detergents by the way. I also didnt use it on seedlings. But I have a book called create an oasis with greywater. You can witha little money set up a self sustained greywater system, and have the water directed to trees, flower beds. storage tanks, all with no more effort then letting it run down the drain as it does now. n this book he suggests grewater is okay for even veggies so I tried it and I have to agree. It did no noticeable damage, everything grew just as fine as always. I would also recomend a book called rainwater harvesting by brad lancaster. Amazing what this guy did in ARIZONA no less. Youd be suprised how much water just evaporates, he uses technics to get the water o sink in. Hes turned his yard in the desert into a buetiful gardn all with better management of water already present in his yard, just not being used to potntial. I think in the years ahead, peopl might be alot smarter to find ways to do things such as that. If I can get all my needs met by simple rainwater, I think ALL of you could to if you wanted to.