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Garden Experiments

collecting, storing, and using rainwater for watering gardens

18 years ago

I know it's been done, but I have some questions and concerns. I want to set up a rainwater collection to use mainly to water my potted outdoor plants and perhaps flower and vegetable gardens around the yard. Does anyone sell these collection systems? I suppose I could just use a 55 gallon drum and stick it under the downspout too.

Is there a way to hook a hose up to the tank and let the weight of the water itself act as pressure to make the hose run?? Is the asphalt in the roof shingles an issue in using it on plants??

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Comments (4)

chuckr30
18 years ago
Yes you can hook up a hose to your rain barrel. You want to go to the hardware store and get a special fitting to fit to a hole near the bottom of your barrel. You will then attach a garden spigot/valve to this bulwark fitting. The fitting is basically 2 flanges, one with a threaded male part, another with a threaded female part. Put 2 washers on it, one on the inside of the barrel with the inside flange, one on the outside with the outside fitting.

Drill a hole about 6" from the bottom so debris does not get stuck in the outlet when you open the spigot for your hose. Place the barrel on 2 levels of cinder blocks to make it about 10-12" above ground. Then collect water, attach hose, and you're all set.

I got 2 50 gal barrels from Freecycle for free. They are plastic. But I just haven't put the garden spigot on them yet.

I'm also collecting condensation from my air conditioner. A hose runs from inside my hose to the backyard, which is attached to a pump which pumps out AC condensation. So I just extended this hose to a 5 gal bucket. When the AC is running all day I get about 2 gallons per day of clear water.

The condensation comes from the actual cooling coils located right above your furnace in the main ductwork. When these coils are installed it almost always includes a way to drain away condensation, usually to a drain in your utility room since that's where modern furnaces are located now.
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hairmetal4ever
Original Author
18 years ago
My central A/C unit drains in the basement. I could collect for houseplants I guess but it would be hard to use outside. It has been putting out about 3 gallons a day I'd guess though with all this heat recently.

Should an outdoor barrel be drained in winter so as to avoid cracking from freezing?
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Jim, Gardens generally require one inch of water per week. There is no 100 percent method by which to answer your question because it depends not only on the weather temperatures and rainfall, but also on the quality of your soil and if you use mulch. If you have an ideal, loamy water retaining soil, and use 1-2 inches of mulch, you'll require less water than if your soil does not retain water well and you don't use mulch which will heat up your soil and evaporate more quickly. Have you studied your soil? One inch of water on one square foot is about a half gallon of water. 10 x 50 feet = 500 square feet 500 square feet x .5 gallons = 250 gallons of water per week The average rain barrel has a 55 gallon capacity You would need at least five barrels to be full of fresh rain water every week which is highly unlikely. So you'll have to supplement from other sources of water unless you wish to have a large number of barrels. I suggest you look into intensive gardening practices which yield 100% of the produce in 20% of the space. Therefore your requirements for water and nutrients are reduced and much more efficient. Examples of gardening by square feet: Examples Page 1 Examples Page 2 Examples Page 3 Examples Page 4 Examples Page 5
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CT, I think that is one of the best systems out there because of the height and construction. Why don't you reclaim your grey water from you house by pumping that water into your barrels from a sump pump as well as using it as a recirculation pump during the winter. You can also collect rainfall if needed. Then you are not at the mercy of rainfall at any time. JMHO Aloha
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We've had on and off showers all day, plus a pretty good larger shower around dinnertime. I collected from a large area of my house/garage roof, and filled a regular large plastic trash can. On the other side of the house, with less of a roof area coming down this spout, I collected about 25 gallons. I just emptied both, deep watering via hose siphoning, shrubs and perennials close by that really needed a drink. It was so exciting, standing there, during a shower, watering with my "free" water, that would otherwise go down my driveway. yayyyy!!
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In short, yes. Rainwater or melted snow is excellent for orchids, but if you have an area which is prone to acid rain, a ph test might be in order. Also, if you have a new roof, collecting water which has run off the roof may not be a good idea to use on orchids as you may pick up chemicals from the roof. Collecting a large amount of rain water can be achieved by placing a tarp or plastic sheet out in an open area and rigging it in such a way to drain into a bucket or other container. Water collected from dehumidifiers and air conditioning units is fine to use for orchids as it is the same as distilled water, however it does have dust etc. in it. Fine to use on orchids, don't use it on your contacts. Water from aquariums is also used by several growers on the forum to good effect. The water has fertilizer in it already! I would remind people who are using this, however, to NOT use it if you have treated your fish with medications recently...some treatments contain copper and other elements which may be in too high a concentration for some orchids.
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the_roaming_gnome
18 years ago
i dont know about the kit from the hardware store but heres what i did. I got a 55 gallon plastic drum. it should come with 2 screw in bungs. at least one of the bungs should have a 1/2" or 3/4" prethreaded hole in the center of it. (its not actually a hole but its a threaded counterbore with a knockout in the bottom of it) all you have to do is buy a brass hose spigot with the right threads to fit the counter bored hole. thread it into the hole until it bottoms out by hand the then keep going with a wrench. the bottom of the hole in the bung will pop out. now as you look at the barrel you have a spigot sticking out of the top of it. i turned my barrel upside down and placed it on 3 concrete blocks. this has the added effect of increasing the water pressure at the end of the hose since the barrel is a bit higher and the spigot is at the absolute bottom of the barrel. I cut the entire bottom (which is now the top) of the barrel out. this makes it easier to clean and scoop out any floating debris.
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cicada
18 years ago
"Should an outdoor barrel be drained in winter so as to avoid cracking from freezing?"

... Yes, in most cases. I'm using some big "Rubbermaid" trash cans which will take the freeze but they are a lot wider at the top than at the bottom, giving the ice room to expand. You're safer draining your barrels.
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