Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 17:57:40 -0400
From: suzanne white
Subject: catching rainwater
Hi Amy, I saw your post on the Chatlist…I have some experience with catching it. When I lived up North, I rigged many raincatchers, in a good rain I could collect over 300 gallons off my roofs, and then I used it for my gardens.
Check out my page where you’ll see the huge 300 gallon tanks my sister used (her gutters went to the tanks under the deck): http://home.earthlink.net/~suzaplants/gardentips.htm
The best trash cans (30 gallon size) turned out to be those made by Rubbermaid, the cheaper cans would burst from the pressure. I also used the big stock watering tanks, which any Feed Store will have. Definitely you’ll need to get BT donuts to float on the water, just to keep the mosquitoes from breeding. Someone once advised me to pour a little cooking oil on the water…not a good idea! Slimy water. Also cover the cans with old window screens, or something similar, to protect from squirrels and birds, etc., from falling in. Or at least put a big long stick in each can so there’s an escape route.
You won’t be wanting to move the cans, unless you are as strong as King Kong. You can get rain barrels that have a gizmo at the bottom for attaching a hose, for watering. If the cans are close to the house, figure out a way to offload the overflow if we get major big rain, so it won’t overflow down along the foundation of the house.
Often by winter there’d still be water in the cans, and they’d freeze into enormous ice cubes. In the spring I’d tip the can over to slowly melt onto the plants close by.
Good luck! Free water is a good thing! Now you’ve gotten me inspired to setup a water-catching rig here at my NC house.
~suza
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