After months of no significant rain we finally got a drenching today, and boy is it wonderful! By my estimate we’ve gotten at least 1.5 inches so far with more to come tonight.
Remember that big honking tank I purchased a few weeks ago? When I heard the rain was on the way, I slipped out to Lowes this morning and bought a flexible downspout pipe. I then spent 15 minutes attaching it to just one downspout, thinking I’d attach the other downspouts later.
The day wore on and no significant rain occurred. Then finally about 3 PM we got some gentle showers; really it was nothing even requiring an umbrella. I was astonished to see that that quick, gentle rain put 50 gallons in my tank! Just one downspout, too.
More rain followed as the remnants of Tropical Storm Humberto passed through. I watched in awe as my tank kept filling and filling. By 5 PM, I had to pull the downspout pipe from the tank as it was overflowing. I now have 330 gallons of water and probably could’ve captured 300 more!
So, $80 bought me the tank, $17 bought me the pipe to fill it, and a good drenching topped it off. I now have plenty of water for all of my trees and plants and then some. And greedy gardener that I am I wish I could’ve saved more! It definitely makes sense to make the most of this precious resource, and collecting it from the roof is one of the easiest ways to do so. Maybe I’ll look into what it would take to put in an underground cistern.
You’d be surprised how much water you can use when watering your plants, however. You will go through that 330 gallons in a hurry. Here in Australia rainwater tanks have been popular for years for the obvious reasons, but you still have to modify your gardening techniques.
You’d be surprised how much water you can use when watering your plants
True, Jeremy. I’ve emptied it farther than I expected to already.
I guess I consider this a proof-of-concept. It has proven its worth, so now I’ll consider putting in a 2000-gallon cistern, maybe one I can bury.
Good to hear from you!