Gardening

[toast21602]

Going to roast some of these carrots tonight. Cut a bunch more lettuce and still have a ton. 

[toast21602]

I went to a rain collection workshop put on by one of the local watershed coalitions and PSU to learn about building a system for the garden. 

Grabbed the supplies and ended up building one of the back of the shed. Used up some scrap wood from my old projects for the base. I’d like to build a similar unit down at the big garden, but I’m still working on ideas of how to build a big enough collection funnel to be worth it. 

 

[Shadows]

1 gallon pumps are like 100$. Transfer is it a big tank at the other garden. Also check zoning. Some places dont allow rain collection 

[Shadows]

https://www.amazon.com/SHURflo-Demand-Diaphragm-Pump-8009-541-236/dp/B0000AXC9B

And a deep cycle marine battery. Plus hose. Easy.

[toast21602]

Thanks. It’s done. And the garden is 16’ lower and gravity would work. But I wanted to go hose-less since it’s 40 yards away. 

[momskeeztoo]

Ever since we put irrigation in the garden, we’ve had really wet summers 

[indiggio]

16 hours ago, Shadows said:

Also check zoning. Some places dont allow rain collection 

Disallowing rain collection is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

What next, disallowing sitting in the sun?

Edited June 24, 2019 by indiggio

[trackbiker]

18 hours ago, toast21602 said:

I went to a rain collection workshop put on by one of the local watershed coalitions and PSU to learn about building a system for the garden. 

Grabbed the supplies and ended up building one of the back of the shed. Used up some scrap wood from my old projects for the base. I’d like to build a similar unit down at the big garden, but I’m still working on ideas of how to build a big enough collection funnel to be worth it. 

 

 

Your rain barrel looks almost the same as the one that I built a few years ago. It collects rain off of half of my detached two car garage. I've never run out of water even before the past two years of monsoon rains. My garden is 100+ ft. from my hose bib and my garden is in front of my garage so it helps not having to drag the hose out or carry watering cans back and forth. I use it to fill watering cans. I need a new hose so I might cut the old one shorter and use that to water the garden.

(The tree in from of it has now been cut down. Too close to the garage foundation.)

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

There’s a new invention called a hose.  

[indiggio]

20 hours ago, toast21602 said:

I went to a rain collection workshop put on by one of the local watershed coalitions and PSU to learn about building a system for the garden. 

Grabbed the supplies and ended up building one of the back of the shed. Used up some scrap wood from my old projects for the base. I’d like to build a similar unit down at the big garden, but I’m still working on ideas of how to build a big enough collection funnel to be worth it. 

 

Why didn't you add cross-members in the front and back?  Looks like it could collapse sideways.

[toast21602]

1 minute ago, indiggio said:

Why didn't you add cross-members in the front and back?  Looks like it could collapse sideways.

It withheld my scientific ‘push test’. Thanks for the concern. 

[toast21602]

30 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

There’s a new invention called a hose.  

Correct. You can attach a hose to it. It’s a water source, not a hose replacement. 

[trackbiker]

6 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

It withheld my scientific ‘push test’. Thanks for the concern. 

With 55 gallons of water plus the barrel, spigot, etc. the whole thing weighs just about 500 pounds. You won't need the shelf brackets to hold it on the stand but some cross braces might not be a bad idea.

[toast21602]

5 minutes ago, trackbiker said:

With 55 gallons of water plus the barrel, spigot, etc. the whole thing weighs just about 500 pounds. You won't need the shelf brackets to hold it on the stand but some cross braces might not be a bad idea.

Sure, assuming its filled all of the time I know I wouldn't need them. The problem is it gets super windy on top of my little hill and shit gets blown from my yard if it isn't held in place in some way. If it is empty, it will end up taking flight. Here's hoping for some rain to fill it..

[NMSKI]

Here's a dumb question - is there enough water pressure coming out of the barrel to use one of these with a sprinkler?  My house has a 16 zone sprinkler system that was put in by the previous owners and I never use it because its so wasteful (water and $), but there are a couple gardens and maybe one area of lawn that I'd like to water occasionally and this could be a nice solution.

[trackbiker]

Just now, toast21602 said:

Sure, assuming its filled all of the time I know I wouldn't need them. The problem is it gets super windy on top of my little hill and shit gets blown from my yard if it isn't held in place in some way. If it is empty, it will end up taking flight. Here's hoping for some rain to fill it..

You'll be surprised how fast it will fill up just from half of your shed roof. You may get to see it tonight if the thunder storms they're calling for happen.

[Shadows]

3 minutes ago, NMSKI said:

Here's a dumb question - is there enough water pressure coming out of the barrel to use one of these with a sprinkler?  My house has a 16 zone sprinkler system that was put in by the previous owners and I never use it because its so wasteful (water and $), but there are a couple gardens and maybe one area of lawn that I'd like to water occasionally and this could be a nice solution.

Gravity feed, no. Need a pump.

[Schif]

Question: How does the water hold up in the barrel? Does anything seem to grow in it or does it stay clear? 

[Shadows]

Get a blue drum if you're storing for a while. Itll block uv/stop bacteria. You could also agitate/stir every now and then. I'd say about 2 months in a clear barrel with no stirring before stuff gets bad. But idk.

 

[trackbiker]

25 minutes ago, Schif said:

Question: How does the water hold up in the barrel? Does anything seem to grow in it or does it stay clear? 

My barrel is actually blue. I painted it white to match the garage siding. The water that comes out of it is crystal clear. The hose from the gutter diverter to the barrel gets some green around the top just inside the barrel that I noticed when I empty it in the fall. I wouldn't drink it but it's fine for watering the plants.

[toast21602]

1 hour ago, Schif said:

Question: How does the water hold up in the barrel? Does anything seem to grow in it or does it stay clear? 

I guess it depends how often it is being used? I also have two mesh screen drain catches. One at the top of the downspout, and one directly in the top of the barrel to catch any debris. No issues so far for the first day 😃

[JFskiDan]

I have a 2500 gallon white water tank at work, that we pull alot of water out of daily, but still manages to grow algae.  not a super big deal as we arent trying to drink this water or water plants with it.  The blue is supposed to help with algae, black is supposed to be ok too.  i added a black tank this year.  i will post my scientific findings on algae between the two tanks at the end of the year to let you know. 

 My actual serious question is, can this become a breeding ground for mosquitoes?

[trackbiker]

3 minutes ago, JFskiDan said:

I have a 2500 gallon white water tank at work, that we pull alot of water out of daily, but still manages to grow algae.  not a super big deal as we arent trying to drink this water or water plants with it.  The blue is supposed to help with algae, black is supposed to be ok too.  i added a black tank this year.  i will post my scientific findings on algae between the two tanks at the end of the year to let you know. 

 My actual serious question is, can this become a breeding ground for mosquitoes?

Not sure what you're using it for but if you want to stop algea from growing just throw a cup of bleach in once in a while. (Don't do this for watering plants!)

My rain barrel has a diverter hose from a rain spout. It would be pretty hard for a mosquito to find it's way to the barrel and if it did it has a screen I made from window screen material at the end of the hose. I have plastic wrapped around the hose at the inlet of the barrel to keep bugs and dirt out.

For anyone interested in making a rain barrel I got one of these for about $18.00 for the diverter including the hose. It works great and when the barrel is full the water just runs down the downspout.

Rain Barrel Diverter

[toast21602]

There are tablets you can put in to prevent mosquitoes. 

[toast21602]

heavy rain last night filled it 90%. I'll probably get another one for the larger garden even though it won't be roof-fed.