Collect Rain Water And Use It In Your Garden

You would definitely agree if I say that water is one of the most significant natural resources for our existence. It is becoming scarcer and scarcer, with ever increasing global population, forest destruction, I don't really have to name it all, do I? We can't afford to waste water any more.

So how could you contribute to preserving earth's precious water? There are many things that you can do, and I will discuss one of them here, rain harvesting.     

Rain harvesting generally means to gather and store the rain water that streams down from your house’s roof, and put it in to use later on, when it's quite dry. You basically need a rain barrel attached to a down spout of the roof for the rain water to collect, and a way of directing that collected water where you want, such as an attached hose pipe, a sump pump or a diverting system. There is a variety of rain barrels for sale in the market. They greatly differ in size, shape, and color.

Suppose your rain barrel gets filled very quickly and over flows, that won't be very effective rain harvesting, will it? What could you do about that?  You can calculate the approximate amount of rain water you are likely to get by considering the surface area of the roof, and the average rain fall of the season in your area. A rain water barrel merchant can help you with that. Then you can have a barrel with a matching capacity, or better yet, have two or more rain water barrels.  

You can also use a tank to store water from the barrel. That too will reduce over flowing.

Another great way to prevent over flowing is having a plumbing system that let the water from the barrel to be absorbed in to the soil of your garden. The layout of the plumbing has to be designed in a way that it diverts the water to the desired spots on the ground.

It is a good idea to use the water from the rain water barrel to water your indoor plants, wash your vehicle, bathe farm or pet animals and clean their kennels, cages or stables, fill your garden or indoor ponds, use on garden fountains and waterfalls, etc, while the barrel is being filled, so that it will not over flow. As the rain seizes and dry season approaches, you can use the remaining rain water in the barrel to water your garden crops and indoor plants.

So with these methods your crops will survive a draught, you will save money over municipal water bills, and you will contribute to preserving water and protecting the environment. Happy rain water harvesting!