Rainbarrels

Water is one of the three pillars of gardening, (along with sun and soil!) and you can't grow a garden without it. Water conservation is a double whammy opportunity- to save money and make your garden grow better. Rainwater is free- free of chemicals used in city water and free of charge!

Here is the basic idea- find a down-spout off of your roof's gutter and catch the water before it runs away. This is where the rainbarrel comes in. If you can raise your rain barrel above your garden you can water using only gravity- it does not get much more low-tech.

In most non-arid climates the formula is simple. You will need 1 square foot of roof to water one square foot of garden. The trick is storing enough  water, barrels are good. but it might take more than one, in which case a cistern might be better. Cisterns are just very large plastic containers and come in sizes from 300 gallons to 30,000 gallons.  That said, 2- 55 gallon food- grade barrels with detachable lids would be a good start for a 12'x4' or 16'x4' raised bed garden. If you want to know more email us or contact  your local water and soil conservation district office.

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