How to Water Plants With Clean Rain Water
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How to Water Plants With Clean Rain Water
Introduction
If you're looking for ways to conserve water, here's one you may have overlooked. You can water your plants with reclaimed, clean rain water by connecting a rain barrel to your gutter downspout system. You can lessen your reliance on municipal or well water supply and save money while you're watering your plants the natural way.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Things You'll Need
- Rain barrel
- Cinder blocks
- Hose for rain barrel
- Soaker hose for garden
Steps
1
Step One
Determine an adequate size of rain barrel for your needs. Most range from 50 to 80 gallons and can fill up quickly. If you live in an area that receives a lot of rain, you may want several rain barrels to capture overflow.
2
Step Two
Purchase a rain barrel at a local garden supply store or order one online. If you're handy, you can make a rain barrel at a do-it-yourself workshop or use instructions that you find online or at the library.
3
Step Three
Connect the rain barrel to the downspout yourself or hire a contractor.
4
Step Four
Raise the barrel off the ground with stacked cinder blocks to create space for the spigot and your watering can.
5
Step Five
Attach a 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" hose to the barrel's overflow port. Divert overflow at least 6 feet away from your foundation.
6
Step Six
Attach a soaker hose to the rain barrel hose to water your flower beds or vegetable garden. This way, you don't have to empty the barrel immediately after big storms. A soaker hose has small holes throughout the length of the hose for slow release of water. You can purchase a fitting kit at a lawn and garden store.
Tips & Warnings
- Check the rain barrel periodically to make sure that it is working properly.
- Empty the rain barrel in advance of a big storm to create more storage.
- Clean your rain barrel once a year using 3/4 cup of bleach per gallon of water.
- Disconnect your rain barrel from the downspout before the first hard freeze of winter.
- Always keep a secure lid on your rain barrel to protect children and small animals from falling inside. A lid will also keep mosquitoes at bay.
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