Containment Drums can hold life giving water for use later on...
Along with sun and soil... the 3 main components your garden needs to sustain life in the form of food. If one is removed from the equation, your food source would disappear. Water is the only one of these three elements that can be difficult to find in certain climates. As water become scarce in some areas, it is becoming more apparent that it should not be taken for granted.
Providing life giving water to your garden can be as easy as turning on the hose and sprinkling your vegetable garden. In some areas, this is not the case and many are turning to ways to harvest the rain. Outdoor garden barrels can be easily acquired and strategically positioned to become holding tanks for water during rainstorms. These rain catchers can keep rainwater stored until ready for use in your garden.
As the new wave of urban and suburban gardeners become more accustomed to growing their own food, access to water through the normal hose and spigot will add to the cost of maintenance of their food source. In times of drought and water rationing, those that plan ahead and design a water harvesting system, can continue to provide life sustaining liquid to their plantings.
A rain harvesting system can be fairly simple to make or more sophisticated if you desire. In either case, it makes good sense to begin to plan for ways to hold onto rain water in times when it is plentiful for use when it is scarce. There are three main parts to the rain collection system; collection, storage and distribution.
Positioning your rain catcher to collect the most amount of rain water is essential to maximize the amount of water you can store in any given period. It may not be apparent in times of heavy rains, but when only a few showers sprinkle your area every several days, an efficient collection system will be more important.
The obvious choice is to utilize your home as the main source of collecting water during rainstorms. Due to the surface area of your rooftop, your home will accumulate much of the water, and because of the pitch of the roof, it will naturally channel the water away from the home utilizing gutters and downspouts. Locating your outdoor barrel near these downspouts is the most efficient way to accumulate and store your rain water, especially if your garden is close to the house.
Water storage is the next part of the design of your water harvesting system. This can be as simple as using a plastic or rubber container such as a trashcan or 55 gallon drum or a more visually pleasing design from the garden store. As long as the unit is water tight, it can be easily used to store the water until ready for use.
Distribution is the concept of moving the water to the areas of need. This can be as simple as a garden hose or as complex as a PVC piping system. Controlling the movement of water from your storage tank to your garden may involve the most thought and planning.
In conclusion, a containment drum can be as simple as a trashcan and garden hose positioned near your home to catch rain and distribute water when needed to your bucket or container garden.
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