water Collecting Rain Water

AJ Drew

AJ Drew

Read in another threat the opinion that chlorinated water is horrible for a compost pile / compost tea but not all that horrible on plants.  If your garden is at all sizable, chlorinated water (city / county supply) can be horrible on your finances.  So I am curious if there are other folk who collect rain water and if so what methods you use.

Here in KY it seems like there are only two types of land: Clay and Rock.  We got clay and believe in working with what you got when ever you can.  So our garden rows feed mini clay ponds at the back of the property.  The ponds are staggered from the high point to the low point on the property, one feeding the next. 

No rain barrels for the down spouts yet, but have been thinking on it.  How bout you?  Has anyone encountered the weird laws against catching rain?
 
ajdrew said:
Read in another threat the opinion that chlorinated water is horrible for a compost pile / compost tea but not all that horrible on plants.
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It is no more harmful to a compost pile than it is to a plant. ;)
 
Searched but can not find it now.  Maybe remembering from another forum.  The opinion was that chlorine added to water kills bacteria.  Soil contains beneficial bacteria, but recovers quickly enough.  Compost piles depend on the size of the pile. Compost tea looses much of its beneficial bacteria to the chlorine.

I use as much captured rain water as I can cause I am a cheap bastard.  I do know chlorinated water will kill goldfish (woops), but no idea on the bacteria in compost tea, compost piles, or soil.
 
it's definitely better to use rain water, therefore I'm collecting as much as I can ... but got only a 1000 and 300l barrels ... each on the other garden.
When it's dry for more than a week, I need to drive to a creek and fill a few smaller barrels to get by. The last summer was so rainy though, I dont think I was even using collected water ...
 
I average 50 gallons a week in collected rain water which suit my needs.  I could collect more.   My well water is naturally high in nitrates and ph so I limit the use as to not build up a ph lockout.  I run the rain water through the aquaponics.  I actually have fish water on tap to spare most of the year but have a hard time knocking the ph down so I limit the use.   If it is a dry summer they tend to get a K lockout if I give them too much.  Sometimes I wish I had city water that was buffered and bled out of chlorine/chloramine.... but the fish water kicks butt when used correctly. 
 
My 3 rules for gardening....I don't pay for water or nutes and I don't pay for dirt(past seedling stage).  Compost and rain will provide in the midwest if you play your cards right.   At least that's always the plan.
 
Ice chests and five gallon buckets for me. But I put them in a spot where the rain runs off my patio. I'm sure some would say that's not clean. But I wait 10 mins after the rain starts and the water runs clear.

Don't know much about the compost pile ordeal. But for hydro a starting ppm of like 9 gives you more room for nutrients without burning the plants.
 
  I don't get enough rainwater  to do my whole garden so I save it for mixing my fert batches.I have been on city water the whole time I have been growing and have never ever had a problem putting out huge yields.Rainwater is always prefered but in my case its not an option.My installed drip-lines this year use very limited water compared to when I was wand watering.
 
I'm in Lexington, and they actually have a government supplied rain barrel program.  Here's a link to it:  http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?page=1816.  It included all the parts it needed except for the flexspouts needed to connect to my house's downspout and to drain the overflow from the barrel.  I've loved having mine.  I've had it for 2 years now and my water bills in the summer months are noticeably smaller.  I too bought mine originally to not have to worry about the chloramines in my tap water, as I make a few compost teas throughout the season.  But it really has been great for the budget too.  I'm considering getting a second one and daisy chaining them together.
 
jedisushi06 said:
it's illegal in some parts of the united states i hear.   Make sure you put a lid on that shit so yo don't start a mosquito factory like an idiot.
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Such a common mistake and screened not just a lid. It rained just the right amount here last year and the right days. I think I watered maybe twice...this Spring seems to be a repeat. I have only watered once and that was when I planted out. :) 
 
jedisushi06 said:
it's illegal in some parts of the united states i hear.   Make sure you put a lid on that shit so yo don't start a mosquito factory like an idiot.
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JoynersHotPeppers said:
Such a common mistake and screened not just a lid. It rained just the right amount here last year and the right days. I think I watered maybe twice...this Spring seems to be a repeat. I have only watered once and that was when I planted out. :)
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If you can't lid and screen it, another option is to put mosquito dunks in it.
 
Rairdog said:
My 3 rules for gardening....I don't pay for water or nutes and I don't pay for dirt(past seedling stage).  Compost and rain will provide in the midwest if you play your cards right.   At least that's always the plan.
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Not really sure what a gib is but I like the cut of yours.  Yep, I am a cheap bastard too.  If I had to pay for water and soil, I doubt I would be able to afford this as a hobby much less make money as a business.  I do understand the labor saving benefits of covering your back yard in plastic and then growing in containers fed by a constant drip of the perfect nutrient mix, but damn it is expensive and ugly.  On a personal note, I think the flavor is off when things are grown that way but many disagree
 
gangaskan said:
i'd like to set more up myself, but money and getting ahold of 55 gal food grade bins are a little rough for me right now.  
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You can find plastic 55 gallon food grade drums on Craigs List for cheap.  Just look for the ones that still have the labels on them.  The label tells you not only what was in it previously, but often the exact type of plastic used to make the thing.  The fittings and o rings for making a tap can be had at local hardware store.  Just tell them you want to hook a hose to a plastic barrel, they have been asked a thousand times.

Jedi, on mosquito.. naw, the frogs eat them, the ducks eat the frogs, we eat the duck eggs.  Mainly in baking.  Its the circle of life that ends when I put a muffin in my mouth.  Mmmmm, recycled bug muffins.
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Proud Marine Dad - On drought, I am very sorry for what is going on in your part of the woods.  The changes are making eveyone rethink how we do things. Or at least it should be making us rethink things.
 
oh, i know ajdrew, just people selling any are more than 10+ miles away at times, and its not easy sometimes :/  i'd consider delivery, but i think that's over what the barrel is worth.  the ones i made were home depot trash bins with a brass faucet.  
 
The volume of stories where city and state government has made it illegal to collect rain water make me wonder about the huge number of older homes or homes in remote locations that still have cistern systems.  Even on new construction, if you have a good chunk of land not already hooked up for municipal water, setting the pipes can be very expensive.  So a lot of folk go with cisterns.

I have to wonder if this is not a money making issue more than anything else.  Since the charge for sewage is often based on water consumption, I can see them wanting you to consume city water for your garden.  After all, then you pay for sewage you do not use.
 
ajdrew said:
The volume of stories where city and state government has made it illegal to collect rain water make me wonder about the huge number of older homes or homes in remote locations that still have cistern systems.  Even on new construction, if you have a good chunk of land not already hooked up for municipal water, setting the pipes can be very expensive.  So a lot of folk go with cisterns.

I have to wonder if this is not a money making issue more than anything else.  Since the charge for sewage is often based on water consumption, I can see them wanting you to consume city water for your garden.  After all, then you pay for sewage you do not use.
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thats the idea :)  its all a money scheme.  only bad thing about city water is the amount of chemicals in the mix.  fluoride, chlorine and god knows what else.  
 
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