Harvesting Rainwater

Here in the Sacramento area, we really only get rain from October or November through about May and when it does rain, it seems like we only get an inch or so at a time. However, in my yard it seems like it takes only a bit of rain to make a huge mess since the house gutters drop right into the lowest part of my yard making a winter long muddy bog. I'd love to get rid of the lawn altogether, but Dennis and I haven't agreed on that yet. So what to do to not only save the "free" water that hits my roof in a storm and try to save the lawn from its annual winter drowning?? Rain barrels! Rain barrels are large containers that sit underneath your gutters to collect rainwater. They have a spigot at the bottom of the container to attach a hose and water whatever you want from rainwater collected from your roof.

Considering that one inch of rain on a 1,000 square foot area yields 623 gallons of water, I'm sending a whole lot of water right down the drain every winter! I've looked at buying rain barrels, but they can run around $200 - ack! However, this morning I think I found the solution while browsing the Fine Gardening website - a video on how to build my own rain barrel for about $50 - perfect! I know they aren't that pretty, but since we don't get rain year-round, I can move them to a less obnoxious location during the summer when we spend so much more time outside.

Here's the video if you're interested in doing the same:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4130888001?bctid=1906795648