Rain Barrels

Our first attempt at rain barreling is a success. Our four rain barrels have been wonderful. Three of the 30 gal. barrels are connected and topped with a small kitchen garden. Crisp mint lettuce, spinach, parsley, basil, oregano, and cinnamon basil are in the kitchen garden. Our single rain barrel is a 50 gal. tank topped off with a variety of flowers. All tanks are covered at the intake out output points with screens to keep out the mosquitoes. The 50 gallon tank is attached to a soaker hose that runs throughout the garden to evenly water all the plants. The barrels don't take up too much space and they provide free water that is actually better for the plants than water from the city's supply. Each barrel also has a vent that is covered with screen and a clear plastic cylinder to keep the soil out. The barrels are from a local car wash and they were happy to part with them. We purchased the fixtures and other hardware. Freecycle supplied all of the hose for the soaker hose. We used vinyl spray paint and it covered pretty nicely. All together the four barrels cost about $12.00 to put together.