Outdoor eco friendly ideas like the rainwater barrel are becoming very popular as homeowners discover the benefits and rewards of a greener lifestyle. Water conservation is essential because not only does it help the environment, it also puts extra money in your wallet. Channeling rainwater directly into a rain barrel is fairly simple and inexpensive to set up.
How much rain can you harvest with a water barrel? For every inch of rain that lands on an area of 1,000 square feet, you can collect about 600 gallons of water. So if your home is 2,000 square feet, you can trap approximately 1200 gallons of rainwater. Calculating the amount of water you could conserve is very important when determining the size and amount of rain barrels you should purchase.
Rain water barrels can be fitted with spouts so you can access the water manually or you can set up as an irrigation system that distributes the water directly from the rainbarrels to your planters or garden. An irrigation system using rain water will of course be more complicating to set up but will definitely make more use of that valuable rain water.
When choosing which plants you should use for your planters or landscaping, it is important to look for plants that have naturally adapted to the climate in which you live. These plants will fair better to all types of weather including droughts or excessive rain. In your search, you should be looking for low maintenance plants that require very little water. Plants that are liked by the local wildlife and organisms are essential because they will resolve their own pest issues without the need for pesticides.
A vegetable garden is probably by far the greenest type of garden you could create. Eating fruits and vegetables that are locally grown help your family as well as the planet in numerous ways. First of all, you never know how fruits and vegetables were grown prior to them arriving at your grocery store. Were pesticides involved? Were they grown in nutrient rich soil? Have chemicals been added to them to preserve their quality? How much gas and pollution do you think was involved in getting these items to your grocery store? These are just a few things to consider when deciding if a home garden is the right way to go for you and your family. It will take more maintenance but the rewards are endless.
Every eco friendly project you take on is a good example for your children. Preserving water with rainwater barrels and using that water to grow your own fruits and vegetables is probably going to impact their lives greatly. It will impact their health as well. Fresh is always best!
All roofing materials seem dangerous. How do I find out if my roofing material is contaminating the runoff water in my plastic rain water barrels?
Maria, it is hard to tell unless you have the water tested for chemicals. If your roof is made of natural materials like cedar planks or clay shingles then the water in your rain water barrel should be fine for watering vegetables and plants.
Lisa – not true about ‘natural materials like cedar’ as most are treated with chemicals. Nearly all the homes in the US have asphalt shingles. Wash your windows and car- put on flowers but I hesitate to put on herbs – btw I bought our rain barrel from a local hardware store b/c it was the only one that had an overflow port the same size as the downspout!