Rain Barrels

I got my new rain barrel installed this evening; all ready for the possible rain showers later this week.  I already had two, but have been dreaming of getting several more.  I like to, as much as possible, use the chlorine-free rainwater for my garden, plus avoid the high summer water bills. 

New rain barrel

The two previous barrels are in the back yard, which made it a long way to lug water for the front yard flower beds.  I wanted a nicer-looking design for the front yard, where it will be much more visible. I'd seen a couple of designs I liked in garden supply catalogs, but the shipping charges are atrocious.  I'd been looking locally, and finally ran into ones I liked out at Menard's.  In fact, they had two designs I liked for a front yard location, one of which is identical to one of those from the catalog.  So I got a design I like, but without the nasty shipping expense.

One drawback I see on this barrel is that the spigot is directly above the hose outlet, so it may be difficult to fill watering cans.  I'm eager to try it out once it gets a little water in it.

On the two barrels I already had, the one made by a local man works very well. It's not the most attractive one, but it works, and that's the main thing.  I've been using a lot of water from it over the last week or so on my new plantings, so it wouldn't hurt for a little rain shower to replenish it.

The other barrel is my original one, purchased from Gardeners Supply.  It should be the most useful, as it is designed to hold 75 gallons, more than either of the others.  Unfortunately, it has a real design flaw.  The overflow outlet is set quite low on the side.  The tube that is supposed to fasten to it inside will not stay on, and since the top of the barrel doesn't come off, I can't reach it to glue it in place.  So every time it rains, almost all of the water just runs right on out, and I get very little water from this barrel.  I'm trying to figure out a way to plug the overflow outlet, and actually get some benefit from the barrel. I can't reach it from the inside, so it has to be a matter of a plug over the end of the short outer tube.  I need to spend a little time at the hardware store, cruising for a solution.

I put a tablespoon of olive oil in each barrel after any major rain.  It floats on top of the water, and prevents mosquitoes from using it as a nursery.

In the meantime, I'm hoping to double my current rain storage capacity with the new rain barrel.  Come on, April showers!