How to Harvest Rainwater for Your Garden

Lately we’ve explored how you can start your own indoor garden and how to prep herb seeds for the upcoming spring.

Besides sunlight, all plants need one thing to survive: access to water.

Unfortunately, some states like California are facing the worst water drought in recent history. So keeping a healthy garden can be a costly affair both to your wallet and to the environment.

Fortunately, by making a minor home improvement you can solve this issue quickly.

Harvest Rainwater for Your Garden

Here’s What You’ll Need:

– 1 reservoir barrel to collect rainwater.

– PVC primer and glue.

– A 2-inch 672-7180 manifold that has a 2-inch slip fit inlet that should be paired with six, ¾ inch, ribbed bar outlets.

– A 2-inch PVC ball valve with a 2-inch female pipe on both sides.

– A 2-inch PVC male 433-020 adapter. Make sure it has a 2-inch male pipe thread on one side and a 2-inch spigot fit on the other.

– A 2 by 4-inch long TBE pipe nipple. Make sure it has a 2-inch male pipe thread on both sides.

– A 2-inch PVC bulkhead fitting with a 2-inch female pipe thread.

– Several old water hoses.

Here’s What You’ll Need to Do:

Begin by either adding an extension to one of your home’s downspouts (preferably close to the garden) connected to your reservoir barrel or simply cutting off your downspout and placing your reservoir barrel directly underneath it.
Using old garden hoses drill a 1/16 of an inch hole in the lengths across them. Plug the ends that will not be connected to the barrel.
Now you need to cut a hole in the side of the barrel that will safely hold the 2-inch bulkhead fitting. I recommend placing this hole near the bottom of your barrel to maximize water pressure.

Using caulking and sealant, place the bulkhead fitting in the hole. Make sure it’s sealed properly.
Assemble your manifold according to the instruction provided at your local hardware store. This is where you’ll use most of your materials.
Connect the manifold to your bulkhead fitting. Additionally, you need to be sure that the support leg of the manifold is facing down.

Connect the open ends of the old hoses to the manifold outlet barbs. If they’re too loose, you can use a hose clamp. Alternatively, if they’re too tight, use a hair dryer to make the hose ends flexible enough to fit.
Before the next rainfall, spread out the hoses across your garden. Additionally, you can shovel a small depression into your garden rows to make sure the rainwater stays within your garden’s soil.
When it rains, make sure your system is closed, there’s no point in watering your garden when it rains.

Days after the rain open the valve to keep your garden watered and save water simultaneously!

Using this system you’ll be able to keep your garden nicely watered, save money on your hydro bill, and contribute to saving water in your environment.