Friend-LINK: <%=INSERTTEXT%>

Subscribe to AGN Powered by www.ONElist.com

A Gardener's Notebook: The latest incarnation of my column detailing the trails and tribulations of my garden. Join the list and ask your own questions about gardening Subscribe

"Rain, rain, go away,

Come again some other day!"

I will never use this nursery rhyme again and I can bet that most of you won't either. This has been a very dry year, so far, but we finally got some rain this week. I want and need it to last as long as possible, but it has already tapered off even as I am typing this. It is hard to write with fingers-crossed, but I'll do anything I can to keep the rain coming.

Slow & Steady

Most of this week we received a slow, light rain for several hours each day. This is quite a welcome change from the usual deluge we get here in Los Angeles. A high amount of rain in a short period of time produces our famous mudslides, especially in those areas recently burnt in wildfires. This nice, steady rain helps keep run-off to a minimum by allowing the water to soak into the ground where it does the most good. So much of the Los Angeles area is paved that most of our rainfall goes into a storm sewer and straight out into the ocean. Catching only a fraction of that water would allow everyone to have beautiful gardens without breaking the bank on city water bills.

Saving rain

One way to save the rain we do receive would be the installation of an old-fashioned rain barrel. Of course, I have already missed the opportunity to set up a water collection system to store this liquid gold for this season. I always have trouble finding the time to do such projects and several other limitations make it difficult to implement a rain barrel at my house.

First, I have almost no gutters on my house. There are a few small sections, but these are nearly useless due to poor installation and the fact that they are under trees that drop a ton of leaves. Even with gutter guards I would constantly be up on a ladder trying to keep them clear. Maybe I will find some way to do this in the future. I need to install gutters to deal with a few other drainage problems so maybe I can combine the 2 projects.

Next, in order to collect enough rainwater to last even part of our long Summer (basically March through December) I would need a cistern nearly as large as my house. A typical 50 gallon rain barrel would probably be empty with weeks of our last rain.

While my water bills don't come close to my electric costs for air-conditioning it would be nice to be able to use more of what nature provides. I have seen how green and lush the garden can be in wet years (El Niño had some benefits) and I miss that during the dry times. No matter how much time I spend in the garden I never really give it as much water as it could use. If I have to hand-water plants I always feel I am putting on too much. If this year continues to be dry I will have to get through this psychological block and make sure everything gets more than I think it should.

Resources

Web

Rainwater Catchment Systems

City of Vancouver Rain Barrel Info

GardenWaterSaver.com

Spruce Creek Rainsaver

Water for Gardens

Rain water to drinking water

Books

Rainwater Harvesting : The Collection of Rainfall and Runoff in Rural Areas by Arnold Pacey

The Home Water Supply : How to Find, Filter, Store and Conserve It by Stu Campbell, Roger Griffith (Editor)

Builder's Greywater Guide : Installation of Greywater Systems in New Construction & Remodeling; A Supplement to the Book 'Create an Oasis With greywat by Art Ludwig