Garden

[Othereeeen]

I use a square bucket in my double sink (on the left side....I wash stuff in the right side).

I rinse my hands a LOT during the day, as well as run water to get it cold or hot, and all that "get ready" and hand and vegetable rinsing water goes into the square bucket. I think it holds about 2 gallons total.

I have a system where as I hand wash dishes,I rinse off the major soap into the soap side of the sink, and collect the slightly "gray" in the bucket. It doesn't matter to the plants.

As it gets full, I pour it into one of two five gallon buckets on my patio, or, into one of two large sprinkling cans. I use this each day to water my veggie plants. I don't have a large garden, but it's amazing how much water goes down the drain if you don't collect it.

As for mosquitoes...you can't let it sit uncovered.Since I am constantly bailing out the water from the 5 gallon buckets to water each day, I haven't seen larvae yet this year. I have in the past so am careful not to let it sit.

Use the larvae water immediately when you DO see them, they can not survive out of water in that stage of their life. And they will not hurt the plants.

I have a well. Live in NW PA, where it has been very dry this summer. It's amazing because earlier in the spring, it rained all the time it seems. Now the lawn is brown.  The ditch is bone dry in front. It was SO wet you'd sink to your ankles earlier this year, and I thought it would never dry out.

Now..no mowing needed. I live on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest ( it's my yard for miles and miles as far as I can see) and I look at it's beauty and nervously think...

"Could a terrible wildfire happen HERE??" and how awful that would be to our beautiful forest. It breaks my heart to see  the pictures of the fires here in the US and now in Europe. I can't bear to think of the loss or the terrible toll it must take on the animals....

You can't take the forest or woods for granted. They are so beautiful and sustain so much life, and I wish we'd get a week of rain...

So yes I save water.

Water is life.

And without it, no amount of money matters.

I wish all these space clowns who have millions or billions to burn going up in rockets for three minutes, would pool thier resources and figure out how to economically and at scale, desalinate and distribute sea water.

It sure would be a bigger help than going to space for nothing.

[Lilysmom1]

This is a very timely discussion for me.  I am thinking about rain barrels.  I just found a seller who has 45 and 55 gallon plastic drums with covers.  I would like to put one near a down spout where I get runoff from our metal roof and one in a garden quite far from the hose.  The one far from the house should probably have a screen on it as there are many trees in that area.

Everything seems more extreme than it used to be weather wise.When it rains, it is rarely a gentle rain but a downpour.

@gardenman do you take any special precautions for insects? Leaves?  LM

[gardenman]

@Lilysmom1 

No. I used to put fiberglass window screening over the top to keep out mosquitos and debris, but I don't any longer. I keep tropical fish and mosquito larvae are great fish food, so if I notice mosquito larvae, I just take a fine net and scoop them out to feed my fish. As for debris, I use the Oatey 14209 downspout diverters that let leaves and trash go down the downspout while diverting the water to the rain barrels. They work well. You have to clean them out each spring, but it takes maybe five minutes to clean them. 

You can get an impressive amount of water in a short rainstorm from a roof. It takes just a quarter to a half inch of rain to fill my rain barrels. Rain water is better for the plants also. Chlorinated water has chlorine in it to kill microorganisms. Microorganisms in the soil mostly help plants. Why harm them if you don't have to?Some plants, insect eating plants for one example, hate chlorinated/treated water.

[Twins Mom]

DH made a rain barrel faucet a couple of years ago but it was slow running to fill can.  He amended this year, chaining four barrels, and higher off ground.  It fills watering cans much faster.  Very efficient.  It was not easy project but good results.  Our barrels are plastic.

[dancingwoman]

@meem120  We do exactly the same as you.  I use the water for my greenhouse..we also have a well.  For outside we do have a pond and irrigation water so that helps a lot...DW

[Lilysmom1]

@gardenman , no chlorine here.  We are on a well.  Great idea to feed your pond fish.  I think I will put some kind of mesh screen on it.  Thanks!  LM

[Snoopp]

A landscaper must have had a very large landscaping bucket blow off the truck and it landed in my yard.  After no one came to claim it, I put it on the patio and when it rains, it collects water which I dump on the grass the next day.  I don't want mosquitos to breed, so it doesn't sit long.  We are not getting any rain, so everything now is dry as a bone.

[RedTop]

WV apparently has been one of the areas getting most of the rain on the east coast.  This is week 3 of rain for us; we've had all day rain, rain early then clearing off, rain late and thru the night, big thunderstorms, downpours and some light drizzles.  Dog days for us has been extremely wet.   

[Lilysmom1]

@RedTop , we seem to live in a climate of extremes,  it seems we have too much heat for longer periods, too much rain for longer periods, etc.  We have had no significant rain for weeks.  It is hot and humid.  I am a big gardener.  I planted a number of shrubs this year and have been watering them through the dry spell.  I am on a well.  Good thing we don't have water supply issues.  As dry as it is here, I know lots have it worse.  LM

[Lilysmom1]

@Twins Mom , can you post a photo?  Very interested to see your setup.  LM