Garden

[Twins Mom]

@Lilysmom1 

I will investigate how to post pictures. Thanks for interest.

The barrels are plastic - from carwash - used for soap. 

[gardenman]

The lowest cost, highest volume rain barrels are the IBC totes used to transport industrial liquids. You can routinely buy 275-gallon ones for as little as $50 or less on Facebook Marketplace. Some places even give them away as they have to pay to have them hauled off. You can get a garden hose adapter (typically under $10) that will thread onto the outlet so you can even use a hose to water your garden with the water from the tote. They aren't the prettiest rain barrel you'd find, but they do the job nicely. If you make a small entry hole for the rain to get in, preventing insects is pretty easy also. If you have an abandoned manufacturer or factory nearby, you're apt to find old totes just sitting in their parking lot and often free for the taking if you can figure out who to ask.

[Twins Mom]

[Twins Mom]

@Lilysmom1 

I hope the pic helps.  The spicket is at far left, high enough for watering can.  We have fine wire over top openings to keep mosquitoes out.  I note Gardenman had hint on how to attach hose.  Ours does not have.  

[Lilysmom1]

@Twins Mom @impressive!  We have a large plastic barrel we have to get set up.  I like the idea of raising the barrel.  We have a metal roof and covered rain gutters.  One one corner there is a steady runoff I would like to capture.  LM

[BunSnoop]

My neighbor has some and during a storm that had lots of rain the barrel was overflowing so much that water got into the house.

[Twins Mom]

@BunSnoop 

When the downspout is converted to rain barrel, there should be a device that when barrel gets full, it f!ows to downspout again which then uses the path it used before.

@gardenman  Perhaps you have a better explanation.... Hopefully....

[Sooner]

---

@Mz iMac wrote:

I grew up around gardeners & where I live now, we have a community garden.  Never in my 72 yrs have I seen gardeners use a "rain barrel" whatever that is.  Is it an actual barrel?

Pots & pans as well as a mop bucket catches rain water just fine.

---

@Mz iMac LOL!!!   It is a big barrel or 55-gallon drum.  We had one when I was really little and we had a well. Back then everyone where I lived had one.  The gutters on the back of the house emptied into it.  It overflowed often.

You might water a few flower pots with a bucket and a pot, but not a garden.

[Trailrun23]

would love to catch rainwater in a rain barrel...we have had so little rain we can'tt save a thing...but it is always a smart idea; our water bills lately this summer have been outrageous

[Trailrun23]

 You  can put Mosquito Dunks in the barrel or bucket where you catch rainwater it is nontoxic and kills the mosquito larvae; it won't hurt animals or plants i buy mine at WM but this summer bought on Amazon. we always have a West Nile virus issue here so the city recommends them. It has been so dang hot this summer I think it has even been too hot for mosquitoes. Havent seen a single one.