How can I collect rainwater to feed my garden?

I have 4 raised beds and I want to collect rain water from the roof's drain pipe so I can conserve water and use that for my garden. Does anyone have any ideas on how this can be done. I'm thinking about buying a big barrel and putting it under the roof's gutter pipe to collect the water but whatelse can I do and how can I get the water from the barrel to the garden? by the way what kind of barrel do i need? I live in a neighborhood so it has to look good or neighbors won't like it. Thank you all.

How can I collect rainwater to feed my garden?
Go to a store and buy a watering jug with a big nozzle at the end and something like a bowl to feed water from the barrel into the jug.





Or if you can spend a little more and buy a water pump and connect a hose and water nozzle and use it.





But try to cover the water so that insects like mosquito will not reproduce in them.
Reply:They had this on an episode of ask this old house the other day. You can go to ask this old house.com and look for past archives. "Harvesting the water with rain barrels" It also has links to other web sites that sell rain harvesting equipment. These system can be as simple as water running into a barrel or get as complex as piping it into a underground storage tank and pumping it back out.





The one they showed was an old whiskey barrel elevated slightly on some concrete blocks for gravity purposes. Take and install a check valve on your downspout of the gutter these were specially manufactured to fit downspouts. This allows your barrel to fill up until it gets full then the water will simply run out the downspout. Install drain at bottom of barrel and hook up a soaker hose. Snake soaker through beds and cover with mulch. Simple setup and easily installed also the whiskey barrels can add character to house.
Reply:Smart idea! your neighbors won't like it no matter what you do, though. Get a whiskey barrel, holds about 50 gallons. You can buy a small electric pump that fits a garden hose to remove the water from the barrel.
Reply:You can get the old wooden barrels or you can also get plastic ones from food processers. If you drill a hole near the bottom and your barrel is a bit higher than your raised bed. You can put a hose in the side near the bottom, then just carry it to your garden site and water away.
Reply:Have you thought of piping to flow into the gardens. Maybe a barrel with something to decorate it or cover it.
Reply:I have two rain barrels and I plan to add more. They are excellent, and I think you'll be pleased.


You can easily make a rain barrel from any container, the classic whiskey barrel is my favorite (the water will smell like whiskey for awhile, but it won't hurt your plants). I bought a drain cover from the local home improvement store, the kind you would put over a floor drain or sump hole. Then I cut a hole in the top of the barrel the same size, and inserted the cover. This keeps mosquitos from breeding in the barrel. then I drilled a one-inch hole near the top for the overflow, and a hole a few inches from the bottom to fit an ordinary garden spigot. This will have threads on it, and will screw right into the wood of the barrel. I raised my barrels on concrete blocks to make it easier to attach a hose and to add to the water pressure, and put it under the downspout which I cut to just above the barrel. The water flows into the barrel, I attach a hose to the spigot at the bottom, and water away. The weight of the water will create pressure so you don't need any pump unless you are going uphill. The higher your barrel, the more pressure.


You'd be surprised how much rain water you can collect, and it is much better than tap water for your plants. Tap water contains chemicals such as chlorine and flouride. Rain water may have a little bird poo from the roof, but it is better, and free.


If you live in an area that freezes in winter, just redirect the downspout and drain the barrel before it freezes. If you don't like the look of the whiskey barrel, you can use any type of barrel and paint it to match your house.
Reply:It might be expensive but a big old whiskey barrel is not only attractive but efficient at catching water. Do you have a walmart nearby they sell these types of things. Once you catch the rain water you can use a bucket any kind of bucket to carry the water to the plants.
Reply:Look in any old issue of "The Mother Earth News". There is a supplier of large plastic barrels with a diverter for your drain and a valve to let water out through a hose to your garden. If you use a drip system in your beds then you can run it directly to it. You also have to consider overflow during heavy rains so plan on where that water will go and put the barrel on a layer of gravel to avoid erosion.
Reply:i think you can find a great help in:





www.gadwood.com\index1.html
Reply:My daughter bought a barrel and put it under the drain pipe. She has a spigot on the bottom to attach a hose.You can buy a little pump if your garden is above the barrel. Of course all this isn't practical, but the thought is honorable, and it won't hurt you. I do stuff like that too, call me romantis or stupid.
Reply:i commend you for trying to conserve water and using rain water... i also tried doing this because i live in an apartment and carrying milk jug after milk jug of water outside was getting to be a pain in the butt.... i got a water treated barrel from walmart... and it worked real well.. the thing i have to warn you about is the mosquitoes.... they breed in standing water and carry west Nile virus.... i didn't use all of the water one night and i went out the next morning and there were mosquito babies ( zillions of them) in my water.... so i don't know how you would treat that and still collect the water... as i have a small daughter who is going to play outside.. i couldn't afford to breed all of those bugs and just kept using the milk jugs.....good luck to you though!
Reply:You can use a metal or plastic 55gal barrel and install a spigot on the bottom 6" of the barrel. then connect a hose to it and gravity will take care of the rest.


If there is room you can always re-route the downspout to go around the corner of the house.


Or you can dig it into the ground and buy a inexpensive sump pump and connect a hose to it.


There systems are very common and there are many products that are made for this purpose.


http://www.gutterworks.com/rain_barrels....


http://www.cleanairgardening.com/rainbar...


http://www.ottawa.ca/city_services/water...
Reply:rain isnt very clean water when it comes down (since it a garden), i would suggest to use tap water
Reply:You could build a wood fence to hide the barrel. You can siphon the water with a garden hose if the garden is lower than the barrel. Just lay out the hose, put the end in the barrel. Sometimes it will just start running because its lower if not you will have to suck on the hose for a minute and it will start to run. The best garden I ever grew was topped with tar paper. I cut holes for my plants. they were warmer and moister. And I hardy had any weeds. Everything grew way faster and bigger. I had two ears of corn on every stalk. It was a shorter variety. Worth a try. I swear. just make sure if you do have a dry spell you put water into each hole, but you probably won't need to.