Rain Harvesting

This is the time of year that I especially enjoy the fact that we added rain harvesting to our home in 2008. We have 3 rain barrels that we ordered locally, that were made in Arizona out of heavy duty plastic. They each hold 130 gallons.

We made the decision to go ahead with this (which we had been researching) when the time came for a new roof. This made it easier and better since we also expanded our rain gutter and downspout system and that company was able to customize the downspouts to slide the water right into the barrels. Not an easy feat as you can see from the photo.

One thing we would have done differently, put them up higher on bricks or cinder blocks. Once again my instincts were right but I didn't listen to them. As I expected, it is impossible to get the last of the water out even though the barrels have a hose compatible spout both top and bottom. The top one is for overflow. You could hose over to another rain barrel, and hopefully we will on the south side someday since it gets a lot more runoff than the other two.

A warning: rain harvesting is addictive! I find that I can't bear the idea of a coming rain knowing the barrels are already full (they can fill up in a gentle 4 hour rain). So, we carry in buckets each day for flushing toilets. I figure it's like our ancestors who didn't have to pay to join health clubs to get to lift weights.

During the non-rainy months of the year - around here that likely is from May through October or November - I use the harvested rain to extend the bloom of annuals, and water as needed any plants under 2 years old (but only if they really need it). I also use the extra water for the dog, non-native succulents, and houseplants. OK, some of my older California natives like Ribes viburnifolium (Catalina Perfume), and the Juncus patens (common rush that wasn't the Elk Blue variety) were errors on my part. At least I think so because they look really sad without extra summer water. But my Arctostaphylos species (manzanitas), Ceonothus species (California liluc), Rhus ovata (sugar bush), Eriogonum species (buckwheat), Dudleya species, Zauschneria californica (California fushia) and the Abutilon palmeri and Sphaeralcea ambigua (mallows) don't need anything more than winter rainwater to thrive in San Luis.