Happy Earth Day everyone! (And Happy Birthday to Sherry’s little brother, who’s also known as Almost-Doctor-Dan <– warning, very cute baby Clara pics here). In honor of this eco-tastic holiday, we thought we’d share a story about driving down the street and noticing this sign:
We’d been meaning to get a new rain barrel since we left the old one that we made at our first house when we sold it. Of course we would have been happy to make another one, but we had yet to get to that part of our to-do list (and sign up for a local course to get our mitts on a large food safe barrel). So we took that sign as, well, a sign and pulled over to window shop. Not that the place had windows…
We learned that we had happened upon Carolina Mike’s Produce Stand, but he’s still a week or so away from having produce. And although it looks very out-in-the-boonies, it’s actually on a busy suburban street across from a Target (Richmonders, it’s on the corner of Forest Hill Avenue and Cherokee Road in the Stratford Hills area).
Mike was super friendly and told us the tall black barrels (formerly used to transport jalapenos) were $60 and the shorter blue ones (which used to contain soy sauce) were $40 – even though both were 55 gallons. Coincidentally, $40 was exactly what we spent to make our last rain barrel (through a local class) so we took the easy route and tossed one of the $40 ready-made barrels into the backseat. That is, after I took a trip home to drop off Clara and Sherry to make room for my new blue best friend.
The barrel actually sat unused in our carport for a week-ish while we debated where to put it. But we finally decided that he’d be most helpful near the small fenced garden area behind our carport / next to our sunroom. And yes, I realize this would make more sense had I already written an outdoor tour post for you guys (I promise that’s around the corner – the pics are taken and uploaded, just not yet edited).
This area currently acts primarily as Burger’s restroom, but we’re soon hoping to de-liriope most of it (aka: dig up that floppy grass) and trade that thin brick pathway for a nice big stone patio on this side of the house (since it’s accessible from a sliding door in the living room). But we still plan to leave plenty of plant beds that will need watering around the perimeter of our DIY patio, so that downspout next to the brick half-wall (which is actually the back of the carport) was calling our rain barrel’s name.
First I made sure we could fit a watering can under the faucet (aka “hose bib”) which meant I wouldn’t need to raise the barrel on blocks or anything. Though if I had made the barrel from scratch, I probably would’ve put the hose bib in a bit lower so I could use all of the water in the barrel – not just what collects above faucet level. The good news is that our last barrel has a spigot in around the same spot and we didn’t have any issues with smell or algae from the water that collected below the spigot after years of use (we can always tip the barrel forward to fully drain it).
Anyway, once I leveled the ground where the barrel would sit and figured out where my downspout would need to end, I got out a small hacksaw and began cutting away.
You can see a more thorough breakdown of this process on our original “How To Build A Rain Barrel” post. But basically I squeezed the curved spout back in place after putting down the hacksaw, slid the barrel underneath it, and called it a day. Voila! Infinite rain collecting potential:
We’re still waiting for an actual rainstorm to put Ol’ Blue to good use, but it does feel good to be back in the rain barrel club again. Even if our new barrel is so bright that it doesn’t exactly blend quietly into the landscape.
Once we begin to more formally tackle this area we might take a paintbrush to it (brick red perhaps?) to help camouflage it a bit better (like we did to our utility boxes and propane tank here). Heck, maybe we’ll even plant a few things around it to further obscure it. ‘Til then, we’ll just consider it our not-so-subtle way of celebrating Earth Day.
Is anyone else in the rain barrel club after a lapse in membership like us? Or do you have big patio plans on the agenda? Every day Sherry taps me on the shoulder and says “Wanna go dig up some liriope? Come on you know you want to.” Sheesh. It’s like the adult version of “are we there yet?” Can’t a husband bask in the I-built-you-a-12-foot-console-table-glory for a little longer? No? Ok, I guess I have some shoveling to do…
Good idea. But will the water not start to smell from just sitting there until there’s enough water to be used??
The good news is that our last barrel has a spigot in around the same spot and we didn’t have any issues with smell or algae from the water that collected below the spigot after years of use (we can always tip the barrel forward to fully drain it).
xo,
s
Thanks for this post. I am always trying to convince my husband to let me put a few rain barrels around our house. We live in Connecticut and get lots of rain, but come July and August, things can really change!
We are buying our rain barrel on the 14th of May at a One Day Only Truckload Sale(that is what the post card says). It is sponsored by our county. Yeah, for rain barrels. Right now I just wish it would stop raining in Cincinnati! Happy Earth Day…..susan
Me too! Yeah to Hamilton County! (Wow, I can’t believe I said that.) I got my first compost bin this way too.
Very cool! I just learned how to make worms eat my garbage (vermicomposting) at my city library! http://lisasroombyroom.blogspot.com/2011/04/vermicomposting-for-earth-day.html
Very cool! I can’t wait to get a house one day so we can have a rain barrel and compost bin.
Do you think you’ll try to add a second faucet that’s lower or just keep the one?
We’ll just keep this as-is for now I think, but it’s nice to know that we can modify it if it really bugs us.
xo,
s
Thank you for posting this! My husband will not stop talking about getting a rain barrel. This might motivate him more! :)
That guy sells everything. Great Veggies in the spring and Summer and tons of NFL gear in the fall. I like the entreprenuerial spirit! :) It’s right up the street from my parents house. That is so cool about the rain barrel though. Go earth day!!!
Horray for birthdays! it’s mine too! horray for earth day too! GO EARTH! (wow super cheerleader in the back corner!)
HAPPY FRIDAY!
I used the spray paint for plastic on my bright blue rain barrel. One can worked like a charm. Now it blends in nicely with the house.
PS–I’ve totally seen that rain barrel guy and wondered what he was charging.
Laine – – how well has the spraypaint held up? We have a place in Seattle that sells the same barrels but they aren’t attractive & it would be on the side of our yard you see from the street so I know I would be annoyed by the blue beast.
I have been wanting to make a rain barrel forever! Sometime soon. Sometime soon indeed.
As someone who just spent over 200 bucks on varigated liriope, may I suggest you Craig’s list it? Seriously, go price it at Lowe’s. A decent shovel full is $5.98.
I like the sound of that!
xo,
s
i second this suggestion!
I was just going to say the same! Email me directly! I’m in the Fan and we might need more liriope for the backyard!
me too! it transplants really really well, so you could move it around your property if there’s some other areas that could use some liriope (i like it as a border/edging…but i can see that a whole dense patch of it would be way too much).
We got lucky and last year our city sold rain systerns and compost bins for about half of the retail cost. I wish we would have bought 2 of both. Do you have any worries that the lower part of the barrel that is below the spout will get gross without being emptied?
The good news is that our last barrel has a spigot in around the same spot and we didn’t have any issues with smell or algae from the water that collected below the spigot after years of use (we can always tip the barrel forward to fully drain it). Whew.
xo,
s
it might be nice to have the barrel’s bib a little higher; that way the sediment can settle in the bottom instead of flowing into your watering can.
Oh that’s a good point! Never thought about that!
xo,
s
I’ve never heard of these being made out of large food barrels before, I love that! I spoke to some water industry people once and they said from an environmental point of view the embedded carbon in a normal water butt can limit how “green” they are (in some areas, it depends how water stressed your water company is), but having a reused one is totally amazing from that point of view!
Also, you might be able to save some money on your water bills – in England some water companies charge for drainage on a per surface area basis and if you can prove you collect all your surface water run off you save money (although as you have a soakaway you’re probably not charged for this… but might help some british readers!)
You guys find the coolest sales! We need a rainbucket… and I know you have your how-to… but I’m not sure I could make one… I need to hunt one down… and at $40… oh that’d be sooo perfect!
one day…when I own a house (which could be soon, actually!!!!)…I will get a rain barrel…and I will try my hand [thumb] at a garden.
I can’t wait to see the outside tour of your new grounds.
So, does all the future warmer weather mean some outside projects to come???
Yes! We’re hoping to finish the stone patio before Clara’s big b-day bash (which is just a few weeks away). Ahhhhh!
xo,
s
I am in the market for a few and I would have loved to stumble upon that sale. My husband wants to make them, but there are sososososo many other projects that need attention. Perhaps I just need to buy one before the rain turns to desert heat.
Rain barrel! Great idea!
Well I feel like I was born yesterday because I have never heard of this, but I am loving it! In the Texas Hill Country we have tanks on our ranches to collect water and feed the animals…I guess that is the same concept. So what exactly do y’all use the collected water for? Watering plants? Gardening?
Yup, we water our garden and plants with it and have even washed the car with it.
xo,
s
Ooh, it’s so… blue! And that picture of John in the car is cracking. me. up.
We just got a compost bin and I need to get it all set up. Bring it on, Earth Day!
Any problems with watering a veggie garden from a rain barrel? I’ve wondered about that.
We learned in our class that if you have your roof cleaned for algae you shouldn’t water veggies with rain barrel water (since runoff from the bleach treatment can get into the barrel) but we never do anything like that so our water was just the same as rain falling on our veggie garden (which happened a lot too, haha).
xo,
s
I agree with this concern. Even if you aren’t cleaning/bleaching your roof, if your roof is made from asphalt shingles, you are getting run-off in the collected rain water that is not approved for FDA use because it contains nasty chemicals and crude oil (petroleum). I would stick to using rain barrel water on your flower garden or lawn, not on anything you plan to eat!
Thanks so much for the warning! It’s definitely smarter to be safe than sorry!
xo,
s
You guys could always get a second rain barrel to use with a rain saucer/chain if you had a big veggie garden. That way you avoid the problem of run-off from the shingles, but are still being friendly to our earth. :)
So. I have heard of rain barrels… but never actually seen one. Thanks for the education! :)
In the spirit of Earth Day, I have to mention the (small) wind turbines that we are going to have installed on our roof. They won’t be huge, but they will generate free energy!! (Note: we will still have gas & power lines coming into the house.) Cool, huh?
Here is a link where you can read more about it.
http://www.crizerwindenergy.com/index.html
That’s amazing! Happy earth day to you!
xo,
s
We’ve done a little planning for our backyard/porch. I think we may need a rainbarrel, too.
Seriously, I need your opinions…both of you. What are your thoughts on the plant liriope that you have all over your yard? We are planning a front flower bed with them as the main ground cover and plan to go (tomorrow) and buy 24 of them. what are the pros and cons of them? How tall are yours and why are you digging yours up?
Wish I lived closer….I would love to pay you the 200.00 plus dollars I will spend for the 24 plants…in exchange for some plants out of your yard.
PLEASE talk to me about this. What are your thoughts on having this plant in your yard?
Oh, and Happy Earth Day right back at ya!!! Nice posts again this week…have a wonderful, earthy, family weekend.
B.
It’s pretty and very easy care. We had a lot in our last house and have a lot in this house that we’ll be keeping (lining each side of our driveway for example). We just want more livable outdoor space, so adding a big patio with hard-scaping and a place to sit outside is on the agenda for us when it comes to that side yard.
xo,
s
I planted liriope last spring in my shade garden and so far it’s been a very easy plant to care for. I have my rain barrels set up with a drip hose and have them spread throughout the garden and that’s all the care they need for my Missouri weather. I got them at root size last spring and this year they are already about 4 inches tall. My garden is coming in late this year due to the long winter but I really loved them last year though I due wish they had a bit more spread. Hopefully in years to come they will be fuller. In the mean time, we’ve paired them with hostas for a fuller design. Our batch came from White Flower Farm online and I have nothing but great things to say about them.
I was wondering if you were going to do this project at the new house. Happy Easter guys!
This post is exciting. My husband and I scored 2 empty barrels off of craigslist and will soon be setting them up. My husband just built a solar panel which he hopes to have it power a small pump so we can hook a hose up to the rain barrel that we can use to water our newly created organic veggie garden :)
Wow- that sounds like an awesome set up!
xo,
s
We’ve been meaning to install one of these. Maybe this weekend. I would love to be able to save some water and some money reuasing what mother nature is already providing us.
I am a enviromental eng. and I am proud of you:)
We have had a rain barrel since right after we moved into our house last May, and I love it! The hubs made it for like $5, cuz the barrel was free from his work, so we just needed the pieces to make the spigot. Ours is about as low on the barrel as you can get, which I love. and right by our apple and pear trees, and the veggie garden, so it really cuts down on water usage from the ol’ house when watering things. We have 4 downspouts (one on each corner of the house, seems a little overkill to me) and I think we are going to put one of the opposite corner of the house as well, to help be able to water the trees and flowers out front
I might even come dig some for free…=) Thats the way to get it done. Offer it on freecycle…or to me by email…and I will come dig what I need and then you don’t have to do it!
Ha I was just outside working in the garden thinking how great it would be for you guys to do a garden post. I’m almost at the bottom of our rain barrel – which is so not typical for here (rainy Belgium) so here’s hoping for some rain to fill up those barrels!
John I love the picture of you and your new blue best friend. :)
Guys, I had my first ever YHL related dream last night….WTF? Somehow though Burger never did make an appearance….and all Sherry did the whole time was respond to comments.
Haha, that’s pretty accurate! Burger sleeps in and I’m glued to the chair answering comments. Haha.
xo,
s
That is awesome! In the country side of the Dominican Republic (where I am from), we did that for most of our water supply! We would put a cloth mesh on top and tie it with a rope and that would be the screen to hold any leaves or anything that came in the water. We used it to clean the house, water the plants and sometimes cook (if you boil it first). We also have these things we call “tinacos” where it’s a big ball on top of your roof that holds the rainfall and a filter, with a direct line to your shower so you can shower with that water!
Love the way your new barrel matches John’s eyes!
I have access to food-grade plastic barrels ($15 each) and your excellent how-to instructions (thanks!) but before I can do anything barrel-wise, I have to install gutters and downspouts on my house. :-{ How lame is that?
Totally second the Craigslist-Your-Liriope suggestion. You might even get the “buyers” to dig ’em for you.
That’s officially the new plan! We posted a you-dig-them-and-they’re-yours ad in our last house for bushes in the back and strangers did all the work for us!
xo,
s
There is someone on craiglist looking for liriope in your area! http://richmond.craigslist.org/grd/2338348106.html
Thanks! We’re definitely all about you-dig-and-it’s-yours craigslist exchanges so we’ll check it out!
xo,
s
What a great idea! Happy Earth Day!!
ps…your garden area is GORGEOUS!
I am so jumping on the rain barrel bandwagon now! Thanks for the tips!!
A rain barrel is that dream item of mine that I cannot *wait* to get. We plan on having a few of them and will likely install a couple of them as one of the last thing we do, along with solar hot water. Even though we have well water, so what soaks into the ground goes back into the well (more or less) it would still be great to use the water for our fruit plants, some flowers and if the ph is right, for making my soap I sell.
http://www.maeoe.org/habitat/projects/rainbarrels_edibles.php
Please read the article at this website. I love rain barrels but only for NON edible plants. My new shingles were treated with algae kiling chemicals….
Something to think about…
xoxox
Mary
That’s so funny we just chatted about that a few comments back! Definitely something to think about! We never treat our roof though, so the rain in the barrel is the same rain that falls from the sky right onto my veggie garden. Whew.
xo,
s
happy earth day!
i was wondering what happens when it rains really hard and the water from the gutter is coming down very rapidly–does the water spill over the rim or does it all end up going down in the barrel?
It all goes into the barrel assuming there’s room (we did once completely fill a barrel at our old house so we just opened the spigot and emptied it a bit into the garden). The top of the barrel is sloped to guide water in so there isn’t a bunch of standing water (they even drill tiny holes in the lip to keep it from collecting there).
xo,
s
We had one for a few years but this winter accidently forgot to drain it… It froze, expanded, and cracked.
In the market for a new one, if we encounter a cheap barrel… Last time we got ours at ReStore
Couple questions:
1. My husband and I are signed up for the Chesterfield workshop you guys took (it’s next weekend, April 30 – funny that you bought yours around the same time!). Is the workshop still worth it, or would you just buy it for the convenience?
2. About how big around is the rain barrel? We have our spot picked out, but we are worried it won’t be big enough. It would be awful to get one and then not be able to use it!
Our barrel is about 2 feet wide. Maybe a smidge wider. Our last one was taller and skinnier (from the class, those all were black and skinnier when we went). It was totally fun and we would do it for the experience if we hadn’t already. But since we had done it and found one for the same price it was easier just to get it. But I think you’ll love the tall skinny barrel in black (and the fact that you DIYed it).
xo,
s
Definitely have rain barrels on the list.
I totally just realized (thanks to your post reminding me about earth day) that the timing for our major tree removal is kinda funny. I guess we’re doing earth day backwards this year. Instead of planting trees, today a crew is finishing up the removal of 22 trees from our property. I don’t feel bad though, I’m too busy enjoying all the light streaming in through my windows. Besides, there’s still at least that many left that we plan on leaving up. =)
My husband is actually out right now buying two tons of sand for our patio base! We’ve got the pavers ready and I can’t wait to get started. We tore up a little brick path like yours to make room for the new outdoor living space.
Wahooo! I’m so jealous. Good luck!
xo,
s
The blue blends so nicely with your yard!! One question though…aren’t you afraid the water in the bottom of the barrel will get gross?!?! Joking I read all the other comments!! I just bought a house…we haven’t closed yet, but I imagine eventually…I will have one of these!!
Ohhh, that´s such a neat idea! How do you figure out if they´re food-safe, though? Only checking what is it they used to contain?
Figuring out what they once contained is probably the fastest route to knowing if it’s food grade plastic, but here’s an article on eHow that’s a bit more in-depth: http://www.ehow.com/way_5819448_do-tell-food-grade-plastic_.html
-John
My husband and I have been talking about rain barrels and “greywater” a lot lately, but I’m not sure we can set one up since our house doesn’t have gutters. Isn’t that sort of an essential piece of the rain barrel puzzle?
Yours sounds great though – and you got a great deal! I think painting it in the future is a good idea – you could even do a subtle design and make it look more intentional.
Hmmm, that’s a good question Alice. I’m not sure how you’d collect rain water without gutters or a concentrated spot where water runs off your roof. Anyone else have experience with this?
-John
This is something you could check out: http://www.rainsaucers.com/
It’s a way to collect rain water without gutters. It’s a pretty nifty idea! Good luck!
Cool!
xo,
s
And check out Rain Chains too…maybe google around for rain chains to rain barrel, something like that. They are really beautiful, I’ve seen them in Texas Hill Country.
I got a rainbarrel through a Clean Virginia Waterways seminar for $15. We set it up on bricks and attached a hose to the overflow valve and goes down around to the ground drain. It works well. 4 inches of rain from your roof fills the barrel. We use it to water the garden in our backyard. I saw a few at one of the local elementary schools that were painted with acyrlic paint in a variety of designs. Very cool.
If you are in Virginia, there are several rain barrel workshops coming up at Hungry Mother and Natural Tunnel State Parks. For details visit: http://www.virginiaoutdoors.com/article/more/2550
john and sherry, would you mind telling me where you picked this guy up?! i’m in circhmond, and i’ve been wanting to buy/make a rain barrel but have had trouble justifying the price to buy one, and finding a barrel to make one. would love to check this place out :)
thank you!!
elizabeth
We’ve got location info for ya in the 3rd paragraph (right under the pic of his produce stand / trailer). Should be easy to find and he said he’ll be out most days!
-John
oh man, i always miss the things that are right in front of my face. thank you!!
No worries at all! I do the same thing.
xo,
s
Good to know – rain water collection is (sadly) illegal in some states, so I’d be sure to check it out. (Most of the illegal states are west of the Mississippi River). Colorado is one such state… :-(
That’s crazy! And ok, I fully admit I didn’t believe you and Googled to look for myself – apologies for my lack of faith. ;)
But apparently it’s illegal in Utah, Colorado, and Washington (or at least it was a couple years ago – I had trouble finding current info). Consider me baffled.
I agree, that’s crazy! Why in the world would it be illegal?
This is a reply to the comment below yours: It’s not illegal in Washington state. The state actually has recycling events where they sell rain barrels at a drastic discount, usually $25 to $50, which is awesome cuz they usually run around $100+ to buy a new on. I just bought one from a city recycling event last weekend :)
Katie – Good to know my quick googling was wrong on at least one state! I didn’t mean to spread mis-information! :)
I’m a Coloradan, but have limited knowledge of this issue. Apparently, rain barrels are illegal due to how water rights are decided in this state.
My hubs made our rain barrel from a pepsi container & we used the ‘paint it to make it match our house’ technique which was especially important because the barrel is visible from the front of our house. We actually attach a hose to our barrel- it doesn’t have great water pressure, but the water runs out and that way we don’t have haul it in a watering can or bucket (we use it to water bushes and landscaping in the front of our house)