I now have four rain barrels to assist me with summer watering.

I was fortunate to get the 55 gallon plastic drums free. Their previous contents were not harmful. A quick rinse and they were ready for use.

The barrels are being used on a roof without gutters. I used a jigsaw to cut the tops out of the barrels. Hardware cloth was used to make a cover for the barrels. This helps to keep debris out of the barrels. The barrels were then lined under the edge of the roof to catch the runoff.

I plan on just dipping the water out of the barrels and use it for spot watering. I’ll still have to use the water hose. It just won’t be as often.

It wouldn’t take much to drop in a small submersible pump to empty the barrel. This could pump to the water to the garden or used to fill a bucket.

I could have made them with a drain valve at the bottom. But I was trying to keep costs minimal.

Adding a valve is usually easy. Most barrels have two openings on top. these are generally two inch pipe thread. Using reducer fittings will allow you to add a drain valve. The barrel would then be turned upside down and supported off the ground on blocks to allow space for the valve.

The second opening could be used to connect a second barrel and so on. This system would allow multiple barrels to drain from one valve.

This approach would work very well for connecting to a downspout. All that is needed is one hole cut in a barrel to allow the downspout to be redirected to the barrel.

Quick tip: I try to save as much water as possible. Whether it’s saving the water you rinse vegetables with or the water left from the ice that melted in the cooler. It all can be dumped into a rain barrel and be used on your plants.

I’ll see you in the backyard!