Catch some rain!

The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 2, 2007

Dear friends,

We haven’t had rain for months here, and we desperately need some. Not only for our garden and landscaping, but also because we drink rainwater! Yep, that’s right….we collect rainwater and use it for ALL our water needs…we cook with it, bathe with it, wash our clothes in it, AND drink it. It’s filtered out the wazoo and treated with UV light, so it’s safer than the local city water or well water out here.

Rainwater is great for plants because it’s pH neutral…not too acidic, not too alkaline. To catch rainwater, you don’t have to have two humongous fiberglass tanks like we do, holding 17,000 gallons. You can buy yourself a cool galvanized bucket (I love that galvanized stuff!) and plop it outdoors next time it rains. Store it covered so that insects don’t get in and use it for a breeding ground. Next time you need to water a houseplant, dip into it and give that green baby a drink! Use it to water seedlings; they’ll appreciate the clean water. There are also larger systems that you can buy from online garden suppliers to collect rain from the gutters of your house, etc. if you want to tackle it on a larger scale.

Start small, see how well your plants do when they get to drink rainwater. (And ya know, it’s GREAT for human hair, too!)

dig it!

bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by bobbi a. chukran.