Raining buckets!
April 26, 2012 at 6:45 PM
It seems incredible when you look out of the window at the incessant rain, that a large part of the UK is technically still in drought and there’s a hosepipe ban widely in force.
No doubt, should we be lucky to have a summer this year, this ban will be prevalent through a large portion of it. But a good way to avoid these water restrictions, and ensure your plants don’t dry up, is to collect the rain water when its in abundance – like now!
A simple yet effective way to do this is to capture your own water by creating a rainwater collection system. In order to set one up, you’ll need the following things:
- Several plastic or metal buckets – you’ll need to have as many buckets as there are gutter downspouts. They ought to be small enough to fit beneath each downspout, but big enough to collect plenty of water.
- Some metal screen sheets to place over the bucket tops, preventing other stuff falling in.
- Some wire cutters to cut the screen sheets.
- A few large plastic containers or barrels for storing the water. These will need lids.
How to set up the collection system:
1. Position a bucket beneath each gutter pipe. For instance, you could place one at each corner of the house where the water drains down from the roof.
2. Ensure the buckets are stable and can’t toppled over. One foolprrof way to ensure this is to wedge rocks around the outside base or even dig a shallow hole for the bucket to sit in, if feasible.
3. Cut and secure the screen sheets and place over the top of each bucket, to catch leaves etc.
4. Once you’ve had a downpur and the buckets are full of water, transfer the rain water from each bucket into your plastic storage container(s) and ensure you cover with a lid. It’s vital to keep the water covered as stagnant water will attract gnats and mosquitoes, particularly in summer.
5. If possible, if we actually have a dry period (!), keep the buckets and their screens in a dry place to discourage mould etc
And that’s it. When you need to water your plants, you’ll have a ready supply of crime-free water!
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