Garden 2023

[The AD]

I've spent a lot of time and money on flowers this year, so I better have one hell of a display this summer. I've probably filled 20 containers plus quite a few in ground. I don't think I'm going to do much for vegetables this year. So far just planted some onions and zucchini.

Here's a couple of the containers.

[Cisco Kid]

Nice color. We have a dozen or so potted plants in the garden. My job is to drill holes in the bottom of the ceramics, move the heavy ones a couple times and help water during the dry season. Wife had 4 yds of free mulch delivered yesterday. Pretty sly of her to have it dropped where it seals the boat in the yard.

[The AD]

My other project this summer is hooking up three barrels for collecting rainwater from the gutters. Should have had them installed by now, but we're also painting the house and figured they would not be easy to move once full of water. Of course by the time we finally get them going there will be no rain, although usually we still get some before summer begins in earnest.

[AK47bp]

Peonies popped

[californiagrown]

My other project this summer is hooking up three barrels for collecting rainwater from the gutters. Should have had them installed by now, but we're also painting the house and figured they would not be easy to move once full of water. Of course by the time we finally get them going there will be no rain, although usually we still get some before summer begins in earnest.

My neighbors do this and have a great garden and landscaping, and i mean no disrespect by asking this, but why?

how much watering does 165 gallons of water get you? Im pretty sure that it would last me like 3ish weeks of watering in the summer. And where we live (PNW), they dont get refilled during the summer. Its the same reason why rainwater harvesting cistern systems arent pushed very hard on commercial projects in this area (because to make them work well you need consistent rain all year long like the midwest and EC), otherwise you end up just filling them with domestic water during the dry months when you actually could use the water for irrigation. Not to mention, water is abundant here so its not like CA where water rationing is a real thing.

Do you really find benefit from harvesting roof runoff in barells? Is there something im not seeing here?

[Cisco Kid]

OTOH, why not? Our rain barrel is there to capture the runoff from the garage downspout and drain it across the driveway.

Moar flower containers.

[californiagrown]

OTOH, why not?

Moar flower containers.

That is the very fair point i was thinking haha. Im a hobby gardener, why the fuck am i so concerned about efficiency when i am doing this as a hobby. I do plenty of shit in my garden that frankly doesnt make a ton of sense on such a small scale, but i like the look and think its cool.


Nice flowers. I like a hanging basket with american flag. Im a big flag guy.

[The AD]

Do you really find benefit from harvesting roof runoff in barells? Is there something im not seeing here?

All the rain collected in the barrels is water I'm not paying for. Pretty much as simple as that. Of course it would be better if we got rain consistently during the summer, but at least I can harvest rain pretty much any time in the growing season other than July and August, and even those months we get occasional rain.

[MiddleOfNight]

My neighbors do this and have a great garden and landscaping, and i mean no disrespect by asking this, but why?

how much watering does 165 gallons of water get you? Im pretty sure that it would last me like 3ish weeks of watering in the summer. And where we live (PNW), they dont get refilled during the summer. Its the same reason why rainwater harvesting cistern systems arent pushed very hard on commercial projects in this area (because to make them work well you need consistent rain all year long like the midwest and EC), otherwise you end up just filling them with domestic water during the dry months when you actually could use the water for irrigation. Not to mention, water is abundant here so its not like CA where water rationing is a real thing.

Do you really find benefit from harvesting roof runoff in barells? Is there something im not seeing here?

I'm on a well, and there are times when the supply line needs work. rare, but if that happens in july for a week, all my crops die.

so, i cistern about 1400gal from runoff. if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoin'
i geeked out on it. the first flush gets filtered off, every drop after that has a collection/storage point. system is gravity-fed, totally passive, and works surprisingly well. happy to share what i did, if anyone gives a darn.

i've heard rainwater has more nitrogen than domestic water - especially compared to city water, so maybe your neighbors plants benefit from that. my crops are always happy when they get rainwater instead of well water for a couple days.
also, my house has a water softener - so the irrigation point (pre softener) is a long way from flowers and trees and things on the property, so it's nice to have non-softened water nearby to keep them happy.
turn system 'on' in may for the spring snows, drain it after harvest and reconnect standard drainage. you might be amazed how much water comes off a roof.
cut hay when the sun shines, save water when the rain falls.

but that's me.

[Cisco Kid]

Some more potted plants. Mrs paints and plants seasonal pots for the local country store to make the country store look more country storeish.

[thedude2340]

I'm on a well, and there are times when the supply line needs work. rare, but if that happens in july for a week, all my crops die.

so, i cistern about 1400gal from runoff. if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoin'
i geeked out on it. the first flush gets filtered off, every drop after that has a collection/storage point. system is gravity-fed, totally passive, and works surprisingly well. happy to share what i did, if anyone gives a darn.

i've heard rainwater has more nitrogen than domestic water - especially compared to city water, so maybe your neighbors plants benefit from that. my crops are always happy when they get rainwater instead of well water for a couple days.
also, my house has a water softener - so the irrigation point (pre softener) is a long way from flowers and trees and things on the property, so it's nice to have non-softened water nearby to keep them happy.
turn system 'on' in may for the spring snows, drain it after harvest and reconnect standard drainage. you might be amazed how much water comes off a roof.
cut hay when the sun shines, save water when the rain falls.

but that's me.

This^

Would love to see what you’ve done.

[MiddleOfNight]

This^

Would love to see what you’ve done.

got some IBC totes. i found ones that were used for organic food stuffs to be sure there wasn't something toxic contaminating them, i think they come in 275gal and 300gal. pull the 'bladders' out from the frames and wrap with black poly film (if sunlight gets in, living stuff can grow inside the totes). reinstall the bladders. i did sets of 2 totes just to maximize storage.



i installed and leveled them next to each other. connected them across the bottom with a homemade pvc rig so they can equalize, and so there's only one connection point for the outlet. you see a clear hose coming up from the connection, so i can see how full the totes are, and it serves as overflow if you leave the system charged (valves open on the bottom). careful you don't make a siphon there.



on the top right you see the square inlet. water comes off the drain and through that square inlet - which has a screen/filter for twigs and pine needles rocks and such. water goes down the vertical pvc 'flush tube' first, which has a ball float inside, so the first flush of water goes down that tube carrying away whatever schmutz from the roof like bird crap or oils from the shingles or whatever that you might not want on your crops. when that float reaches the top, the ball seals off the vertical tube and water diverts across to the IBC totes. it's whatever, 5 gallons of flush or something.
the bottom of the flush tube has a super slow drain (bottom right), so when it stops raining the float slowly goes back to the bottom and the system is ready for the next storm.
all the crops are well below the house, so when i'm ready i just hook the outlet to the irrigation and gravity does the rest. built a couple of these systems around the house, and engineered my gutter systems to consolidate draining to a few main drains. this one is under a porch against the foundation - can't even see that it's there unless you go bushwhacking.

For the minor gutter points, I drain directly into open top wine barrels with no filter or anything, then use that water for trees and flowers and stuff I don't eat.

warned you. it's overkill.

[Thaleia]

Brilliant, right down to the clear level indicator tube. Love it!

[climberevan]

Nice rainwater catchment!

I divert the grey water from my house to a barrel on the roof, which then drains slowly via a 1/2" irrigation line to wherever I put it. I move it around every so often so various trees get a bit more water than they would otherwise during our typical 5 months of zero rain.

Our greens and peas are rolling, and other stuff is in the ground. I'm feeling especially optimistic about the garden this year! Only potatoes are really behind as we couldn't find seeds and didn't get on it until today.

[thedude2340]

got some IBC totes. i found ones that were used for organic food stuffs to be sure there wasn't something toxic contaminating them, i think they come in 275gal and 300gal. pull the 'bladders' out from the frames and wrap with black poly film (if sunlight gets in, living stuff can grow inside the totes). reinstall the bladders. i did sets of 2 totes just to maximize storage.



i installed and leveled them next to each other. connected them across the bottom with a homemade pvc rig so they can equalize, and so there's only one connection point for the outlet. you see a clear hose coming up from the connection, so i can see how full the totes are, and it serves as overflow if you leave the system charged (valves open on the bottom). careful you don't make a siphon there.



on the top right you see the square inlet. water comes off the drain and through that square inlet - which has a screen/filter for twigs and pine needles rocks and such. water goes down the vertical pvc 'flush tube' first, which has a ball float inside, so the first flush of water goes down that tube carrying away whatever schmutz from the roof like bird crap or oils from the shingles or whatever that you might not want on your crops. when that float reaches the top, the ball seals off the vertical tube and water diverts across to the IBC totes. it's whatever, 5 gallons of flush or something.
the bottom of the flush tube has a super slow drain (bottom right), so when it stops raining the float slowly goes back to the bottom and the system is ready for the next storm.
all the crops are well below the house, so when i'm ready i just hook the outlet to the irrigation and gravity does the rest. built a couple of these systems around the house, and engineered my gutter systems to consolidate draining to a few main drains. this one is under a porch against the foundation - can't even see that it's there unless you go bushwhacking.

For the minor gutter points, I drain directly into open top wine barrels with no filter or anything, then use that water for trees and flowers and stuff I don't eat.

warned you. it's overkill.

I’d like to subscribe to your newsletter

[AK47bp]

[Percy Rideout]

got some IBC totes. i found ones that were used for organic food stuffs to be sure there wasn't something toxic contaminating them, i think they come in 275gal and 300gal. pull the 'bladders' out from the frames and wrap with black poly film (if sunlight gets in, living stuff can grow inside the totes). reinstall the bladders. i did sets of 2 totes just to maximize storage.



i installed and leveled them next to each other. connected them across the bottom with a homemade pvc rig so they can equalize, and so there's only one connection point for the outlet. you see a clear hose coming up from the connection, so i can see how full the totes are, and it serves as overflow if you leave the system charged (valves open on the bottom). careful you don't make a siphon there.



on the top right you see the square inlet. water comes off the drain and through that square inlet - which has a screen/filter for twigs and pine needles rocks and such. water goes down the vertical pvc 'flush tube' first, which has a ball float inside, so the first flush of water goes down that tube carrying away whatever schmutz from the roof like bird crap or oils from the shingles or whatever that you might not want on your crops. when that float reaches the top, the ball seals off the vertical tube and water diverts across to the IBC totes. it's whatever, 5 gallons of flush or something.
the bottom of the flush tube has a super slow drain (bottom right), so when it stops raining the float slowly goes back to the bottom and the system is ready for the next storm.
all the crops are well below the house, so when i'm ready i just hook the outlet to the irrigation and gravity does the rest. built a couple of these systems around the house, and engineered my gutter systems to consolidate draining to a few main drains. this one is under a porch against the foundation - can't even see that it's there unless you go bushwhacking.

For the minor gutter points, I drain directly into open top wine barrels with no filter or anything, then use that water for trees and flowers and stuff I don't eat.

warned you. it's overkill.

impressive setup. Thanks for sharing.

[AK47bp]

Roses are happy.

[bfree]

My (potable) water costs about half a cent per gallon in the PNW, it would take a very very long time to pay for any sort of catch system. I'm with californiagrown on that one. Less than $0.30 to completely fill a 55 gal barrel.

[shera]

I just caught up on this thread, nice to see. I'm in zone 3a at 10k elevation, hahaha, it is peak dandelion season now.

We're not safe from frost until father's day. But I have lots of things in pots on the south side under frost cloths and my peas are well sprouted. I'm growing some heritage sweet peas this year, hoping the bees and butterflies love them.

[MiddleOfNight]

My (potable) water costs about half a cent per gallon in the PNW, it would take a very very long time to pay for any sort of catch system. I'm with californiagrown on that one. Less than $0.30 to completely fill a 55 gal barrel.

that's fair.
i'm a few hundred into these systems. the price for water security in my situation, and maybe as a bonus, collected water might be 'better' for my crops (?).

add up all i spend on all this .. yikes. yea probably would be cheaper to go to market and buy. realistically it's a hobby. meditation. if i do it right, one that gives me amazing treats to eat, preserve, trade, and share.

[BobMc]

Have my usual onion farm going, 120 KQ’s and bout 80 reds.





Have a box with half herbs and half beets. Chives, thyme, oregano, basil, sage, parsley.



Had a volunteer head lettuce come up, he was doing well till the hail today.



SFB gave me some hops rhizomes a few years ago, they’re doing well.



My wife’s flower garden is doing well.

[MiddleOfNight]

SFB gave me some hops rhizomes a few years ago, they’re doing well.

sick. how many years?
I want a wind break .. wondering if this'd work along my deer fence

[BobMc]

This is the third season since I planted them. This year they’ve taken off, it keeps a nice buffer between my neighbors.



If you have something sturdy for them to climb upon they’ll provide a vegetative wall. Once established you can easily separate and move them.

[californiagrown]

Planter 1: Lettuce, squash, peas, beans, beets and cilantro and dill.


Planter 2: Tomatoes, Squash, Cucumbers. Probably fill the rest with lettuce seed here in a bit. IDK what else to through in there, maybe carrots?


In ground has Tomoatoes, sunflowers (cause they look cool) and marigolds which are just growing tall and not flowering? I guess i randomly tossed sunflower seeds around cause i have a bunch growing in random spots.


More marigolds, tomatoes, some peppers, sunflowers and some invasive strawberrys i cant get rid of and have given up trying.



Also have a vertical pallet planter strapped to the fence which has various herbs growing out of it. Its all a learning process and my tomato and squash trellises made from cut tomato cages may or may not work out long term (my tomatoes outgrew the cages last year so im trying to train them to climb onto the chainlink this year), and the string for the other tomatoes might be a bad idea too. Sure glad i dont RELY on my harvest for food haha.