With the help of my husband and our old roommate, I have finally completed the alterations on the rain barrel that I received from the Water Reclamation District of Chicago. The problem with the barrel "as-is" is that the over flow port was the size of a standard garden hose. It was open from the top and frankly, one giant rain would cause a mess. I set up this bin on the side of my garage, and have found that one good rain, fills it completely. We attached a large PVC pipe elbow into a hole we created on the side and connected large plastic hose to it with zip ties which flows into the alley. The port and hole were sealed using a rubber ring I had to create out of customizable sheets intended for this purpose. The actual device that is meant to filter out leaf debris was ordered from Aquaberrel (
downspout diverter). This diverter is usually set up at equal level to the entry port, but because I am confident with the larger overflow port, I set it higher so ensure that water would fill the barrel. If water flows too quickly into the barrel, a portion of the gutter water is flushed out the normal gutter.
I also hooked up a soaker hose to the barrel, and while I placed the barrel on several cinder blocks, the amount of water that flows out of the hose is much weaker than if it were hooked up to the house. Which is to be expected, but there is a significant decrease in pressure exerted to the plants as the water level decreases. I have also filled up a 2 gallon watering can and have used up most of the 45 gallons or so that I have already captured.
On another note, I wanted to show the comparison of plants grown in my "soil recipe" to those grown straight in the ground with little soil amendments added. Again, the recipe is as follows:
Aged Cattle Manure (having some amount of N-P-K)
Mushroom Compost
Regular backyard dirt
Dreaded Peat Moss
These were all mixed in equal amounts and all plants being compared were planted at the same time. See the pictures below for results:
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| Onions grown in home-made mix |
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| Wussy Onions grown straight with little-no amending |
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| Mustard Greens with home-made mix |
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| Mustard Greens planted directly into unamended soil |
