Rain Barrel

Cost: $20-150

Use a rain barrel under your downspout for watering your garden.  You will save energy needed to pump the water to your home from your well or city supply.

You can convert a used 50-gallon drum or purchase a ready-made rain barrel.  A homemade barrel should be opaque to reduce algae growth and have a porous or screened cover to keep debris out.  It is quite simple to re-direct a downspout from your roof to a nearby barrel.  Try to locate the barrel above the level of your garden so you will have a good flow of water from the hose spigot that should be attached near the bottom of the barrel.  You can raise the barrel on a stack of bricks or cinder blocks, or set it on your porch.

For every inch of rain that falls on a roof area of 100 square feet, you can expect to collect approximately 60 gallons of rainwater, so just the roof area of a small porch is sufficient.