Leaky

Because I was at work yesterday the flowers didn't get any TLC from me so today was the day.  I found a small dripping leak around the spigot of one of the barrels so it was repair time.  We watered the plants and flowers, including the hanging basket and the topsy turvy planter.  The trees and shrubs in the flowerbeds were given extra water as I'm sure the flowers and plants steal quite a bit of water from the surface.  It is supposed to be dry tonight so I will seal the leak and wait for the next rain.  Wish me luck.

Topsy Turvy

The rain barrels are a complete success!  According to The Weather Channel we received 0.58" rainfall yesterday.  Both barrels are full and ready to dispense fresh rainwater for our flowers and our newly planted tomato plant.  I made some changes to the height of each barrel to accommodate watering cans and pails under the spigots.  In the picture you can see that the barrel on the left is lower than the one on the right.  The barrel on the left is full to the top and will be drawn off of first.  The barrel on the right is also full to within about an inch of the top of the barrel.  I will forecast that we will be able to keep our barrels full of fresh water throughout the summer.  Keep your fingers crossed!

We purchased a Topsy Turvy Planter just to try it out.  We followed the instructions and Saturday we hung the planter where it would receive the appropriate amount of sunshine.  We are excited to see how it works!  Hopefully it won't get the insects and other pests because it is off the ground.  I'm sure we'll have plenty of tomatoes to share!

Assembly not included

Well, I finished the rain barrel assembly during Olivia's nap time today.  Had some things that did not go as planned, but nothing to stop the project.  Here are the pictures.  I guess we'll find out during the upcoming rainy weekend if the project was a success.

Mulching

Last night was the night to do the mulching in the flower gardens.  JJ let us borrow his truck and we picked up a yard of mulch and dropped it in the driveway.  While we were at the greenhouse picking up the mulch we picked out some flowers for the flower boxes on the deck.  After bedtime (for the children) we went to work placing a fresh batch of mulch over the flower gardens (in the dark, I might add).  I can't take any credit for planting the flowers as Heather did all the work. 

The parts for the rain barrels arrived via Fed-Ex yesterday so my project during naptime(s) today will be to assemble the parts and put the rain barrels into action.  Check back to see the finished product!

The Rain Barrel Project

So by now many of you that spend any time around me have heard me "carrying on" about being Eco-friendly and energy frugal. I've decided to start a rain barrel project to, for the lack of better words, put my money where my mouth is. I would have much preferred to start with photovoltaic solar panels, but I didn't have $40,000 for the project.

We have a vast area of flower gardens in our yards and paying to water them was high on my list of things not to do. The cost of the project will be quickly offset on the savings in our water bill this summer.

So I started with some 55 gallon barrels that were "reclaimed" from other uses (like collecting dust) and cruised the Internet for the parts and ideas that I needed to get the project rolling. I found my most useful information here.

After reviewing that site I followed some of the links and found that most of the products for rain barrels were from outside the US. I decided on the Garden Water Saver for my project. I wanted to be able to collect water without having to worry about when the barrels were full and where the overflow water was going.

Painting the barrels was next. One coat of paint wasn't enough to cover the blue so today's project was a second (and hopefully final) coat of paint. Hopefully the parts arrive today, but it's a long way from Richmond, BC, Canada to Elizabethtown, PA.