People in Bellingham might think this is funny!!!
But here in CA, we have this thing called a DRY season. I'm trying to develop a rainwater collection system for 2 different large gardens. Does anyone have experience with using rainwater collection in the ground? I'm wondering about digging a big hole & filling it with woodchips, to make a big sponge to collect water this winter. Has anyone tried woodchips?
I'm also thinking about using some 275 gal. totes (for biodiesel) to store water. They're kind of transluscent - will that be an algae problem later?
any rainwater collection stories???
Luisa
But here in CA, we have this thing called a DRY season. I'm trying to develop a rainwater collection system for 2 different large gardens. Does anyone have experience with using rainwater collection in the ground? I'm wondering about digging a big hole & filling it with woodchips, to make a big sponge to collect water this winter. Has anyone tried woodchips?
I'm also thinking about using some 275 gal. totes (for biodiesel) to store water. They're kind of transluscent - will that be an algae problem later?
any rainwater collection stories???
Luisa
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Re: Fun with Rainwater
Wed, January 9, 2008 - 10:29 PMYes translucent tanks will grow algae....Like MIck Jagger said "paint it black" and keep it outta the sun...but 550 gallon ain't gonna water much garden if you have an extended period of dry time and that is all you have... I can go through 1000 gallons in a few days in my garden (about 1/3 of an acre)
Why wood chips? If you want to create a pond you can use a Landscape pond liner( try a pipe/irrigation supply store for this or Home Depot as a last resort)....or bentonite clay (probably available in bulk somewhere at store near you)
The Bentonite will be a bit more work....but probably cheaper...put it on as thick a s you can, so dig your hole a little extra deep to accommodate an extra 12" layer of bentonite...tamp it in and then let it absorb the water, it will swell and make a very semi-permeable area...the trick is keeping it wet or it will crack....
If you can keep your pond high you can maximize your gravity feed potential...otherwise try a solar pump....
Honestly I think wood chips would be a mess, and if the water just sat in there you would have some great compost but a stinky cesspool...
Have fun
~SeedPlanter -
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Re: Fun with Rainwater
Sun, January 13, 2008 - 6:21 PMIf you have the space you can just lay out pond liners in your low spots. Cheaper than tanks of any kind. and if they are big enough you can swim in them.
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Re: Fun with Rainwater
Wed, January 16, 2008 - 9:43 PMSeedplanter ... Have you ever tried saving rainwater?
the reason I'm using woodchips is that I have LOTS of them. The idea is to make a big hole full of mulch, and it will be like a big sponge that I plant stuff around. That project is waiting for $$$ for a backhoe. Maybe I better start small and see how it works.
I'm using 275 gallon totes because they're free. You're right ... I need to paint them black. Or cover them. -
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Re: Fun with Rainwater
Thu, January 17, 2008 - 1:01 PMActually yes I have...I also design permaculture landscapes for a living....
You are talking two different things if you are talking about storing water in a tote versus creating a swale that you fill with wood chips and plant around it ...In the latter case you would not want to use a pond liner or clay...you would do exactly what you said and create a low spot or swale/berm and fill it with wood chips and plant around it...This is not technichally "storing" water it is channeling and slowing it down...so that plants can actually use it....i do a lot of this because I live in the desert...
The problem with just digging a whole and filling it with wood chips and letting the water fill it up is that if the water sits in it for a while (especially in the heat) it will begin to rot and stink and make a mess.. the better plan IMHO (if you are using roof rainwater that you are channeling into the garden, it would be slightly different if you were just trying to slow the water that fell on the ground) would be to create scalloped type of swales , preferably along a grade, where the water will fill the upper swales first and then spill over to the lower swales, etc. on down the grade...planting the most water tolerant type of plants at the top and then progressively get to the more drought tolerant where the water will reach the least (the bottom)...In this way you create a large water lens that will actually stay saturated for a long period of time...and most definitely use mulch to help the ground stay wet.....In addition to this you can store some rainwater from roof catchment into the totes to be used for watering later.....
I am a low tech kind of person...so by using the right plants and allow the water to slowly flow over the ground you can get away without watering most of your dry season....
I hope this helps.....
Keep in mind there is more than one way to do anything...and each piece of ground is different...good luck
~SeedPlanter
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Re: Fun with Rainwater
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 12:02 PMLuisa! I've heard of people putting huge rainwater collection containers underground near their homes, then building a deck or porch on top of it.
The water would be more accessible if the garden was lower in elevation than the house, and thus gravity feed more likely.
Also refer to chap 4 on Catching, Conserving, And Using Water in Toby Hemenway's book Gaia's Garden - A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture.
