Rain Barrels and EarthBoxes: Coming Soon!

[molly]

I have invited a certain Steve C. to join the Educational Strand of the web.  Steve's project using rain barrel collection and EarthBoxes is chock full of success.  Lets look to hear from Steve! 

[molly]

Steve introduced his rain barrel project in Newport on the People Chat section of the Forum. Awesome.  Read about the project under Introductions.  Then checkfurther posts in the Program Manager strand of the Educational Section.

[molly]

Steve's rain barrel project is vividly announced in the Program Manager Section of the Education Strand.

His EarthBoxes look great and his rain barrel collection is fantastic.  Lets join Steve in learning about sustainability and storm water management to help our communities stay healthy in every sense of the word!

[PrimoPepper]

I am interested in learning more about this, as the area where my home is, is subject to frequent flooding.  Converting this unwanted water to useful water is MOST interesting to me. 

[Deb]

I read Steve's post and followed his links (thanks Steve) to read more about the rainbarrels, and came away disappointed.  It rarely rains here in the summer and we are subject to the occasional freezing temps that could ruin the barrel.

Deb

[PrimoPepper]

The whole thing sounds interesting to me, since I live in an area that gets lots of rain and it almost never freezes here.  Since it occassionally freezes where you are, have you coinsidered using hay, or other insulating material ??

Primo

[Deb]

This year was the final straw for me for in-ground gardening.  For many of the reasons others have listed - poor soil, can't get up & down, expensive & heavy equipment, etc.  Add in the problems of 'critters' both wild and domestic and it certainly wasn't worth the effort this year.  If I'd put the work into my EB's that went into the ground, I'm sure I'd have more to show for it. 

At the present time my EB's are safely removed from most of the critters by being on a flat rooftop 'deck' that gets lots of sun.  I'm not sure the roof could carry the weight of the rainbarrels as well as the EB's.  Sometimes I wonder how safe it is for EB's and how many I can put up there before they all end up in the room below.

I could put rainbarrels under the downspouts off the deck and fill them in a hurry, in the winter (assuming we didn't have a long cold spell and ruin them by freezing) or spring.  But by mid June the rain usually stops until October and that is the growing season.  Nothing I really care about is growing near enough to the house to take advantage of what the barrels would collect.

Now if I could figure out a 'roof/catch basin' out by the orchard and could afford enough barrels to last through the summer, I'd feel pretty smug.  ;>

I just got back from almost 2 weeks in Florida.  It sure was nice to feel the 90* rain.  Here it always drops the temps by about 20* or so, so we can go from a nice warm day to a cold wet one pretty fast.  I decided I'd like to go live near my niece outside Williston.  It sure is prettier there than the Orlando/Tampa/Clearwater swath I'd previously grown to love.

Deb

[molly]

Hello Debbie and Dancing Lemons, Donald and John and all the good folks that are joining the Educational Strand.  I do know of a gal in Tucson who collects her rainwater in a cistern as it falls She uses the water to water her crops in the hot months of summer. The system uses gravity.  It is really cool.  She does this near her sustainable building show room to promote all kinds of sustainability.  Keep thinking.  I am sure that you can come up with something Debbie.  Anyone else have some ideas for Debbie.  But by all means get rid of your frustration and grow in EarthBoxes!

[RADIO NEWPORT]

I just realized that Molly had posted an introduction here regarding Rain Barrels and Earth Boxes. Great to see that a discussion has started to develop. To address a few of the posts to date, I'd like to point out  that the rain collection barrels aren't designed or intended to stay out all winter in cold climates. If the water freezes in the barrel it could get damaged. Our barrels will come in after the fall crops have fallen to  a deep frost. I'm predicting that date will be around the second week of December. It takes more than an overnight frost to freeze a 60 gallon barrel of water. Visit the great american rain barrel @  www.tgarb.com for more info on our barrel of choice.

Our approach to the weight issue of earthboxes and the rain barrels is to spread out the load using pressure treated 1x6 boards. Rain barrels should be nested close to a load bearing wall, not set up in the middle of the roof. 60 gallons of water weighs approximately 500 pounds.

Our project is underway with 7 earthboxes filled with swiss chard, broccoli, rainbow chard, lettuce and elephant chard. All plants are thriving , and we have been documenting their progress. I'm happy to report the harvesting of our first Broccoli Crown in addition to weekly harvests of kale, Rainbow Chard and elephant Chard. The Cauliflower heads have formed and are growing. Despite a number of mild frosts, these hearty fall crops have endured without damage. See the link below for more photos.

***New Garden Pictures Updated NOVEMBER 15, 2007 - Seedlings planted September 10,2007


Garden Pictures Updated October 10, 2007 - One Month Since Planting in Earthboxes

Garden Pictures of seedlings planted September 10, 2007

Our Radio Station web site: http://www.radionewport.org

Radio Newport is committed to promoting environmentally sound living, green energy, rainwater collection, rainwater runoff reductions and locally produced, sustainable agricultural practices.

Best
steve

[PrimoPepper]

I just love the pictures... !! 
I especially enjoy comparing the pictures of the seedlings and then looking at how much they have grown since then !!

Have you used only rain water for these EB's ?  Or have you had to use tap water at any time...

I am going to a Rainbarrel Seminar in my area on Dec. 1st myself.  I have learned quite a bit about water on this forum... http://forum.earthbox.com/index.php?topic=1296.0 <--- Read this thread...  I believe this thread has confirmed my thoughts about going with ONLY rain water for my next growing season...

Any thoughts or comments ?

Primo

[RADIO NEWPORT]

Check out this link: http://rainbarrelguide.com for some stats on rain water collection. Another trick we've used this year was to add approx. 50 drops of grapefruit seed extract (pre mixed with water) to the barrels after a heavy rain as a preventative measure. GSE will help keep you barrel microbe free with out needing to add bleach.

best
steve

[John]

Steve,
Your pictures look GREAT!  I remember the pictures from when you first started.  Do you have tours of the garden?  I'll bet you get a lot of feedback! What are your long-term goals?