All this rain has been making me think, wouldn't it be a good idea to, oh, store this water for later? Like maybe for summer, when it's going to be hot and dusty and dry and, being a good little native Californian, I'm not going to put lots of water on my plants because I'm a responsible citizen and a conservationist? And this being California, surely there are tons of places that support collecting and storing water for later. I mean, that's totally a nuts-and-granola, save-the-planet concept, right? Surely Californians would gobble that idea right up!
Yeah, right. I guess it's not as sexy as global warming, 'cause it's darn hard to find rainwater collection supplies, and when I do, it's kinda expensive. I mean, how much would you think a simple, watertight barrel would run? Turns out, $100 for a cheap one, and it goes up from there. I've tried cheap already with my initial barrel and all that's gotten me is my preciously gathered rainwater leaking out of the badly designed spigot and all over my patio. Not what the doctor ordered.
Once upon a time I could have just gotten some big plastic garbage cans. But around here we don't use those any more. The garbage companies all supply us with containers, so none of the stores carry garbage cans any more. Nobody needs to buy one. Alas.
So if anyone has any thoughts of where to pick up watertight barrels for not a lot of money, please let me know. I'm only looking at collecting for the garden, so I don't need something that's up to consumption-level standards. Just something large that doesn't leak, with a lid.
Oh, and if at all possible I'd love it if it isn't ugly. For some reason many of the tanks out there are industrial grey or industrial green. Not very aesthetically appealing, and the garden really is somewhere where one wants beauty, not more urban ugliness.
(Yes, I'm asking for the moon.)
Edit: Some vague success. This place has some of the more sane prices I've seen. Not pretty, but at least I can get storage for ~$1/gallon, which I'll accept to be within reason. This place has underground tanks (though $2k/650 gallons, ulp!), along with very reasonably priced rain chains. Both worth keeping track of.)
Yeah, right. I guess it's not as sexy as global warming, 'cause it's darn hard to find rainwater collection supplies, and when I do, it's kinda expensive. I mean, how much would you think a simple, watertight barrel would run? Turns out, $100 for a cheap one, and it goes up from there. I've tried cheap already with my initial barrel and all that's gotten me is my preciously gathered rainwater leaking out of the badly designed spigot and all over my patio. Not what the doctor ordered.
Once upon a time I could have just gotten some big plastic garbage cans. But around here we don't use those any more. The garbage companies all supply us with containers, so none of the stores carry garbage cans any more. Nobody needs to buy one. Alas.
So if anyone has any thoughts of where to pick up watertight barrels for not a lot of money, please let me know. I'm only looking at collecting for the garden, so I don't need something that's up to consumption-level standards. Just something large that doesn't leak, with a lid.
Oh, and if at all possible I'd love it if it isn't ugly. For some reason many of the tanks out there are industrial grey or industrial green. Not very aesthetically appealing, and the garden really is somewhere where one wants beauty, not more urban ugliness.
(Yes, I'm asking for the moon.)
Edit: Some vague success. This place has some of the more sane prices I've seen. Not pretty, but at least I can get storage for ~$1/gallon, which I'll accept to be within reason. This place has underground tanks (though $2k/650 gallons, ulp!), along with very reasonably priced rain chains. Both worth keeping track of.)
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