We have three water barrels. The city’s water utility department offers a rebate. Nice. We had to replace one and got another rebate.
Two containers are in the backyard. By attaching a hose, we can drain off the water under the apricot tree, or move it around the edges of the yard. The third barrel is beside our driveway, with a hose permanently attached and the spigot permanently turned to open, directing rain waters across the walkway into the rose bed.
My problem is I’m a hoarder—not in the cluttered house sense, but in the save for a rainy day sense. Except with a rain barrel, you want the barrel empty by the time that rainy day comes.
After months of no rain, they’ve been empty a long time. We finally got a really nice shower, with thunder, and a steady fall of water lasting an hour or more. The barrels require no more than a quarter-inch of rainfall on the roof to fill up.
The temptation is to hang onto the water. After all, the yard just got rained on! But there’s more rain to come. So far, I’ve emptied both barrels twice—on an already wet yard. The alternative is to let the barrels overflow.
I have a lavender plant that extends six feet along the edge of the patio. It grew that large by soaking up patio runoff plus all the barrel overflow.
A minor conundrum
None of my standard tomato plants have put on any fruit yet. Maybe the nights have been too warm.
The one exception is a cherry tomato. A prolific tomato:
“Indigo Cherry Drops.”
I kept wondering how I would know when they were ripe.
I finally looked online—the wonders of the Internet!—and discovered they will indeed turn red (with bluish highlights) or maybe even purplish, when ripe.
They’re finally taking on some color. I can’t wait!
And the rain barrels?
Right now, I believe there’s more rain to come. But . . .
When do I get to hang onto the stored water?
Kate Harrington 