Alabama continues to deal with drought. Six months ago, about 20 percent of the state was drought free. Now in late July, the drought free area has dropped to a little more than 6 percent.
Water systems across the state have voluntary water restrictions. That means a lot of folks are wondering how to water their plants.
My colleague Eve Brantley says people can harvest rain and use it to water their containers and landscapes.
Brantley, who specializes in water resources and quality, says rain barrels are an easy and effective way to capture rainwater.
“It is fairly simple to modify existing gutter downspouts to divert water to rain barrels,” she says. “If a home doesn’t have gutters, people can install gutters themselves or hire a professional.”
Brantley says many people have no grasp how much water pours off their homes during even the briefest shower.
“If you have about 1,000 square feet of roof, more than 600 gallons of water streams off it during a rainfall of just an inch.”
Brantley says to utilize the harvested rainwater, rain barrels must have a spout near the bottom to attach garden hoses or to fill a gardening can.
“If you raise the rain barrel several feet, it is even possible to run a low pressure irrigation system.”
Rain barrels can be purchased. An Internet search will reveal hundreds of sources. But Brantley says they are a fairly easy do-it-yourself project with directions online.
“Sixty- to 80-gallon plastic barrels are a good size and are widely available,” she says. “If you use a barrel you already own, make sure it is sturdy enough to withstand holding water and has never held anything toxic, and wash it thoroughly.”
Brantley says the barrel will need some type of screen lid, keeping mosquitoes and trash out.
“The most difficult part of building a rain barrel is probably drilling the hole and installing the faucet.”
Collecting rainwater reduces homeowners’ water bills and reduces the strain on municipal water systems and wells.
We have had rain at my house this summer, but not nearly enough. I have had to water much of my garden this year. Unfortunately, that has been a combination of soaker hoses, overhead sprinklers and hand watering. I have thought all summer that there has to be a better way to do this.
Turns out there is. My colleague, Stan Roark, assures me that even I can install a drip irrigation system for my garden. He says if I can assemble legos or tinker toys, I can install a simple system for my garden.
Commercial operations were the first to use drip irrigation and years ago, drip systems were complex. These days, companies have simplified systems, and starter kits are widely available online. Stan recommends starting with a kit—guaranteeing you have all the parts you need and no long searches through bins at the local hardware store.
I hope to order my kit this weekend to water several beds where I intend to plan vegetables for the fall.
As I see it, there are a lot of advantages to installing a drip irrigation system. First, the water is directed right where the plants need it—the root zones. If I bury the drip emitters under the mulch, I will reduce water loss to evaporation. Since the water is applied so slowly over the course of several hours, less runoff and plants benefit from deep watering.
It will also allow me to be a better steward of our water resources. Most estimates put drip irrigation efficiency at around 90 percent while sprinkler irrigation is around 50 to 70 percent efficient. I think my plants will do better with this new system, and my water usage should drop as well.