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I thought a rain barrel was a waste of money until this summer
My neighbor in Charlotte gave me her old 55-gallon one after she moved, and I hooked it up to a downspout in May. We had a dry spell for two weeks, and I still kept my vegetable garden watered without touching the hose. Has anyone else been surprised by how much water these things actually catch?
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diana6411mo ago
Actually, it really depends on the garden and how you water. My small raised beds with a soaker hose on a timer made that 55 gallons last almost three weeks once. The barrel filled back up halfway from just one good thunderstorm too. It's not just a top-up if you're careful with it.
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emery3561mo ago
You mentioned a two-week dry spell, but that barrel likely would have run dry sooner. The math on a 55-gallon barrel watering a garden rarely lasts that long without rain. They're great for a top-up, but the real surprise is how fast you use it, not how much it catches.
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