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My cousin laughed when I bought a rain barrel, but guess who's watering their garden for free now
So my cousin Dave, who thinks he knows everything, gave me a hard time last spring when I spent $80 on a big plastic rain barrel from the garden center. He said it was a waste of money and that collecting rainwater wouldn't make a dent in my water bill or help the planet. I hooked it up to my downspout anyway. We had a dry spell in July, and the city had watering restrictions. My garden was fine because I had about 200 gallons saved up, while Dave's tomatoes looked sad and he had to buy a bunch of those expensive soaker hoses. It's not just about the money saved, it's about using what's already there and not stressing the municipal supply. Has anyone else had a simple change like this actually pay off way more than people said it would?
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janac516mo ago
Honestly, the best part is the water itself. Rainwater is softer and doesn't have chlorine or salts, so plants just seem to love it more. My roses looked way better on barrel water than they ever did straight from the hose.
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the_tara6mo ago
Actually, rainwater can be pretty acidic depending on where you live.
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matthewsullivan3mo ago
Wait, so you're saying rainwater has less chlorine? That explains why @janac51 mentioned it - I never even thought about what's actually in the tap water I was dumping on my plants.
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