This was originally posted April 2019
I took my birthday money and bought a rain barrel this year. How very grownup of me, huh? I was super excited about this rain barrel. Our well has been getting super low these past couple years in the summer. We get plenty of rain in the spring, so I thought that being able to collect it to be able to water the garden. Unfortunately, there were some delays in getting my rain barrel and we only had one good rainfall since I got it. I thought I had a decent amount of water in the rain barrel and when I checked it was practically empty. I’m not sure if the spout on the bottom is leaking or what. We are very low on water right now, and there’s no water in my rain barrel. The ground in spots is starting to crack. I’ll figure this rainbarrel out. And next it will be full.
Fast forward to 2021: Last year I built a base of crushed rock underneath of it, thinking maybe it needed to sit more level to collect water. It took me most of the summer to get it to hold water, after realizing the water was coming out around the spout. This year, though, I decided to move it altogether. We sat it at the corner of the chicken run and I bought a piece of eaves trough to help it along. It got it to stop leaking enough to fill up half a barrel (thankfully we’ve had plenty of rain this year, and our well has not gone dry) and then when I went to use it the first time, it came loose and I lost all the water I had saved. I cried. My husband went out and bought me a new brass spout, drilled the hole a little bigger, and put it on for me. It still leaked a little bit, so I put some silicone around it. And now….it’s full! I haven’t actually had to use it this year, but I’m totally ready for next year! Side note: if you live where it gets cold in the winter, don’t forget to drain the water and then put your rain barrel away. You don’t want the water in it to freeze, thus cracking and ruining your barrel.
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