How I Capture 5,750+ Gallons of Rainwater For My Garden

IN THIS VIDEO

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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:31 - How Much Water Can You Capture
01:10 - Filter System
02:17 - Barrel Size
03:42 - Roof Flush
04:21 - 5000 Gallon Cistern
05:27 - Cistern Pump
05:48 - Hose System
06:32 - Why Rainwater

DISCLAIMER

[CB-sree]

Love that you’re carrying a beach umbrella around like a rain umbrella. ❤

[Reindeer_jay]

We harvest from nearly every inch of roof space. Metric numbers are 1mm of rain on one square metre of roof is one litre. We have the first flush for the house water and a filter when it comes into the kitchen. All up on the house and sheds we store 25000+ litres.

[crazygrandmaweaz]

60 years ago my Grandpa told me that I needed to love thunderstorms and lightening because his fields needed the nitrogen the skys were sending. I still love storms.

[agnesthewinemaker]

Up here in Québec we rarely have a year without much rain, but a lot of government grants for rain-barrels. I’m researching which one to get for next year and really appreciate this video in particular. Thanks very much Kevin!

[theurzamachine]

Toronto, Canada has had very little rain this year compared to last year. I have 300gal of Walmart containers that I fill up with rain water for gardening. To put it this way, I haven't spent any money on watering my garden in 3 years. We also bail shower and dish washing water outside as well. It's the easiest way to save money on gardening.

[bethannlawrence]

When you do a Q & A, could you address concerns with water becoming stagnant during periods between capture and use? Also any concerns with algae formation in the barrels between uses? Maybe the question is, how long can water sit in a barrel and still be used in the garden? And a second question- Are there any concerns about contaminants from the roof material in the water? Thanks. I've enjoyed learning from you. Even though I'm in Zone 4b, I find that much of what you share is applicable / translatable to this climate!

[paulwalker]

You explained this better than anyone else I've seen on YouTube. Thank You

[humblecourageous]

We're in Escondido, CA. (San Diego County). We put in 3, 200 gallon rain water harvest tanks December 2021 (10 tanks: five 500 gallons, two 265 gallons, three 70 gallons). We wanted it mostly to water our fruit trees in the summer. The last rain filled everything up. We have also had a laundry to landscape system for about 7 or more years which successfully waters some of our trees.

[berryster]

I think the easy part is rain collection, the harder part is what to do with your water. There's surprisingly little info on using pumps or whatever to create pressurized water for watering. I have a capacity of about 1500 gallons, and have tried various strategies to get the water into use in the garden, with mediocre results. I don't think you can just hook up your cistern to your irrigation system, for instance. Hopefully, Epic G will give us more detail about their pump system.

[renata]

I emptied out my fishpool last year because it became too much work to look after. Got all the stuff out and a few days later my brother came over, suggesting to turn it into a water reservoir. Its not much but it captures the water from the greenhouse roof and my shet. It takes me through the dry period in the summer

[Sci-Fi_Quizshow]

Excellent project! Key words sustainability, natural resource management, reducing waste, and recycling what is essentially a very precious commodity: fresh water. Well done bro!

[kenhunt]

Well done.
If you are thinking of a cheaper method use food grade barrels. I use blue colored 55 gallon liquor barrels for mine.
If you are using IBC totes you need to paint them. There is a reason why all rain catchment systems are colored.

[joshuawinder]

Man I was looking for an easy explanation for this and you always make it easy to understand, no long winded explanation just the good stuff 😊

[DeeFromBrooklyn]

It had been the best thing ever for my garden bit im working about winter here where we grey ice and snow. Think i need to drain the system before it freezes

[davidwarland]

in South Australia, not sure of the rest of Austraia, all homes must have a rain water tank hooked up to th house.
Rain water is free, use it, my home may use some town water in a long dry summer, but usually none used ever.

[PlantGuild]

I love living vicariously through the epic rainwater collection vids. Here in Colorado they have some of the stricter water-rights and residents are only allowed to have two 55-gallon collection systems. One day maybe legislation will change because the 110-gallon limit was touted by Colorado Government as “we have made a great change! You can now collect up to 110 gallons! Rock on!” 🙃

[alexisdamnit]

Most people think California (and probably their own state) criminalizes rain water capture - thanks for making this video to show how it's possible to capture rain water effectively!

[JoeBlack]

I really hope you put some Elephant Ear at the top of your pond, or at least somewhere around it. It is one of my favorite plants around my pond. Looks amazing during the summer and fall. The leaves fill with water when it rains, tilt over to pour it out, and bounce right back up. Lastly they provide nice shade for the fish.

[neilscole]

I only recently learned of the nitrification of rainwater via lightning... like literally in the past week! 🤯 I'm curious to know more about PFAS and other "forever chemicals" contaminating rain water and what effects they may have on plants, soil microbiology, and ourselves (as well as all of nature in general).

[gabevalentine]

Great stuff! This is a goal of mine for our property too and I’m so glad you’re out here demonstrating it for us! Peace!