Catching the Rain — How to Harvest Rainwater for Your Garden

The recent heat and drought conditions has many of us thinking about rain. Too much rain falls at once and then there's dry periods in between. A surprising amount of water falls on our roofs, and a large rain tank can go from empty to full in just a few heavy rainfalls. It's actually quite exciting to see. This water can then be used in your garden (edible or ornamental) to supplement or even replace(!) your reliance on municipal water for outdoor irrigation. It's pretty satisfying to use free rainwater, collected from your roof, to water your garden. Talk about virtuous cycles.

Rain Barrels

What are your options? Well, there's the mighty and oft-installed rain barrel which holds 50-60 gallons of water. In the past you would've had to cut your downspout, but there are now nifty diverters on the market that allow you to drill a simple hole in the downspout and insert a diverter which automatically and mechanically redirects rainwater down the downspout when the rain barrel is full. Winterizing is as easy as taking out the diverter and covering the hole with a cap. These barrels can also be strung together for more capacity.

IBC Totes

But what if you want something bigger? Enter IBC totes. IBC stands for Intermediate Bulk Container. These are roughly square containers, about 4' on each side, inside a metal frame. They're used in industrial shipping to move liquids around - think orange juice, olive oil, soy sauce, glycerin, chemicals, etc. Given their prevalent usage, there is a steady stream of used IBC totes waiting to be re-purposed - search Facebook Marketplace to get an idea. The capacity of these totes ranges from 275-330 gallons, the equivalent of 5 standard rain barrels. It's important that only containers that previously contained some kind of food be used - as opposed to industrial chemicals - this helps ensure the cleanliness of your garden water supply. In addition, make sure to paint or cover the tote. Black plastic covers can be purchased online or you can build one out of wood. The reason for this is that the totes are usually translucent. This allows light through to the stored water, which leads to algae formation. Apart from being unsightly, this can clog irrigation lines or create bad smell. IBC totes can be professionally plumbed from the downspout with a leaf catcher and sewer & drain plumbing, so that no drop of water is left unaccounted for - it either enters the tote for storage & later use or it is elegantly piped away from your foundation, just like the downspout used to do.

IBC totes are basically re-purposed from their original use. Their low price and availability makes this an attractive option. That said, if you search for rain tanks online, you'll see many options for new tanks in a variety of sizes and materials, some quite attractive. These too can be plumbed to make your garden more resilient.

If this is something you're interested in, explore our services or reach out directly — we have experience building these kinds of systems and would be happy to come out for a consultation.