Something I have noticed is it takes a lot of water to keep the animals hydrated and the garden watered. I also am not really excited about watering my garden with chemicals such as chlorine, fluoride, as well as trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs. It is bad enough we have to drink it, so why not use a healthier substitute if one was available? Well wouldn't you know it! There is one! We call it rain.
Below is a quick, down and dirty, and mostly free rain water barrel collector!
First thing I did was acquired a couple of "food grade" plastic barrels.
Second, I cut off the downspout about 4" higher than the barrel.
Next I got a piece of old fire hose that was laying around the house and removed the thin rubber inner liner, fashioned a funnel with some staples, and attached it to the downspout with some small screws.
Lastly, I scooted over a barrel and inserted the rubber funnel into one side of it making sure the caps were both off (so as to allow it to overflow away from my funnel).
As far as getting the water out, we use a simple siphon (with the assistance of a foot pump usually used to air up pool toys) to fill buckets and watering cans. The intent was to get a hand pump for them but the fact that the free solution is working makes the pump less of a priority.
A couple things I am going to add are several more barrels, a connector of some kind (to allow them to overflow into each other, relieving me of the duty of moving rain collectors after every storm), a hand pump, and probably some black paint or plastic to keep the algae from growing inside.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions on topics or Ideas for other projects we could do? Leave them here in the comments and we will be happy to address them!
Weeds...the arch nemisis of anyone trying to grow a garden or have a nice walkway/driveway. How the heck do you expect to do anything with weeds taking over? That has been my exact thoughts every spring. So, how are you supposed to kill the weeds without having to worry about the kids or animals getting into some crazy poison?
I'm glad you asked! I was wondering the same thing...so I tried some stuff out. To my surprise I found a recipe that works really well. Now you have to remember this works really well for a non-poison herbicide. Not like the stuff we used when I was a groundskeeper. (I think that stuff was part agent orange). Fill a large squirt bottle with white vinegar and add about a quarter cup of dish soap. After mixing well, I sprayed this on the weeds and in about 4-5 days the weds were totally fried. I read an article that said this killer will also "poison" the soil for about a week. I have not tried to plant where I sprayed due to the fact I don't want veggies growing out of the cracks in the driveway.
If you are worried about weeds in the garden there are a couple alternatives. First is the old fashioned way. Go out and pull out all the weed green and roots. Down side to that is it takes forever if you don't keep up on it. Second is get a black tarp or sheeting and lay it out. Cut holes where your plants are to be planted. Down side is watering. If the hole is too big it can get weeds if it is too small you can't get enough water to the plant. Lastly, plant your veggies making sure they are the only thing green in the garden. Then place a thick layer of straw (Not hay! Hay is grass and contains grass seeds, straw is the stems from wheat stalks, containing no seeds.) covering the open ground. This needs to be as dense as you can keep it. If it is too "fluffy" it could allow weeds to sprout.
Something my parents are trying is laying down a layer of cardboard down (if you use newspaper be sure not to use the glossy sales ads and not to layer it more than two layers thick) then covering it with your dirt and planting it there. The idea sounds great. No tilling, limited weeds, and in theory the plants should be able to break through the cardboard. I'm sure we will have an update towards the end of the season.
These are a few of the things I have tried. If you have any other ideas leave me a comment and let me know. Be sure to follow us to keep up on our adventures!
Hey, Tiff here! As the momma of our growing family, I have the responsibility of being frugal with the money God has blessed us with. It’s a duty that isn’t always fun, but one that I accept with gladness. I know that my decisions affect my whole family, not only in the now, but in the future as well. Here is a story of the beginnings of my ‘learning to be frugal adventure‘. While I was still pregnant with our little Lydia (our first child), I ventured into Cotton Babies out of pure curiosity (I managed to get my hubby to go with me). I didn’t really know what kind of store it was, just that they sold baby products. A first time momma + a baby store = trouble! Upon entering Cotton Babies, I realized this wasn’t your ordinary baby store…it was mostly a cloth diaper store. I had heard of cloth diapers, but only the kind that great grandma used. I was in awe of all of the different styles of cloth diapers, not to mention all the cute colors and prints! After browsing around…and around…and around, and talking with the ladies who worked there, Dave and I realized that cloth diapering might actually be an option for us. While my mind was still buzzing with thoughts of diaper sprayers, diaper pails, and wet bags, we went home and did our own research to see if this decision could really save us money. Our investigation led us to the final decision…WE WERE GOING TO CLOTH DIAPER…AHHHH! Next time I went to Cotton Babies, I made one of the biggest purchases of our married life…diapers! We ended up spending around $450 if I remember right. We got 24 diapers with inserts, a wet bag, diaper pail, and diaper sprayer. It doesn’t sound like much bang for your buck, but when you think about the fact that you will spend about $2,500 in disposable diapers during a baby’s diaper career (if potty trained by 2.5 years), it puts things in perspective. For us, an added bonus is that we have been able to use most of the diapers we purchased for our first child, for our second as well…ChaChing!!! While spraying out poopy diapers isn’t my favorite mommy job, I know I am helping to contribute to our family by saving us money. J
I just want to say, even though cloth diapering has worked out wonderfully for our family, it isn’t for everyone. Every family has to take into consideration their own situation and go from there! So kudos to the cloth diaper momma and kudos to the disposable diaper momma. I can’t wait to go diaper shopping for baby Charlotte…they have way too many cute prints out now! Stay tuned for my next entry on homemade cloth wipes and DIY wipe solution!
