Collecting Rain in a Barrel

Last year Husband was nice enough to go to the Ecology Action Center's Rain Barrel Workshop to make one to bring home.  I love the idea of catching that valuable rainwater to be able to use in the garden when it gets hot and dry.

I don't remember what I was thinking, but I put it on the wrong side of the fence.  I'm sure I had a reason for that decision at the time, but it just didn't work.  The water only trickled out of the hose if it came out at all, and we decided it just wasn't high enough off the ground.

So off to the garage I went to find some scrap wood to make a table for the barrel.  We had some 4x4 pieces around and a formica board.  I have no idea where that came from, but it was perfect for my project.

Since that water barrel is really heavy when it is full, I also created extra support boards around the outside to keep the legs from moving.

So here is my completed table.  You can see my dilemma with the fence.  It keeps the dog in, but also kept the water out!  So we moved the fence so the rain barrel was more easily accessible.

Now we're talking!  We raised it up about another 18 inches, which really helped create more water pressure to go through the hose.  I've planted some four o'clocks in the container under the trellis that will help hide that great big blue barrel!

Want to build your own?  The next class at the Ecology Action Center is June 14th.  Don't live in my area?  Check out this online tutorial for directions.