Functional Friday No. 11

Rain Barrels!

So, I was going to post this weeks ago, but I went into labor instead.

Anyway, here it is now; something you might not think as being functional in the desert but actually is really funtional; rain barrels. It doesn't rain here much, so a huge investment into a rain barrel might sound silly, but when it rains it pours. Literally. And because, it rains so much so quickly, the ground has little time to absorb it. It just rests on the surface slowly seeping in, and evaporating quicker. So, I've found a little secret to keeping the rain water around longer. I set up buckets when it rains and I use that water for non-edible plants. I don't use it for the edible plants because 1. the bucket is plastic. 2. roof particulates get in the water, and I don't know if they're safe to touch my food. I would use this rain water if I was using a wooden rain barrel (not a plastic one). Anyway, just a thought for you next time it rains in the desert. A few extra FREE gallons of water is nice for your plants.

Happy Functional Friday!