We're hippies. We have a rain barrel watering system by our vegetable garden. I plan on posting about it as soon as I paint the electric blue barrel. I should get on that. We went ultra hippie and saved money by not buying the barrel at a home improvement store. $100 for a barrel isn't very hippie-ish. It's great when, you know, it actually rains. We were able to use it a handful of times this spring before Mother Nature decided to punish all of us. Brad was apprehensive at first, but my family (my parents and brother have them) and I were able to convince him that free water is in.

okay, i really need to get one of these...i, too, have been complaining about watering the garden every night. But seriously, what is it with men about not believing us until they figure it out themselves??

It's currently raining here in PA & severe storms will be here soon, you can gladly take them.

peace, love, and rainbarrels, man.

My husband and I are planning on getting a rain barrel for our house and to be complete hippies. You can find them at basically any garden store, I believe Walmart even sells them.

I am in love with the color of your house and even tho there is a dead grass section in your yard, your yard is so pretty.

We have a homemade rain barrel...it was a huge pickle barrel my husband bought for $20 and then made into a rain barrel. Sooo much cheaper!

We have 2 rain barrels! Hippies in GA, oh yeah. We found our 55 gallon drums on craigslist- a guy who's wife worked at a factory that makes hot sauces was selling the empty drums for $5 a drum. Our city offered a rain barrel conversion day- bring your empty drum (or garbage cans work great too) and they'll turn it into a rain barrel for $10 per drum. So for a tiny bit of work (driving to pick up the drum/get it converted) we got 2 rain barrels for $30. Too bad they're still electric blue colored- I have high hopes of painting them one day, but that hasn't happened yet (2 years later). They do work great as long as they have water in them- but if you do get one, I suggest building a pedestal for them to sit on since they work through gravity- the higher up they are, the easier it is to water/get a decent water flow :)

It's supposed to be real nasty here today and tomorrow (possibly Saturday) and I must say, I do welcome it because it's been so darn hot! Seriously, the humidity is the worst I've ever felt.

I say that you need a rain barrel! I bet they're awesome to have :)

i NEED a rain barrel!!! and so do you. I have a sort of existential crisis every time I water my gardens because I remember reading something years ago about how growing your own veggies, whilst eco, thrifty, wonderful, etcetc, LOTS o'people don't harvest enough to actually counter all the water use ($ wise at least). So I always feel a little silly, esp looking at my currently single green tomato. Your post made me laugh. But water conservation is a pretty big deal. Go, rain barrels, go!

Not a hippy, have a rainbarrel. The county gave us the barrel part for FREEEEEEE and we spent less than $20 for the hoses and spigots. I bet the Prince of Wales and the Queen have rain barrels (totally not hippies).On the other subject: my husband always says, "you're never wrong" but totally argues with me anyway. Do you think he could be being facetious" Jo @ Let's Face the Music

Rain barrels get full up with winter water to keep you going a little bit of the summer! (Although in England ours [my mum's] never runs out because it never stops blinkin raining).

I wouldn't mind a rain barrel. I like hippies. Our yard is looking even worse than yours so don't feel bad.

I have a rain barrel. My husband hates it. Maybe it's a husband thing? We have a 50 gallon and it fills up way too fast and overflows during storms. Possibly part of the reason he hates it so much. But you can avoid that by not having half of your garage roof drain into a single rain barrel.

Anyway, we got ours at Fleet Farm and it's a nice neutral color so it doesn't stick out obnoxiously in our itty bitty back yard.

Ok, I don't know much about rain barrels either, but I recently spoke to someone who does. Hubby and I have been talking about getting one too. We're spending a fortune watering our new sod and plants. The guy I was talking to said that the kind of rain barrels you buy at the store don't really provide that much water. Maybe enough to water an average size garden, and that's if they are full (which, as you said, in a drought wouldn't really help). He said he has a 1000 gallon rain tub that feeds into a 15000 gallon water tank, and that's the best way to go, but you have to have a lot of land, and they cost a lot of money.
I'm kinda bummed, but still considering getting a rain barrel if I see a good deal on one.

You totally aren't alone in your psychosis! I want a rain barrel- Hubs thinks it's stupid. I'm going to win because at some point in the next few months I'm just going to order one off Amazon. That'll show him!

I have always wanted a rain barrel but we don't really have a good place to put it without it becoming an eye sore. On a happier note we have had a lot of rain the past couple of days/nights here in Chicago. The grass is looking more green these days!!

hahaha. Okay seriously, the last time I turned our hose on I was thinking "we should have a rain barrel, so I don't have to climb through all these dry/dying plants to turn on the faucet"
um, yes. those plants are dry/dying because of no rain.

I don't think that they're a hippie thing so much - seems like lots of non-hippies are getting in on it.

Our yard is a construction zone right now but we have plans to put in a rain barrel (or maybe a few?) next year.

I don't think everyone truly understands what hippe means. What's wrong with saving money while helping the earth any and every little chance we get?! rain barrels are illegal where I live due to water rights but I do other things to help Mama Earth- hybrid car, cloth napkins, wash on cold, swamp cooler instead of AC, enviro friendly products, organic food when I can, etc. I don't think that makes me a hippie one bit. I say get your rain barrel on!

I almost never get to prove Dallas wrong. So irritating. All of our newly purchased and planted landscaping is totally toasted. Also irritating.

We had a super dry spell at the beginning of summer when it was like 400 degrees for 4 weeks straight. Yeah, my grass isn't coming back from that. I'll give it another go with new seed in the fall. So take comfort... my whole yard looks like your one little dry patch.

I've been wanting a rain barrel for a LONG time (for both my house in S. Cali and at least one of my rentals in Portland). Just looking for a good deal on one! I'm the weird type that actually asked for a rain barrel for my anniversary present, lol (who does that?)

You totally need a rain barrel. We had one at the old house and I miss it do much. If you hook it to a downspout you'd be surprised how much it fills up. Although this summer would likely give us a run for our money. Also, hubby already
Has some crazy plan to have a ton of rain barrels at the property. He's totally granola.

Also, maybe you'll appeal to Nate more by convincing him of your water savings.

I bought my rain barrel used on craigslist. Of course it isn't installed but that's another problem. I love the idea of them though!

We have a copper rain chain.(Amazon.com for best prices and variety) It looks gorgeous. We live in a drought area. C'est la vie.

I learned my lesson the hard way last year, when we were in a dry spell here in Texas. This year I did not plant anything, because with the crazy hot summer, it was just going to die. Your grass will come back, and hopefuly, so will the rain.

We have a rain barrel that sits discreetly to the side of our garage. It's a nice neutral color and it's tucked away on the side that's not visible from the street. It's definitely struggling to remain useful in this drought, but in the spring and fall, it's fabulous for watering plants!

We're wanna be hippies. We want a rain barrel, but have yet to get one. Maybe once we actually get a garden with flowers going we'll get one.

We want to get one but haven't yet. It really wouldn't work this summer anyway, like you said.

No rain barrel or rain here, either. And same with the thunder/lightning and no rain. What's up with that?

We live in Chattanooga, TN. and we are semi-hippies (meaning we grow a teeny portion of our own veggies and have 2 beehives!). We do, however, also have 4 - yep 4 - 50 gallon rain barrels, to water said teeny garden. We've emptied all 4 of them twice this summer. So, yes, they are helpful and conveniently hidden behind the house. :)

Steve and I had the same conversation a few weekends ago while doing some landscaping. I showed him how to make a rain barrel, and I showed him the perfect spot for it, and how much easier it would be than dragging the hose...and then he pointed out we haven't had a drop of rain in over a month. Whoops...NEXT summer, I'm totally going to sell him on a rain barrel... :-)

My husband used two new plastic 32 gallon garbage cans. He cut holes in the lids for the garage downspouts to fit into, keeping dirt and birds out also. We dip the water out with a bucket, and use it for plants and bird/animal water.

We have been meaning to get a rain barrel. I saw some at a Habitat for Humanity Restore before and keep meaning to go back...but like you said, it probably might not have done much this summer. Our yard is a hot mess. Kevin was trying to water it every few days, but it's still brown.

I was thinking about a rain collector bucket for my shed... AND I hate hippies, which means rain buckets are not for hippies. See that logic?

Also, let us know next time it snows at your house because we're totally bringing our sleds to your yard. What an awesome hill.

I want a rain barrel! To catch our dust. So I can pour it on our weeds.

I'm all over the rain barrel thing. Pass the granola, sunshine. ;)

I'm all over the rain barrel thing. Pass the granola, sunshine. ;)

I have 4 rain barrels! 2 are hooked up to soaker hoses meaning I rarely ever have to water my vegetable garden. To reduce watering my other gardens, I mainly have native and/or drought-tolerant plants. 95% of the people in our neighbourhood don't water their grass and accept that it goes dormant/brown during summer months. Our city does allow grass watering once a week in mornings and evenings.

Anyway, the reason I have so many barrels is that my city has a day each year where they sell rain barrels at a subsidized price ($40 which includes overflow hose and hose with nozzle for watering).

As an aside, my city created the blue box curb-side recycling pick-up way back in the early 1980s. We also have pick-up for green bins (compost including meat, bones, paper products, etc). Being environmentally responsible is very important here.

It rains 2 inches a YEAR where I live.

I have a sprinkler system and a drip system with a programmable timer. It goes on at night (less evaporation that way).

It's a good thing, because it's 5:37 am right now, and it's too hot to have the windows open. I have the thermostat set at 80º and it is running. We have months of 116º weather here, so if you miss a day of watering, everything dies.

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