25 July 2008

Dolly Would

Hurricane Dolly smacked into the Texas Gulf coast on Wednesday. I'm sorry for the folks down in Brownsville and South Padre, but the hurricane did bring us some much needed rain up in Central Texas yesterday. I measured only 3/4 of an inch, but beggars can't be choosers.

I don't know if I'll ever cease to be amazed by the rain barrels either. My two 75 gallon containers were completely empty and that 3/4 of an inch of rain filled them to the brim (and probably overflowing). I'll be able to use that rainwater for a good few weeks to water all my veggie gardens, potted plants and some of my perennial/herb beds. That is awesome.

5 comments:

ELK said...

gotta love those barrels...we got not a drop...like your blog!

Mary Beth said...

We would have gladly shared some of the 15-20 inches we received from Dolly! (Our rain gauge didn't go underwater but is now located in our much larger resaca) But how great that you gleaned gallons from less than an inch of rainfall!

Mary Beth said...

We would have gladly shared some of the 15-20 inches we received from Dolly! (Our rain gauge didn't go underwater but is now located in our much larger resaca) But how great that you gleaned gallons from less than an inch of rainfall!

Anonymous said...

Hi:
I would be interested, if you have time, to learn details about your rain barrels (I apologize if I missed where you posted about them before).
I have one plastic trash can hooked up to a downspout. It fills up fast, or would if it ever rains again in Dallas.
What is your rainwater system like?
Thanks,
Rick R.

Lee said...

Rick- I have two rainbarrels that I bought from the City of Austin. You can see them on their website here: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watercon/rbsales.htm.

I have one connected to my garage roof and one attached to a downspout that drains one side of the house. I have them propped up about 4-6 inches off the ground with some bricks.

The water (when it rains...ugh!) flows strait into the screened top and then I use the hose attached at the bottom. Water flows through the hose from the simple physics of water pressure.

Hope that helps,
Lee