Rainwater harvesting systems can and should be tied into an irrigation system " zoned " to feed food bearing gardens. This is working well for us at our home in Southern California. It is true that we cannot rely solely on rain water as we are only collecting a small patio roof and we don't have enough room for a large system, but we have a pump that pulls the water from our rain barrels and the barrels are refilled with city water when they get depleted via a float switch. We enjoy fabulous vegetables and herbs and fruits and there is a certain magic from cultivation and using the food grown at home to create good meals.
This is a conceptual drawing of such a system; the cut away view inside the tank is meant to show the float switch. The overflow is directed into the grass to be absorbed into the soil, an outlet from the tank leads to the pump with feeds a irrigation manifold.
Our harvest currently is potatoes, green onions, strawberries, oregeno, sage, rosemarry and thyme. The mint just grows like mad and we may have to remove it.
We are waiting for bell peppers, tomatoes, corn and blueberries, grapes and squash and jalapenos. A summer variety that will yield more than we can eat. Here are some more photos of our rain garden; notice that we removed all the grass and have gravel between the food beds and the childrens play area is covered with wood chips. The only water that is used in our back yard is for the raised food beds, and a good portion of that comes from our rainwater harvesting system. It is important to live as we talk; to do as we encourage others to do. I personally will never have regular grass again. When the economy recovers and things aren't so scrunched we are going to do a total front yard make over and plant many more herbs and eliminate the grass there.
The Tank Fed Food Beds are offered as a service to our clients along with the Gutter Gardens and rainwater harvesting systems. We are offering turf removal and drip systems and constructing patio container gardens for those willing to add rain barrels and catchment systems as the primary feed of water.
This is a conceptual drawing of such a system; the cut away view inside the tank is meant to show the float switch. The overflow is directed into the grass to be absorbed into the soil, an outlet from the tank leads to the pump with feeds a irrigation manifold.
Our harvest currently is potatoes, green onions, strawberries, oregeno, sage, rosemarry and thyme. The mint just grows like mad and we may have to remove it.
We are waiting for bell peppers, tomatoes, corn and blueberries, grapes and squash and jalapenos. A summer variety that will yield more than we can eat. Here are some more photos of our rain garden; notice that we removed all the grass and have gravel between the food beds and the childrens play area is covered with wood chips. The only water that is used in our back yard is for the raised food beds, and a good portion of that comes from our rainwater harvesting system. It is important to live as we talk; to do as we encourage others to do. I personally will never have regular grass again. When the economy recovers and things aren't so scrunched we are going to do a total front yard make over and plant many more herbs and eliminate the grass there.
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| In the back ground you can just see the gutters that collect water from our roof. |
The Gutter Garden
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