Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Rain barrels and compost bins
Yes, it’s a perennial topic but with 18 million new gardeners recently, I want to share about these awesome garden tools!
April Showers bring May flowers and an opportunity. Of course, the hope is that moisture isn’t in the solid form of snow! Rainwater is the best kind of water for your lawn, trees, shrubs and flower gardens. Capturing it is a good thing for several reasons. First, it’s free!
It’s also a good stormwater management practice. Corralling that precious water before it rushes down the storm drain and carries with it lawn chemicals and road and driveway gunk into our lakes, rivers and ponds.
There are counties throughout the Upper Midwest that offer rain barrels at a decent price along with a short informational class on how to use them properly. Emptying them for the winter and storing them for one thing. I got mine through the city I live in which also held composting classes.
There are numerous resources, check with your county extensions. Check out the University of Minnesota Extension for more information. One note I’ll make is that the U does NOT recommend using the collected rain barrel water on your fruit or vegetable garden, saying there’s not enough research to say the water out of the barrel is safe.
A rain barrel can save most homeowners 1300 gallons of water in one season!
Another good idea are compost bins. They can be nearly any structure that can hold debris while allowing for air circulation, water and heat (as in some sunlight) to get to the pile. Again, more info from the University of MN Ext. on composting.
In the photo below I like the slides to open the bottom for access to the finished compost. There are a bazillion ways to build a compost bin, you can also buy one. I personally didn’t like the tumbler, but that’s just me.
