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My neighbor said I was wasting my time with a rain barrel in Arizona
He told me last year that collecting rain in the desert was pointless and the barrel would just bake in the sun. I set one up anyway, hooked to a downspout from my shed roof. After the summer monsoons, I had over 80 gallons saved, which I used to keep a little native plant garden alive. Anyone else get told their small climate step was silly, only to have it actually work out?
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the_spencer5d ago
Isn't the whole point of a rain barrel to collect water when it does rain? That's when you need it most. Your neighbor's point about the sun is fair, a dark colored barrel will get hot, but that's why you use the water. It doesn't just sit there forever. You proved it works by actually watering plants with it. People forget even deserts get big rains sometimes.
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josephmartin4d ago
Yeah, exactly! I read an article about rainwater harvesting in Arizona. They said even a small roof can fill a barrel fast during a monsoon. The water might get warm, but plants don't care. My cousin in Tucson uses two big barrels for her garden, and she barely touches her hose all summer. It's about catching what you can when it falls.
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spencer84d ago
Actually, that whole idea seems pretty flawed for most places. Rain barrels only work if you get steady rain all season, not just one big storm. In a desert, you might fill a barrel once and then it sits empty for months getting gross. The water gets warm and full of bugs, which is bad for plants. It's a lot of hassle for very little actual water when you need it most.
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