Bay Soundings l Rain Barrels Boost Backyard Conservation

Rain Barrels Boost Backyard Conservation

In the best of all possible worlds, a fairy could wave a magic wand and repair all the damage done to Florida’s delicate ecosystems when governments and developers drained wetlands for farms and homes. That’s not likely to happen — but there is something nearly every homeowner can do to make a difference in their own back yards.

On developed lands, stormwater that once filtered slowly through the soil into underground aquifers now runs off roofs, across yards and driveways and into storm drains that directly connect to rivers and lakes. This untreated stormwater carries more than half of the nitrogen deposited in Tampa Bay, which fuels the growth of algae and limits light penetration to seagrasses.

Retrofitting urban areas to treat stormwater offsite is either impossible or very expensive, but rain barrels — preferably paired with rain or bog gardens — can cost-effectively capture stormwater one backyard at a time.

Photos: Monica Brandies

Above, Brandies connects multiple barrels to maximize available water. At left, Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program highlights decorative barrels with scenes from Florida’s ecosystems.

County Extension services regularly schedule programs on rain barrels, and the cost typically includes a barrel. Local sources for additional barrels can be found in the yellow pages under Barrels & Drums. Be sure to buy barrels that have been used for food, not chemicals.

Bog gardens, which often include carnivorous plants to help eliminate flies and mosquitoes, typically are planted in a shallow hole lined with plastic to hold the water, notes Lynn Barber, compost program coordinator for Hillsborough County Extension. Rain gardens are less typical in Florida, where they are likely to be designed as a system of berms and swales planted with deep-rooted plants that can tolerate either standing water or periods of drought, adds Marina d’Abreau, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods.

Rain Barrels Make a Big Difference
Although experts recommend rain barrels or cisterns for bog gardens, they’re also very effective in almost any landscape, says Monica Brandies, a garden writer transplanted from Iowa to Florida who has written a series of books on Florida-friendly landscaping. “Nothing saves a gardener so much work and so many plants and gives such a feeling of assurance as a rain barrel,” she says.

They can capture an enormous amount of water in even a small amount of rain if they’re strategically positioned under downspouts. An average 2000 square foot roof, for instance, sheds 1,250 gallons of water after one inch of rain. Assuming the home has four downspouts – and you had enough rain barrels linked together – you could capture 312 gallons from a single spout.

Brandies didn’t start off as a fan of rain barrels – it took her a few decades of gardening in Florida and some trials and tribulations along the way. First, she bought the biggest trash cans she could find, including one on wheels in a color that matched her house. It stretched under the weight of the rain water and promptly fell off its wheels. She learned her lesson: “The thicker the plastic, the stronger.”

The color of the barrels may be a concern for some homeowners, but Brandies said it’s less an issue than she expected. “I thought they would stand out like eyesores but they actually blend in well among the plants.” She plants fragrant plants around them to make dipping the water more enjoyable and tends to plant her thirstiest plants near the barrels.

The best choice for most gardeners is to attend a County Extension workshop on rain barrels where participants learn how – and why — to use them and then get to take one home. The extension also will help install a spigot on the bottom and provide detailed directions on how to lead a downspout drain into a hole you cut to size in the lid.

The spigots allow water to be used with a hose or irrigation system, but Brandies typically dips water out of the top of hers. “That makes the width of the opening important,” she notes. “The dipping is not that difficult and is healthier than lifting weights for exercise.” Other people, particularly parents of children who like to garden, put their rain barrels on concrete blocks to get them high enough that the spigot can be used to fill a bucket for watering.

Mosquitoes Easily Addressed
For most people, the biggest concern about rain barrels is that they are providing the perfect location for mosquito larva. Most rain barrels come with lids, so the mosquitoes can’t get in to lay their eggs, Brandies said. “And even at the worst, I have found no more mosquito bites with than without the barrels, especially if I use the water often and take out any larvae that are floating on top.”

Retrofitting urban areas to treat stormwater offsite is either impossible or very expensive, but rain barrels, preferably paired with rain or bog gardens — can cost-effectively capture stormwater one backyard at a time.

If mosquitoes are still a concern, there are several additional steps that can be taken. First, the county extension recommends covering open tops with two layers of porch screening which also keeps out debris.

Adding a small amount of vegetable oil makes a film over the top that stops mosquitoes, but won’t harm the plants. “It will just shine them up a bit,” Brandies says.

Mosquito Dunks, round, hard bricks of Bacillus Thuringiensis, are a safe, natural biological control that kills hatching larvae; they can be purchased in larger garden centers and through mail order catalogs. Another option is a piece of wood floating on the water that serves as a landing spot for frogs, who will be encouraged to lay eggs in the barrel. The tadpoles will devour any mosquito larva and keep the water in the barrel clean.

Her personal favorite is the “fish-in-the-barrel” mosquito control. “My daughter bought me some goldfish in November of 2001 and I’ve had them swimming in the barrels ever since,” she says. “At first we had to use a flashlight to search through the deep, dark waters to see if they were still there. Once I started feeding them, they came to the top at the sound of my voice.”

They don’t really need feeding, she discovered, when one survived in a barrel she thought was uninhabited for months before he appeared again. The fish seem to prefer the bottom of the barrel during rainstorms and when she is dipping out water. “Only once in all these years have I found one in the dipping bucket, and being gold, he was easy to see and return,” she said. “I’ve never found evidence of their washing over the rim, either, even when I forget to put the screening back on for a day.”

And while Brandies has a sophisticated system of rain barrels, even a row of five-gallon buckets under the eaves can catch an enormous amount of water to be doled out among thirsty plants during our annual dry season. “At this point, we all need to be doing everything we can to conserve water,” she said.

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