I’m starting to get fed up of the amount of water falling out of the sky at the moment. I realise that is quite contentious, if I think of the lack of rain almost everywhere, but here we now need some warmth and sunshine as well as water.
At least I have found a way of storing more of the rainwater I’ve been collecting: filling up empty milk cartons. So far today that means 8 litres – and goodness knows how much more I could have saved if I had emptied the tubs around the wendy house earlier instead allowing the water to overflow. Still, that is 8 litres that won’t need to come out of my tap now!
Another idea I’ve had for making use of an excess of rainfall and which does not involve me having to find a means of storing it is to dig a hole in the garden and fill it with shredded paper, rather than putting that in the already over carbon-filled compost heap. That way, I understand, the paper will hold the water and thus the plants growing on top will be able to get it for longer.
Actually, this isn’t a new idea as I was already doing that over the winter as I didn’t want to add anything else to the heap until I had taken out the compost that was ready. However, in view of the increasingly carbon nature of its current contents, I do think this practice needs to be resumed. So, even if the plants don’t ultimately benefit from the water retained in the paper underneath them, at least the paper won’t be going into landfill. That seems a good move to me.
Growing out of chaos 
I too am tired of water from the sky – I’ve been collecting it in the kids water/sand table and in a couple of big plastic boxes I will use later in the year for camping. And I like the idea about using your old paper.
Got the idea of the paper from my dad, who said that things like runner beans like it – their roots reach down into the soil and find it.
Another idea to try if you like is have the rain go into a reservoir to use for anything you might need 🙂
Yes, that’s an idea!
^_^