PSA: I compared a regular rain barrel to a linked 3-barrel system for my garden

The single barrel overflowed after a heavy storm in April, but the linked setup from a local co-op caught over 200 gallons and kept my plants watered for weeks. Anyone else find a simple upgrade that made a huge difference in cutting down water use?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_hernandez833mo ago

Yeah, and it helps stop that soil washout around your foundation too.

skyler_white951mo ago

Wait, do you have a overflow kit that's separate from just a regular bulkhead fitting? I've got two 55 gallon drums linked with a hose at the bottom but I'm worried about them both filling up and then what happens with the overflow. Did you run the overflow hose out away from the house or just let it dump where the barrels sit?

margaretk893mo ago

Oh totally... I did something like that last summer with just two old food grade barrels I got for free. The single one would fill and spill over in like twenty minutes during a downpour, which felt so wasteful. Linking them with a piece of hose and an overflow kit was a game changer... it's crazy how much more you can actually save. My tomatoes didn't need the hose at all in July.