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Discuss water requirements, "soil" (growing media) and suitable planting containers

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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#412505
I've always lived in rural areas so city life is a bit foreign to me. "Neighbors" have different meanings in different locations, I suppose. :)

Here's a thought. Use three buckets. Leave one bucket at the apartment. Bring two buckets half full of water back to the apartment. Filter the buckets through a t-shirt or something into the third bucket. The buckets would be about 25 pounds each and you'd have to make two trips up the stairs so it might not be such a good idea...but, you'd end up with 5+ gallons of rainwater! Of course, you might not want an extra climb up the stairs with an extra 25 pounds...but, think about the good cardio exercise it would be!!!! :roll: :lol:
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By specialkayme
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Joined:  Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:02 am
#412521
Intheswamp wrote: Sat May 28, 2022 8:41 pm I've always lived in rural areas so city life is a bit foreign to me. "Neighbors" have different meanings in different locations, I suppose. :)

Here's a thought. Use three buckets. Leave one bucket at the apartment. Bring two buckets half full of water back to the apartment. Filter the buckets through a t-shirt or something into the third bucket. The buckets would be about 25 pounds each and you'd have to make two trips up the stairs so it might not be such a good idea...but, you'd end up with 5+ gallons of rainwater! Of course, you might not want an extra climb up the stairs with an extra 25 pounds...but, think about the good cardio exercise it would be!!!! :roll: :lol:
That oddly reminds me of a grade school math problem.
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#412523
specialkayme wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 12:19 am
Intheswamp wrote: Sat May 28, 2022 8:41 pm I've always lived in rural areas so city life is a bit foreign to me. "Neighbors" have different meanings in different locations, I suppose. :)

Here's a thought. Use three buckets. Leave one bucket at the apartment. Bring two buckets half full of water back to the apartment. Filter the buckets through a t-shirt or something into the third bucket. The buckets would be about 25 pounds each and you'd have to make two trips up the stairs so it might not be such a good idea...but, you'd end up with 5+ gallons of rainwater! Of course, you might not want an extra climb up the stairs with an extra 25 pounds...but, think about the good cardio exercise it would be!!!! :roll: :lol:
That oddly reminds me of a grade school math problem.
...and I probably got it wrong, just like in grade school! :lol:
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By Intheswamp
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#421829
I'm beginning to get a bit excited here in south Alabama. The braindead weatherman has actually forecast a chance of rain for tomorrow and tomorrow night!!!! :o It's been close to four weeks since we got more than a light sprinkle...even kudzu is wilting...goldenrod isn't doing much better...blah, blah, blah. Thankfully I had gone somewhat psycho (my wife thought...which she usually does anyhow :| :mrgreen: ) on gathering rainwater and my plant collection certainly isn't as large as some of ya'll's. But, between rinsing peat moss, perlite, and sand, and the usual watering of plants in a very drying environment I've depleted good bit of my 55+ gallons of water. I haven't tapped into my "strategic reserves" yet, though (my Rubbermaid 32-gallon garbage can<g>).

I've got three or four 5/6-gallon buckets and probably ten gallon milk jugs that need filling so I'm hoping to get a good rain. A five-gallon bucket of water with a Styrofoam cup floating in it is a handy water source to have near the plants...dip a cup and put it where it's needed. Easy-peasy...if you have the bucket with water in it. Gallon jugs are easy, too...but, there again...gotta have them filled. So, I'm excited to possibly get to refill some of these reservoirs!

I'm cleaning buckets and my big plastic flower pots to catch the roof run-off and hope to get one or two of the buckets filled. Going on a month since our last half-decent rain our metal roof is undoubtedly dirty...dust, bird gifts, tree debris, small intergalactic remnants of alien spacecrafts, etc.,. In the past I've used a waterhose to give the rinse a "pre-rinse". I think I'll take a TDS reading of the public water coming out the end of the hose, another reading with the first rinse water coming off the roof, and a final TDS reading when I'm through rinsing. I know the last time I did this the water coming off first was definitely cloudy/dirty, but it cleared up as I continued to rinse. I'll only be doing probably a 10' width of roof. I still plan on dumping the first bit of rainwater that (hopefully) goes in the buckets...possibly just consolidate that first bit into a single bucket in case there's not a lot more to fall. With the pre-rinse I should end up with a higher quality water...and hopefully more of it. My usual, "clean roof" rainwater TDS usually measures from 0-2ppm.

Anyhow, I never thought I'd get some excited about catching rainwater in a bucket!! :D
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By evenwind
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#421851
Intheswamp wrote: Tue Oct 11, 2022 1:39 pm Anyhow, I never thought I'd get some excited about catching rainwater in a bucket!! :D
CPs are a very strange hobby.
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By Intheswamp
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#421948
YEEEEHAWWWWW!!! Life's simple pleasures!!! The nasty-looking water comes off a valley which is the dirtiest water (but fastest to fill things with)...I took a TDS measurement and it hits in at a whopping 5ppm. I'd already dumped roughly three inches out from an earlier rain today. I slid one of my buckets over there because the rain run-off started overshooting the cooler...filled it up, and had to move another one over there. Man, I'm so glad to see this rain!!!!
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By Intheswamp
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#421957
And...they're all full!!!!! :mrgreen: I've still got the grandkids kiddie pool I could drag out there.... :lol:

Bruce, you're right...this is a strange hobby. :mrgreen:

ETA: I couldn't resist it...I put the kiddie pool out! :lol:
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By evenwind
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#421961
So just to be sure: You're running around like a crazy person, filling buckets like someone with a leaky roof, but without the roof? Gottit!
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By Intheswamp
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#421964
Livin' on the edge, man, livin'on the edge!!! :lol: (I think there was a Twilight Zone episode about that! I hope the guys that have the white jacket with the extra long arms in them don't show up here!!!! :? )

Innyhow, if I manage to collect a good bit in the kiddie pool I'll use it to rinse up a batch of peat moss and perlite. Speaking of that, would it be ok to wash the perlite with regular faucet (350ppm) water and give it a final rinse with rainwater?

I just checked the water containers...interestingly the cooler and two white buckets at the valley discharge area dropped down to 1ppm while the smaller containers coming straight down the roof were hitting 2ppm and 3ppm. I figured the 5ppm would drop as the roof cleaned off and cleaner water started going into the containers. It surprises me thought that the smaller containers catching the water coming straight down the roof (no valley) were a touch higher. Maybe they didn't get as much fresher, cleaner water in them. :?: Looks like we may have one more good shower coming this way...maybe the kiddie pool will catch some, but it's in the yard under open skies, no run-off to pour in it.

Yeah, a strange hobby!!!! :mrgreen:
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By ChefDean
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Joined:  Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:44 am
#421965
I didn't set this one up for collection, it's off my small, covered front porch, but I put a new rain chain up so I can watch the rain better.
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By roarke
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Joined:  Sun Nov 08, 2009 3:11 am
#439156
ChefDean wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 12:57 pm We just do it better in Tennessee.
20220526_075433.jpg
A sort of decorative rain gutter, no ?
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