Keeping your indoor plants green/healthy and blooming

[ChanellG]

Ouch.. that is really miserable weather.. I wish you had more sunny days and warm weather. I cannot get enough of the sun.. I have been out all day sitting in the sun and tending to my plants.. some of them needed pruning and re-potting.

Thanks, Maddie! Luckily I don't have to be out in the weather today as it is going to be very bad this morning. I am consoling myself with the fact that I will be gathering quite a lot of rainwater. In fact, I am thinking of emptying a couple storage bins temporarily to be able to harvest more.

 

[maddie]

Thanks, Maddie! Luckily I don't have to be out in the weather today as it is going to be very bad this morning. I am consoling myself with the fact that I will be gathering quite a lot of rainwater. In fact, I am thinking of emptying a couple storage bins temporarily to be able to harvest more.

One can choose to see the better side of things and i am glad that you see this that way. Yeah, without rain we are going to have to struggle with water scarcity. This year the rains failed and we are having severe issues here... though we do not have any problems in our apartment block I see this all around me... the early rains in Feb or March will have to save us from a long hot and dry summer.

 

[ChanellG]

Maddie, I collected about 5 gallons over a two day period! I would love to put out more collectors, but I haven't figured out where to keep the water yet, lol. I guess I need something I can keep outdoors that can withstand the weather and won't let in mosquitoes.

 

[maddie]

Yup, you need to be careful to avoid providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes.. Closed bins may be the answer to your problems
We have a rain harvesting system here which is underground, the pipes lead to the tank and we pump out the water and use them to water our gardens in summer... there is very little water wasted through evaporation..

 

[ChanellG]

We have a rain harvesting system here which is underground, the pipes lead to the tank and we pump out the water and use them to water our gardens in summer... there is very little water wasted through evaporation..

That is a very interesting system. How is the water collected? How is it contained? Something like that could be very beneficial here as it rains so much. The only problem is that the water can't be used for drinking or cooking. It would save lots of money though in maintaining lawns and parks.

 

[Tmann]

Here is a link to one.

http://www.atlantiscorp.com.au/solutions/landscaping/rainwater-harvesting

 

[ChanellG]

Here is a link to one.

http://www.atlantiscorp.com.au/solutions/landscaping/rainwater-harvesting

Very cool system! Not sure many people in the U.S. would excavate to have one of these tanks, but these would be a good idea in places like the communities in California where there are occasional bans on watering your lawn.

 

[maddie]

The landscaping is done in such a way the water drains into a low area that is lined with mild steel sheets which are curved to catch the water that flows down. This along with the water from the rain drainpipes placed strategically on the terrace all flow into a tank that is at least three feet below the surface... The tank being huge we can use the water throughout summer for gardening purposes... Yeah, we cannot use it for other things.. but some apartments have a way to recycle the water to flush toilets too.

 

[ChanellG]

Using rainwater to flush toilets must save thousands of dollars, Maddie! That's a really good idea; I wonder how hard it would be to install a system in a house to deliver rainwater to the toilets. I just may have to look into that.

 

[Tmann]

The landscaping is done in such a way the water drains into a low area that is lined with mild steel sheets which are curved to catch the water that flows down. This along with the water from the rain drainpipes placed strategically on the terrace all flow into a tank that is at least three feet below the surface... The tank being huge we can use the water throughout summer for gardening purposes... Yeah, we cannot use it for other things.. but some apartments have a way to recycle the water to flush toilets too.

If I ever build another house I am definitely going to look at this, the only thing that would keep me from doing it would be the expense. It costs me quite a bit in the summer to water when it is dry and to also top off my pond.

Using rainwater to flush toilets must save thousands of dollars, Maddie! That's a really good idea; I wonder how hard it would be to install a system in a house to deliver rainwater to the toilets. I just may have to look into that.

It would be rather difficult for me to deliver rainwater to the toilets,I have 4 bathrooms and two of them there is no way to get to the plumbing without tearing out the drywall to run the lines.

 

[ChanellG]

It would be rather difficult for me to deliver rainwater to the toilets,I have 4 bathrooms and two of them there is no way to get to the plumbing without tearing out the drywall to run the lines.

I'm sure you could come up with some kind of bypass system; that is what I would do if I were ever to incorporate a system for using rainwater to flush my toilet. I'd only do it with one toilet as a test to see a) how it would work out and b) if it would be worth it financially.As it stands now I could always do it manually.

 

[maddie]

Desperate times calls for innovative actions... I guess if there is a will there is a way.. Water has become a very scare here so we do have to do those certain things that reduce wastage of water.,.. I for one use the water I wash my vegetables and lentils in to water my containers... This is additional nutrition too...

 

[ChanellG]

That's an interesting idea, Maddie, but for that to work for me I would have to keep a special basin at the ready and store the water afterward. I usually water all of my plants in the morning so I'd have to save up the water for the next time my plants needed a drink.

 

[zigs]

They changed the law here last year, but before that, it was an offence to syphon water out of your bath to water the garden during a hosepipe ban

 

[ChanellG]

Interesting Ziggy, why was it illegal in the first place? Although if people were putting oils in their bath, you wouldn't want to see that end up in the water table since it's bad for fish and other aquatic creatures.