Jeff Hardgrave congratulates Katrin Christal, Sharon Neal, and May Arthur, the winners of three rain collection barrels.
Ellen Sullivan
Or “Roll out the barrel, we’ll have a barrel of fun” saving some money and helping our plants grow!
Jeff Hardgrave, president of the Master Gardeners of Denton, visited the Robson Ranch Garden Club on Feb. 16. His presentation deepened our understanding of the need to make use of the gifts from nature to help our plants grow. He offered us information concerning rain water harvesting through the use of rain barrels.
The runoff from a typical roof into a downspout will fill a 55-gallon barrel with a rainfall of one inch. Of course, rainwater is free, rather than using the city water, which we get to pay for and which includes many chemicals our plants don’t need. Rainwater is naturally soft and slightly acidic and free of chlorine and other chemicals. Capturing rainwater runoff in barrels helps prevent soil erosion. In turn, this also helps decrease the amount of polluted water entering our waterways.
Keep in mind that if a Robson Ranch resident would like to make use of one or more rain collection barrels, they need approval by the ALC. This includes approval for placement location, color, and shielding from neighbors’ views. There is not currently a fee required for this application, but the approval must go through the proper ALC channels.
Rainwater collection barrels can be purchased online. Search for “EarthMinded Rain Barrel Kit.” Materials can be purchased at large hardware stores, and the City of Denton offers the barrels for a nominal fee. Barrels have a mesh barrier to prevent mosquito invasion, and they have valves to make it easy to fill a watering can.
The City of Denton offers a Rainwater Harvesting class, and more information can be found through the Denton City Sustainability Department.
Mr. Hardgrave brought two of the “blue” barrels, available through the city, and a faux terracotta barrel, which even has a little planting space at the top. The blue barrels will need painting, as required by the ALC. The terracotta barrels will need very few changes to be acceptable in appearance. Very kindly, Mr. Hardgrave gave all three barrels away to people attending the meeting! The winners of the blue barrels were Katrin Christal and Sharon Neal. The terracotta barrel was won by May Arthur.
Our next meeting of the Robson Ranch Garden Club will be at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 16, in the Lonestar Room of the clubhouse. We will have our annual plant exchange. Even if you don’t have any plant starts or seeds to share, come anyway! Many members bring several, and everyone who wants a start will get one! In April we will have a field trip to a nearby garden wonder in Argyle, and in May we will have our annual Home Garden Tour.
Please save your egg cartons and bring them to our monthly meetings. We will deliver them to Shiloh Field to help with their dispensing of produce to food pantries and kitchens in the Denton area.