How to harvest the sky

People might think rain barrels are just an eco-friendly gesture—a nice thing to do for the planet. But why rely on city water and suffer through drought restrictions when you can catch the free water that falls from the clouds? A rain barrel isn't a plastic drum of mosquito water: it's a thermal battery, a chemical filter, and a gravity pump. Stop wasting money on the city and start harvesting the clouds.

Rainwater is better for your plants.

City water is treated to be safe for humans, not plants. While this keeps us healthy, it can inhibit the beneficial microbes in your soil that help plants eat.

Rainwater is different.

• It is "soft": It has no mineral buildup or salts.

• It is charged: Rainwater collects dissolved nitrogen from the atmosphere as it falls. Nitrogen is the primary ingredient in fertilizer.

• The result: When you water with rain, you are literally applying a mild, free fertilizer. Plants respond instantly—they look greener and perk up faster than they do with tap water.

Rainwater avoids temperature shock.

On a hot July afternoon, your soil might be 25°C. The water coming out of your city tap is coming from deep underground pipes at 10°C.

When you spray that ice-cold water onto hot tomato roots, the plants go into Thermal Shock. They freeze up, stop growing, and can even wilt.

Because rain barrels hold the water above ground, it warms up to ambient air temperature. When you water your garden, the water is the same temperature as the roots. No shock. Just growth.

Rainwater is free.

A single 1-inch rainfall on a modest 1,000 sq. ft. roof generates over 600 gallons of water. That is enough to fill a standard 55-gallon barrel 10 times over.

By capturing just a fraction of this, you create a "buffer" for your property.

• Fight the Drought: When the city bans hose use in August, your garden doesn't have to die. You have 55 (or 110 or more) gallons in the bank.

• Fight the Water Bill: While water is relatively cheap in Ontario, sewage fees are not. Every gallon you use from the tap costs you money; every gallon from the sky is free dividends.

Money is literally falling from the sky. You should catch some of it.