Where Art Thou, Free Water from the Sky?

The temps here in southern Texas have reached the high 90's and we know Summer is upon us. I confess I don't enjoy this part of our weather. In addition, the humidity is high, although not as high as it might be -- no rain for four weeks helps in that respect. The garden, however, needs water. So I've rigged up a water catchment system off the barn roof. Thus far I can catch 100 gallons per one inch of rainfall in the spare horse trough I have placed under one of the four downspouts. In addition, I have a 50 gallon barrel under the eves of the house. I use three gallon cat litter jugs to empty as much of the water between rainfalls. This makes me feel very good about the water I'm using on the garden. Let happy, however, about the amount of busy work involved in this. I had explored a water catchment system over a year ago, but never got it built. I can see that time -- and my tricky shoulder -- demands that I get to this project.

Here are the links to the plans...hope to have pictures sooner rather than later. For those who don't feel like exploring a 500 gallon system, look at this system which is a bit more attainable.

Happy Gardening!