water saving tip
Three years ago when I told my husband that I wanted a wormery for my birthday he was a little surprised but this year when I asked for a water butt he did not butt an eye lid ( Sorry- I could not resistit). I have wanted one for ages but again it is not something I have ever come across in Spain. I have certainly never seen one in AKI or or in local Viveros, however,my luck changed when I visited the newly open “Clearance Warehouse” on the Coin Road. (It replaces the burnt down storage warehouse next to the Palacio de Telas and YoYuba) . They had two sets of garden water butts , one thin 100litre with stand at 20 euros and another 220 litres with stand, drainpipe attachment and watering can for 50 euros.
If you are looking for something a bit bigger you could try BIG Mart which had 1000 litre water collectors that could be usedfor indoor and outdoor water supply. Their range started off at 240 euros and lids and taps were separate. They are also situated on the Coin road at the Entrerios /la Cala roundabout.
If none of these suit your purposes than you could always invest in the cheap blue/red bins that we find in our Chinese Bizarre or 1euro shops which cost from 4 euros. Last year I placed two under the drains during the heavy rainfall and the watered all my plants for 4 days.
Rain is one of the few remaining items we still have free. Lets use it!
| Andy's post from May 2011. |
We already have a water butt that takes rain from the guttering but its too small and fills up in minutes, we needed something more. So with a rough plan in my head and the impending rain on its way i quickly rigged up a system that was cheap, simple and quick to make.
the photo above shows the finished article. The left hand water butt is the original one that has sat there for a year or so and is fed by the guttering and downpipe. The second is the the same size as the first but sits lower to the ground on a couple of two inch planks. As the water butts fill up they overflow into each other via 55mm pvc pipe. In total i reckon the capacity of the four water butts is about 700 litres, not bad for a hastily made last ditch attempt to save water. Once they're full, i fill up empty water bottles (look to the right of the picture) that we've saved over the last few years. If its torrential and all the water butts are full, the first one has a tap at the bottom which is connected to irrigation pipe. That pipe is buried in the soil and runs over the edge of a steep bank and down to the lower terrace where it fills up a large 1000 litre tank. That tank waters all the fruit trees and the grapes through summer.
the photo above shows the finished article. The left hand water butt is the original one that has sat there for a year or so and is fed by the guttering and downpipe. The second is the the same size as the first but sits lower to the ground on a couple of two inch planks. As the water butts fill up they overflow into each other via 55mm pvc pipe. In total i reckon the capacity of the four water butts is about 700 litres, not bad for a hastily made last ditch attempt to save water. Once they're full, i fill up empty water bottles (look to the right of the picture) that we've saved over the last few years. If its torrential and all the water butts are full, the first one has a tap at the bottom which is connected to irrigation pipe. That pipe is buried in the soil and runs over the edge of a steep bank and down to the lower terrace where it fills up a large 1000 litre tank. That tank waters all the fruit trees and the grapes through summer.
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