[Community_garden] New community garden with a rain storage question

[Tamsin Salehian]

Hi Erica,

If your garden has a bit of a slope you could design swales and berms into
the layout to re-route rainwater to beds. This isn't exactly storage in a
tank, but rather ground storage and seepage to the root zones of your
plantings. It is one of the principles used in permaculture and is an
ancient design method for maximizing nature's bounty. Currently is getting
press under the title raingarden, which relates most the wet plantings for
the lowest point. If you get enough rain or have a large site you could use
your swales to direct excess water to a pond or a few small ponds to act as
rainwater storage, You can do this very low tech, just be noticing what your
garden's drainage patterns are and siting beds to make the most of them,
building small berms to encourage the water to flow where you wish. Even
slight mounds as you build your garden will affect the water and runoff
patterns.

Here are a couple of links you may find handy, other people may have others.

http://www.harvesth2o.com/swales.shtml
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/permacult/msg0422135913510.html
http://files.losalamosnm.us/util/Bill%20Stuffers/WG06-07-JWH-email.pdf

Also, if you are fencing the garden you could erect some sheet metal along a
fence top with a slight slope to create a roof line to collect water, if you
want to try to collect more water.

Good luck
Tamsin
(Sydney)

On 5/4/08 4:47 AM, "Erica" <Erica at cortland.org> wrote:

> Hello~ 
> 
>  
> 
> My agency the City of Cortland Youth Bureau (Cortland, New York) is in the
> process of starting our areas first community garden.  My goal is to engage
> youth in the garden and the endless possibilities that gardening will bring
> them.
> 
> 
> 
> I am looking for suggestions of how we can build a rain storage device for our
> garden.  The plot is not close to a roof or building.  Thus far I have only
> found resources for building rain storage units with runoff coming from roofs
> or gutters.  Does anyone know of resources that could be of help to our
> program?  Any other suggestions for first time community garden ambassadors
> are much appreciated!
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you for your assistance.
> 
> 
> 
> Yours truly,
> 
> 
> 
> Erica Alexich
> 
> 
> 
> Youth Services Specialist
> City of Cortland Youth Bureau
> 35 Port Watson St.
> Cortland, NY 13045
> (607) 753-3580
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