Looking for organic farms and rain barrel builders in Calgary, AB
Written on 19 April 2009 by ChrisA couple of days ago I received a request from a teacher in Calgary who is looking for good learning experience for his students. While teaching in Guelph this teacher and his students went for a field trip where they took a tour of a working organic farm and built rain barrels on a volunteer basis. This outing was deemed to be a huge success by the teacher and his students and he would like to take what he learned in Guelph and apply it to his new class in Calgary.
This teacher is looking for 2 things (in the Calgary area):
1 - Volunteer opportunities where the students would build rain barrels and learn about water conservation practices and techniques.
2 - Tours of a working organic farm.
If you know of such opportunities send me an email and I will pass along your contact info. We also hope to have a post about the experiences detailing how other teachers can provide a similar experience for their own students.
Some lessons learned
Written on 7 April 2009 by ChrisHere are some things that I have learned over the last couple of years about building rain barrels:
- Buy the gray barrels that contained olive, pickles etc. They are easier to work with and blend in with the landscape better then the white barrels.
- Make sure that the lid screws on/off with relative ease.
- Make sure that you really wash the barrels well with soap and/or a pressure washer. Getting the olive brine out make everything smell just a bit better. Even after washing it will usually take 2-3 fill and drain cycles to really get rid of the smell. Having to clean them is really the worst part of using a recycled barrel.
- If you are putting the barrel in your car and it is on it’s side make sure that the lid is on tight otherwise rancid olive brine may drip into your car (I learned this one the hard way).
- Make sure that you inspect the barrel you are buying. Check for cracked lids and stressed seams.
- When drilling the holes for your tap test the size of the drill bit on something other then your barrel. If you drill the hole too big the barrel is useless as a rain barrel but with another 100 holes you could make a great compost bin.
- When installing your barrels make sure that they are elevated off the ground. 10-12 inches usually does the trick. This gives you a little bit of water pressure.
- Double screen the intake for the barrel. One layer of screen for the bug and one for any junk that comes down the downspout. (Leaves, sticks and acorns and small animals)
Rain Barrel Junior
Written on 6 April 2009 by ChrisAs an experiment I have build a smaller rain barrel that I am calling rain barrels junior. This barrels holds about 60L of water and would fit in to tight spaces that our larger barrels can not. We are selling this one, if anybody is interested drop us a line.
Kicking off the 2009 season
Written on 28 March 2009 by ChrisSpring is finally here. I can tell because the requests for rain barrels and rain barrel information have been pouring in.
This year we have a few goals that we hope to accomplish:
- We want to get instructions and maybe even a video up that will show how we go about building our rain barrels.
- Add more pictures with each post. The visuals can be so helpful.
- We are going to try some minor modifications to improve the way we go about building batches of barrels. It is all about efficiency and time right now as in I am not very efficient and do not have very much time. The design we have been using works really well but I want to find a way to build them faster.
- I really want to try and see what we can do to enhance our yard. Last year it was goldfish in the barrel, which we will be doing again this year because it was fun. This year will it be drip irrigation, a water level gauge…
- I want to show the kids that building and doing things for the environment can be both fun and rewarding.
- Add a Twitter feed to our site. Not sure what the angle will be for this yet
I think that is enough for one year. Keep in mind, I have 3 kids, a full time job and run 2 additional web sites so this may be a bit ambitious. Check back over the course of the summer to see how far I was able to get.
Yellow Dog Rain Barrels - Toronto
Written on 26 February 2009 by ChrisA couple of months ago I had the chance to communicate with Judy Nosworthy of Yellow Dog Rain Barrels in Toronto. Her story is a great example of one person proving that helping the environment can be rewarding both personaly and financially. I asked her to write a short post about who she is and what is is doing. If you are in the GTA I encourage you to look her up. Here is her story:
“A couple of years ago, I wanted a rain barrel, but didn’t want to spend over a hundred bucks at one of those Big Box Stores; so, I figured I’d make my own.
The first challenge I faced was getting barrels. I found this distributor in Toronto where they pick up food-grade barrels from smaller companies outside of the city for reuse. Interestingly, the larger companies just toss their barrels because they don’t think it’s worth their while to set them aside for guys like Dan at gotbarrels to purchase them AND take them away.
What a waste!
Anyway, our philosophy at Yellow Dog Rain Barrels is that we aim to make doing the environmentally right thing affordable. Our barrels aren’t pretty, which is why we use our REALLY cute dog, Gracie, to help us advertise, but they’re wonderfully functional.
We went from making 6 or so Yellow Dog Rain Barrels to purchasing over 100 55 gallon food-quality recycled barrels at a time from gotbarrels[at]gmail.com within about 2 months. Our product line has expanded to meet the increasing demands of our Toronto market, where smaller backyards and condos are more common than the ‘typical’ rain barrel backyard.
Our primary goal continues to be to provide a good rain barrel at a good price. We make a point of donating lots of our Yellow Dog Rain Barrels to charitable groups such as our local doggy daycare that is raising funds for the Farley Foundation, an organization that provides financial support to seniors and disabled persons to care for their dogs, community-based fundraisers and any other project that catches our eye.
At this point, we are a pick-up only operation. This might be somewhat limiting for us as a company, but we really enjoy making something out of what would otherwise be waste; so, we’re not too worried about expanding. Besides, here at Yellow Dog, we’re of the opinion that, when the time comes, the solution will present itself.”
Goldfish in a rain barrel - update
Written on 10 November 2008 by chrisWell the goldfish experiment has been a great success! We decided that the fish would be better off as one big happy family in one big barrel so we transferred them from the smaller clean barrel. Not only have the fish been keeping the rain barrel free of mosquito larva they have almost all doubled in size. We still have 12 of the original 15 fish in the barrel, we have moved 2 to an inside fish tank and sadly we lost one when my son over fed the ones in his room.
Leaving the lid off the barrels has lead to a couple interesting problems that I had not really thought about when we started out. The biggest problem is that much of the debris from the roof has been making its way into the barrel. When I build our rain barrels I always put double screening on the intake, a fine window screen to keep the bugs out and a stronger, wider screen to reinforce the bug screen so that if larger object landed on top the screen would not break. I have always thought of the screen as a way to keep bugs out but it is equally important for filtering the water so that you don’t end up with what I expect will be a big lump of sludge at the bottom of the barrel.
Another problem is that animals can get to the contents of the barrel if they really try. Ordinarily I don’t think that there is much that a raccoon would find interesting in one of these barrels but I suspect that once they find out that there is a fresh fish market in the backyard they may at least poke their nose in to check it out. Hopefully if one falls in he know how to swim.
If you are in Ottawa you know about the snow storm that we had at the end of October. It turns out that the lid good for keeping snow out as well. I have a stick by the barrel to break ice but I did not have a plan for scooping out slush and snow. This is important because we are feeding them now that the bug season is over so we need to keep some surface area to drop the food in. I am sure that this will become more of a challenge once winter really rolls in.
The plan for the winter is to move a few more inside to live in a regular tank and to tend to the remaining few outside by breaking ice and dropping in fish food daily.
Goldfish in a Rain Barrel
Written on 21 July 2008 by chrisI have read a bit about people putting a 1″ gold fish in their rain barrels and having it grow to 6″ long. There is also the added bonus that they eat mosquito larvae as well! We don’t have mosquito problems with our barrels but the idea of having fish living in there was too good to pass up. My kids wanted to get a fish for their bedrooms so during our trip to the local pet store I decided that we would make this into a more interesting experiment. The standard Comet Goldfish cost 27 cents at the Petsmart so we decided to pick up 15 of them. Each kid got 2 to put in a bowl in their rooms, the other 11 got dumped into our rain barrels.
We have 3 habitats set up:
1 - A regular 220L rain barrel that has been emptied and filled a few times this year with 6 goldfish in it.
2 - A perfectly clean new 60L barrel with 5 goldfish in it.
3 - The kids fishbowls
I have also heard that the can survive the winter as well. I have my doubts about if they will survive an Ottawa winter but we will see.
It will be interesting to see which ones are happiest.
Why I am beginning to hate olives
Written on 15 July 2008 by chrisWe have been getting more requests for rain barrels this summer then I would have ever expected. This is great! It feels good knowing that we have helped people conserve thousands of liters or water.
But with all of this progress there is a down side. I am really beginning to hate olives! You see, the barrels that we use are reclaimed plastic barrels that are used to transport olives over from Spain. When we get them off the lot they may have been sitting out in the sun for days, even weeks. When you finally open up the barrel you get a blast of hot olive stench in your face. By the time I finish cleaning them all I can smell is olives. My dinner smells like olives, my kids smell like olives, all I can smell is olives! That is why I hate olives!
We have found that the best way to clean them out is some good eco friendly, phosphate free dish soap, a couple of shots with the hose and a good scrubbing. Then let them sit out in the sun for a couple of days to let them air out. Don’t forget the threads in the lid.
The initial cleaning is important because otherwise your first barrel full of water will be a bit yucky and you may develop a dislike of olives just like I have (if you don’t already hate them)
4 rain barrels for sale
Written on 23 June 2008 by chrisWe have 4 rain barrels left over from this weekend that did not get picked up. They are available for $70 each
These rain barrels are built from reused 55 gallon (220 L) food grade olive barrels. We use new mesh screen to reinforce the water intake and have aluminum window screen on to to keep the bugs out. We use all recycled parts except for the brass spigot and the connector for the overflow assembly. For pictures see one of our previous posts
Please keep in mind that these barrels are made from used barrels and may not be cosmetically perfect. We do guarantee that the barrels are structurally sound and suited for use as a rain barrel.
These barrels available for pick in the Ottawa area. We will deliver to Kanata, Stittsville, Barrhaven, Nepean and downtown Ottawa for a small fee.
Drop me a line at chris@buildabarrel.com. These tend to go quick.
Give Away Weekend - Ottawa
Written on 3 June 2008 by chrisThis post is not rain barrel related, it is a plug for a great event that happens twice a year in Ottawa.
Give Away Weekend - Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8, 2008
Give Away Weekend is when you put any useful, unwanted items at the end of your driveway to give away to whomever wants them. What you think might be junk may be another persons treasure. Old building materials, toys, etc that are taking up space in your home can be given a new home where they will be used and loved. We found some great stuff cruising around our neighborhood last year. I was in need of some cinder block to elevate our barrels and I found 4 just down the street.
I recommend hopping on your bike and cruising around your neighborhood this weekend. You never know what you might find!
Envirosponsible in Whitby, Ontario
Written on 3 May 2008 by chrisThis is a plug for a person/company who is one making a difference when it comes to making recycled rain barrels available to the general public. This is the description of the company Envirosponsible as provided by owner Chad Pescod.
“I’ve opened a store in Whitby, Ontario selling used building supplies, rain barrels and composters.
For the rain barrels, I’ve purchased over 600 used olive barrels and washed and tapped them with solid brass fittings. Our community has embraced my business with open arms, and there are now over 150 rain barrels in the community collecting water every time it rains. I should think there’ll be another 500 out there after this upcoming season.
The least expensive ones I sell are only $40-which is the lowest price I’ve ever seen for this type of rain barrel. My site has info, pics and videos www.envirosponsible.com “
Spring is here…. or is it already summer?
Written on 24 April 2008 by chrisNow that spring is finally here it is time to get back to the garden and get the rain barrels hooked back up. Fortunately we disconnected our barrels for the winter. With the amount of snow on our roof the runoff would have filled hundreds of barrels. The unfortunate part is that we hooked them back up too late and now our barrels are dry. So much for April showers…
Our barrel design has handled the winter very well. we had one that was buried under about 7 feet of snow, one that was out in the open and one that just sat in it place disconnected from the downspout. The few inches of water that froze inside did not seem to do any damage.
We will be building a few rain barrels this year that we will be selling to those that want one. If you are interested drop us a line.
Source for barrels in Calgary Alberta
Written on 24 April 2008 by chrisI had a reader forward this info on to me. These are not the exact type of barrels that we prefer to use but in the absence of any other options these will certainly do the trick.
Calgary Plastic Container Supply Ltd.
1000 - 55 Ave. N.E.
Calgary Alberta T2E 6Y4
Phone 403-273-0170
Fax 403-273-0278
A good rain barrrel resource
Written on 12 February 2008 by chrisWe received an email from Rebecca in MN. She and her husband have been building rain barrels for quite a while now. It is worth checking out her site.
http://home.comcast.net/
A bit about Rebecca
“First I started gardening. Then I became more interested in the beauty, low maintenance, and ecological benefits of native plants. I’ve always been somewhat ecologically minded and my growing experience led me to want to use rain barrels. Finding that many of the commercial ones at the time (2003) had design flaws as well as high cost, My Labor Pool (aka husband) and I set out to make our own. After hours of planning and store trips to see what supplies are readily available we made a total of 8 barrels for our home use. They work great, don’t cost a lot, and are kind of fun to put together. One of the best features turned out to be the large overflow we installed. With many places reporting less frequent but heavier rainfalls, a large overflow is important to avoid excessive water next to your house’s foundation. Our informational website has directions and pictures to guide you in building your own rain barrels, a rainfall collection calculator and other useful information.”
