"Benign Vanilla" wrote in message
...

My first phase plan is to create a system to water the herb garden, and
then
a second to water the vegetable garden. I have put together a spreadsheet
to
calculate potential gathering capability, and can see this being a great
source of water. I've even found some pages for people that use it for
their
house water. I don't want to go that far, but if these numbers are right,
it'd be a great source of water for the garden and the pond.

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com




There's a good bit of rainwater collection in this area (central TX). My
parents had a whole house system put in when they built out in the country.
Their cistern is 20-30 ft across! In areas with regular rainfall, smaller
cisterns can be used because they are frequently refilled.

Basically, between your gutters and your main tank, you put a T into a small
tank that fills first. That way, all the dust and bird crap gets washed off
the roof and ends up in the first tank, then clean water flows to your main
tank. Drain the small tank after every rain.

If you don't have a metal roof, particles from the shingles get in the
water, so I wouldn't use it for ponds, but it will be fine for ornamental
plants. I'd be a little wary of using it on veggies and herbs, but it's
probably not too much of an issue.