Piped in Water, Anyone?

**a*@aol.com**

One expensive, though doable solution to the muss and fuss of storage barrels ( mosquitoes, etc) is getting water piped in from your municipality. 

Yes, getting the plumbing done, a water vault installed, a meter - working out a deal by which the city picks up the water cost ( usually with the Parks Dept) and laying out piping throughout your garden is alot of work and mess, but the rewards are being able to turn on a spigot and get water for your hose. 

Writing grants and internal fundraising is how groups that I've worked with have done this. Like anything else of this sort, it's usually a long, protracted process, unless you find the right foundation and donors pretty quickly. 

And you also have to remember to shut the water down when the freeze is going to hit, so the pipes don't burst. 

Regards, 

Adam Honigman  

-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Conrad <fred.conrad@acfb.org>
To: gtaylor@mcic.org; community_garden@mallorn.com
Sent: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 08:35:29 -0500
Subject: RE: [cg] Barrels to store rainwater for greenhouse gardening

like Judy said, i'm thinking that the "leakage" is carcinogenic chemicals into 
the water.  softer plastics leak more and faster and at all temperatures.  most 
cancer survivors that have done any research about environmental exposure know 
that nobody ever should ever use a microwave oven to heat food that is in or 
covered by plastic - especially not to cover the food with that stretchy soft 
plastic wrap to keep it from splattering.  at high temps there is measurable 
transference into the food.  these are serious health issues.

on the question of uptake of these chemicals by vegetables via water... who 
knows?  rain barrels probably don't get hot enough to change the emission rate, 
but even at room temperature they might be leaking something.  multiplied by how 
long the water stays in the barrels?

i use plastic rainbarrels, by the way!
fgc

-----Original Message-----
From: community_garden-admin@mallorn.com
[c*@mallorn.com]On Behalf Of Garth Taylor
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 10:56 AM
To: community_garden@mallorn.com
Subject: [cg] Barrels to store rainwater for greenhouse gardening

Does anyone have advice on the best type of barrel to use to capture
rainwater from the roof, bring it inside a greenhouse, and use it to water
fruits and vegetables. I have been using 55-gallon blue plastic barrels that
were once used for some kind of food transport.

I like the barrels because they are easy to work with - I can use PVC
materials to install spigots and overflow drains; and because they are low
cost.

But someone told me there is a risk of leakage from the plastic into the
water where there is a high temperature. Has anyone heard about this
problem? How high does the temperature have to be? Are we talking about the
temperature of the water in the barrel (which is always pretty low because
it is a heat/cold sink), or the temperature of the air?

What would be a better system?

Also, where can I get more of these blue barrels?

Thanks,

=Garth Taylor

Chicago / Southwest Michigan

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______________________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's 
services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out 
how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org

To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden@mallorn.com

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:  https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden

______________________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org

To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden@mallorn.com

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:  https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden