Re: rain garden

I have no rain gutters, but I do have a French drain all around the roof drip line. I also have no slope on the property, so the rain garden seems like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I'm very interested in green rooves, however, and have been ever since I saw pictures of native houses in Central America with used-tire vegetable plots all over their rooves. 

On Mar 7, 2007, at 1:33 PM, Bonnie Holmes wrote:
I attended a workshop last summer on water. One of the presentations was 
on rain gardens.  I have a CD with the presentation.  According to the
presentation, rain gardens can significantly reduce runoff and the demand made on storm water systems, flooding, and reduce pollution. They don't 
seem difficult to construct.  You need a soil filter rate of 2.5".  The
water needs to perk in 3 days to avoid mosquitoes. The example shown was a 
bed 12'x8'x3'.  Mix 1/3 gravely sand, 1/3 sandy loam, and 1/3 compost
(highly organic such as leaf or horse manure). Use a mixture of native and 
cultivated plants that like periodic flooding.
A bluegrass lawn absorbs at 0-2-inches/hour; 2-year- native switch grass 
at 7.5 inches/hour; and, mature forest undergrowth at 21 inches/hour.

I'm going to try one on a gentle slope of my lawn.

Bonnie Zone 7/7 ETN
Remember:  The River Raisin, The Alamo, The Maine, Pearl Harbor, 9/11



[Original Message]
From: <Cersgarden@aol.com>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Date: 3/7/2007 12:10:52 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] rain garden

Andrea, a rain garden is a catch basin for runoff.   This is more

desirable

than water running f/roof tops, parking lots, etc into waterways and

carrying
all the nasty things that we do to our lawns, etc. This is really hot 
in

our area right now along with green roofs.
     Ceres


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Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.1 N, 82.4 W
Hardiness Zone 10
Heat Zone 10
Sunset Zone 25
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
Maximum 100 F [38 C]

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