I don’t know how the weather is where you garden, but here in Indiana it is very hot and very dry.

Temperatures are regularly climbing into the 90s or higher, shattering old records left and right. Some areas of Indiana (not including my county) have imposed temporary watering restrictions, since their reservoir levels have dropped significantly. With no end to the heat or drought in site, I’m beginning to wonder when enough is enough, and if I should just give up on watering altogether.

At home, we have stopped watering the flower beds, mostly because I’m scared of running the well dry, but we continue to water the food garden and the various containers decorating the porch. At work, my client’s irrigation systems are cranked to 200% and plants are still struggling to stand up to the unrelenting heat.

Like I said, when is enough enough? What if water is more valuable than plants? Maybe it’s time to adapt.

Installing Rain Barrels

Installing a rain barrel is one way to conserve water, and it holds enough to keep a container garden watered for weeks or months depending on its size. Even a short downpour is enough to fill one, and you can link several together to increase the amount of water stored.

I only have one rain barrel at home and use it specifically to fill my watering can and water all my potted plants. One rain barrel isn’t practical for watering a large garden, and mine won’t generate enough of a flow to run through a hose, but it does work perfectly for watering a container garden.

We’ve tried using a small submersible pump to push water from the barrel through a hose, but found the barrel drained faster this way.

Rain barrels are pretty simple to install. Ours required a tape measure, a hacksaw to cut the downspout, and a drill to make holes in the barrel. In climates with cold winters like ours, give the rain barrel a quick cleaning and turn it upside down before freezing weather sets in during winter.

Rain barrels are far from being the cure to all water shortages, but they can be a small step in water conservation. Even small reductions in water consumption can add up over time and reduce your overall impact.

Other than that, all we can do is hope this isn’t the new normal and grow plants that can handle the heat. Only the strong will survive.