DIY Rain Barrels

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We were so excited to start our garden this year and it has blossomed.... more like exploded!

If you want to see how we built our raised garden bed, you can check out this link.

DIY Raised Garden Bed

It's important to have easy water access for a garden. I do have a hose and spigot behind the house, but it sure would be nice to have something closer. Plus, we have to pay for every drop of water we use.

So, we decided to DIY a rain barrel made from a trashcan! The great thing about using a trashcan is that at the end of the garden season, we can empty them, clean them, and store them upside down for the winter. I really like that!

The only thing I was concerned about was how it was going to look. I didn't want to see some janky rain barrel in our yard. Hubby had that all covered! He was going to put it behind the fence.

This is what the fence looked like before, you can see the lean-to shed. There was over 20 inches of space wasted between the fence and shed.

One of the other problems we had, was that the gate to the backyard was so narrow, we couldn't even get a wheelbarrow through it. So, we figured we'd fix that as well.

We tore out the fence in that section, including the old gate. Basically, we moved the corner at the house out and then lined it up with the other corner of the fence. It worked out perfect! Thank You, Lord!

You can see in the next photo, where the old fence corner ended.

The plan was to build a platform to hold the rain barrels, so that gravity will work in our favor to water the garden. We purchased concrete deck blocks to support the platform. Then it's basically 4 - 4x4 posts supporting a frame.

Then we covered the top with 2x4s cut to fit.

To divert the water from the downspout we purchased this Rain Barrel Downspout Diverter Kit.

It was pretty straight forward. Hubby cut out the hole in the downspout and installed the diverter, then drilled a hole into the trashcan for the other end of the hose.

Next up, we have to install a spigot. We purchased a brass one. Plastic ones just don't hold up as well. This is the Brass Spigot we purchased.

Okay, the rain barrel is pretty much ready to use. Oh... we forgot to add for overflow... We added that a little bit later. For now, I'm going to move on to the gates we made to hide the rain barrel.

We built a fence panel to hide the rain barrel. Then we added gate hardware and cut the panel up the middle.

It worked out pretty good! Then we built the other gate to the back yard. Don't the gates look great?!!

Now the backyard gate swings the right way and it's plenty wide for a wheelbarrow to go through. YAY!

We decided to add another rain barrel. It was pretty easy we purchased these 2" Uniseal gaskets and used a 2" PVC pipe connect the rain barrels together at the bottom.

Did you notice my cute mail box? I keep gloves, clippers, and string and scissors in there. It's nice to have it all handy.

The overflow was pretty easy to attach. We purchased 1" Uniseal gaskets. Drilled a hole into the trashcan, through the fence picket and into the downspout. Then attached the hose. Now it won't overflow and make a muddy mess.

You would never know there was rain barrels there behind the fence. I've been watering my garden all summer from the rain barrels. I've only ran out of water once or twice. Thankfully, we've had a pretty wet summer. Eventually, I plan to paint the gates the same color once the chemicals dry out of the wood.

I don't know If you noticed the cool top to the fence.... That was all Hubby's idea. It looks sooo good! We did it to the entire fence around our backyard. Can't wait to show you! That's next!

Blessings,
Lori