By Joe Lamp’l

Scripps Howard News

Remember the old nursery rhyme or jingle we used to hear as kids: “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day”? For the last month now, at least, I found myself singing that little jingle a lot. In my newly planted vegetable garden, rain has been the only constant, dropping more than 15 inches in less than four weeks. As a gardener, I thoroughly appreciate the value of free and plentiful water. But knowing we are facing an increasing demand on this finite resource, I feel guilty wishing for the rain to stop. I don’t know about where you live, but for many parts of the county, drought is a serious problem, including my state of North Carolina.

Although we’ve had a bounty of rain lately, I suspect that in a month from now, I’ll be wishing for more of the wet stuff again as we come into what is traditionally a very hot, dry season. I can’t do anything to change if and when it rains, but I have done the next-best thing.

When it does rain, I’ll be harvesting as much of it as I can. I do that with rain barrels positioned under my downspouts. Even with a quick shower, my nearly 50-gallon rain barrel can fill to capacity.

Rain barrels are readily available. You can find them from a number of sources, from nurseries, home-improvement stores and online, in a variety of prices. There are even low-cost do-it-yourself models out there. And try your county extension service. Some offer barrels at a deep discount to encourage water conservation. Those may not be the most attractive, but they certainly do a fine job of collecting rain.

I especially enjoy the freedom that having a harvested source of water provides. In my area, we’ve been under watering bans and restrictions in the past and will likely be again soon. So irrigating my garden from a hose or sprinkler may not be an option. But with my harvested water, I’m able to use a ready source of fresh pure water on my plants and flowers whenever I need it.

Another source is the water you can collect from inside the house as you are waiting for it to warm up in the sink and shower. Every minute that water runs from the faucet equates to about 2 gallons or more collected for use outside. It’s a good feeling to know that I’m not wasting that water. After each bucket is filled, I transfer the contents to one of many watering cans I have stored along the back deck. And when those are filled, I simply pour the buckets into one of my rain barrels. So even in a drought, those barrels are always working. It doesn’t get any easier or more convenient.

So between my rain barrels and the harvested water from inside, my May flowers and the rest of my garden, for that matter, should do just fine this summer.

Joe Lamp’l, host of “GardenSMART” on PBS, is a Master Gardener and author. For more information visit www.joegardener.com.