Water Harvesting 101

We water harvesters don’t just follow the weather, we’re obsessed with it. We’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of those above average rains that we were promised, but many of us have been disappointed by the spotty monsoon rainfall. This episode explains what’s going on, and shines a light on when we can expect El Niño.

Now that we’re halfway through summer, let’s talk about lessons learned. What’s the biggest lesson from summer? It comes directly to you from my front and backyard. And here it is: Live Within Your Means. This episode explains how this concept relates to water harvesting.

It’s monsoon season and that rain is really coming down! How do we capture all of this free water and store it for later use, as we do in Water Harvesting Activity #2? The centerpiece of a rainwater harvesting system is a cistern. I’ve had a cistern at my place for six years. Let’s learn how cisterns work.

At last! The monsoon rainstorms are here! Perfect time for a closer look at Water Harvesting Activity #1, redirecting rainwater away from where you don’t want it to where you do. Monsoon season provides a great opportunity for building – and testing – your water harvesting earthworks. These consist of swales, basins, and berms.

It’s early summer, which means that it’s crunch time in Tucson. The crunch comes from the sound of fallen mesquite and ironwood tree pods underfoot. They’re all over town–and maybe in your yard as well. What can we do with these pods? I’ll give you the details in this episode.

With the summer monsoon season starting on June 15 and running through September 30, it’s time to do the cistern math. If your cistern is below capacity and you’re hoping for rainstorms to come and fill it, how much water will you need? In this episode, I’ll walk you through the calculations.

Back in Episode 59, I announced that I was a gambler, a garden gambler. I planted a pre-monsoon summer garden. Now it’s time for an update. It’s a combination of gardening successes and failures, along with some much-needed problem solving and no monsoon rainfall–yet.

The National Weather Service just released its summer monsoon forecast. It calls for above average rainfall for the entire state of Arizona, especially northeastern Arizona. El Niño is also becoming a factor, which could lead to an active hurricane season. This episode discusses how the second activity of water harvesting, storing rainwater for later use, relates to the forecast.

This is an episode devoted to an organic superstar– mulch! This a layer of material that’s derived from carbon-based life forms like trees, shrubs, bark, and leaves. I’ll talk about the wonderful things that mulch can do for your yard and the plants in it, and explain how you can get mulch. Includes a special guest appearance by a wood chipper.

With the Southwest suffering through a long-term drought – and Colorado River cutbacks looming – it’s time to take a hard look at that thief in the yard. I’m talking about those water guzzling lawns, and why it’s time to remove them. Cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Tucson are offering grass removal rebate programs. I’ll explain how these programs work.

After many weeks of saying that I wouldn’t plant my spring/summer garden until monsoon season, I relented. Because there’s nothing that looks sadder than an empty garden. In this episode, I talk about dry season garden setup, what I’m growing, and, of course, where that garden water is coming from. I also discuss the long-term weather forecast that motivated me to plant this garden.

On this podcast, I talk a lot about water harvesting equipment. As in, rainwater harvesting cisterns, greywater harvesting systems, etc. And you may be wondering, where does one get this stuff? In this episode, we’re joined by Eli Nielsen, co-founder of The Rain Store, a water harvesting supply store that’s right here in Tucson.