My rain barrel experiment in Seattle backfired unexpectedly

Set up a 50 gallon rain barrel off my downspout last March to water the garden. It filled in two days, but by June the water smelled like rotten eggs and killed my tomato plants. Turns out standing water in the sun breeds bacteria, I should have added a screen and used it faster. Has anyone else had this issue with storing rainwater over a few weeks?

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margareto2620d ago

You mentioned the water smelled like rotten eggs, and that got me thinking. Most folks focus on the bacteria or the algae, but nobody talks about the actual downspout material. If you've got any galvanized metal or older pipes, the water sitting in that barrel can pull zinc and other metals out over time. My neighbor had the exact same thing happen, and it wasn't the water itself, it was the metal leeching into it. That can mess with soil pH way more than any bacteria. A food-grade plastic barrel or a liner makes a huge difference. Just something to check, your mileage may vary.