Upcycling Old Wheelbarrows into Rain Catchers

Upcycled wheel barrows become a part of the rain water catchment system at Garden on Marais.

We watch the sky for rain. Sometimes, the rain is bountiful. It fills the rows of the garden up to our ankles. It floods the hoop house. It floods the blue metal storage container, fouling any tools left on the floor after a long day of mowing. The water is a shock. What once was dry now runs with dark, rich water. Even the air is wet with humidity. On those days, we hold our breath. How much water will come? In this last rain, we lost our worm bin. We opened the lid to find a little swamp guarded by mosquito mothers tending their worm-like, aqueous young. The worms, it seemed, were drowned. We opened the drain on the bin and hoped for the best.

Sometimes, the rain does not come. The long days of summer scorch the tender plants and bake the soil into something like brick: hard, unyielding. On those days, we hold our breath. When will the rain come? How long will the water in the tanks last?

What can you do in the face of uncertainty? Hope?

There were several old wheelbarrows. They had all lost their original function, wheel-less, some without frames, discards. We adapted them to function as rain water barrows, lining them with plastic and positioning them near the hoop house to catch runoff. To secure the plastic, we settled on a variation of a weaving technique, making holes in the folded plastic with a pair of scissors, and passing the rope through it. This seemed to work.

Will the final product hold water? Will it be enough to keep the plants alive when dry spells come, as they will? What do you do in the face of uncertainty? We hold our breath. We hope.