That’s something I never thought about, and I just bought a rain barrel this last winter that I was going to collect water for the garden. I don’t think it’s as cut and dry as never though. Here are a couple of decent sources that cover the spectrum from yes to be cautious:
The especially interesting one is the study where they used heavily polluted simulated “storm runoff” and found the absorption highly variable between plants, but lower than expected given how polluted the storm water they used.
The one thing I spotted in Fred’s list of toys was the Dramm watering stuff. It’s definitely the best stuff out there or at the very least, the best stuff I’ve ever seen and used. I’ll try to post some photos here of the planters I built one of these days.
I sort of wish Fred had amazon links to go with all those tools as I couldn’t actually find some of them to see what they were exactly.
My list of garden tools was based on what my wife seems to use more regularly. She has accumulated tools and gardening gadgets – probably since we moved in in the mid 1970’s – so some of her favorites have long since gone out of production. The Wilkinson Sword tools come to mind in this category – but there are less refined swoe – hoes:
Dewit and Sneeboer tools were more recent additions to my wife’s collection – and They supplanted other older hand tools that either broke – or were of lesser quality:
While she has drip irrigation installed in many of the beds – and the lawns have sprinklers – my list included Gardena sprinklers she uses for spot watering:
It’s a really good podcast. Jack also has a facebook group that you should check out, if you have any questions you can ask it there and the alot of people will give you answers VERY quickly lol.
Search “Regenerative Agriculture” and it’s the one with a Duck on it.
Below are pictures of the planters I built for my wife. I actually built two of the big stock tank planters on “skateboards” first and the really big one was built the next year after removing the bushes that were there and the neighbor built the fence.
I bought the ARS pruners based on the review at thesweethome.net, and I love them. Sometimes I’m reluctant to attempt to cut a limb with them, but they never fail. And their locking mechanism is top-notch.
Ah, just remembered another indispensible garden tool I have. The hori hori (which I always want to call the harakiri; very different), is an incredible tool for sowing, cutting sod, and anything you’d ever use a trowel for. I picked up a cheap carbon steel one from Amazon and it’s always with me when I’m doing yardwork.
Oops, I missed the hori hori in your list up there. Great tool! Here is the one I got. The bright orange handle makes it very easy to find. Also, looks like I was wrong about the blade being carbon steel.
My wife’s Hori-Hori is 15 years old - probably a Christmas gift - I would have bought your orange one for her had it been available. The SS blade - holds up well.
A little late to the party here, thought I’d chime in anyway. First, about the rain barrels. There is something called a diverter, and the gist is that it diverts the first x minutes of rain into the ground, via regular gutter/downspout system. This washes the roof chemicals off, then collects the rest of cleaner water into the barrels.
Also, take a look at Earthbox self-watering container systems. These can be very low maintenance and also if you suspect contaminated soil or just want lazier gardening without weeding, etc, they work really well. I’ve used them for some years now with very little investment beyond the original setup. Global buckets DIY on youtube is based on the same principle and i’ve tried these, too.
These are less prone to small critters nibbling them, and can be protected from deer more easily. I often use floating row cover over them and it cuts down on insect pests. It’s a technology, though, so you need to follow the instructions carefully. I’ve gotten hundreds of plum tomatoes from one Earthbox in a season, just like you see in the ads. I started with a couple of these and got more. I have nine of them and get a lot of produce in a season. Not for potatoes or other root vegetables, but great for kohl veggies, lettuce tomatoes, herbs, chard, and more.
They used to have a much better website, but something happened to it and now most of the good stuff is in the archives. The Chicago rooftop gardens with Earthboxes were amazing.
