A rain barrel brings great benefits in terms of environmental protection and cost savings. But where there is light, there is also shadow. At the same time, the collection container takes up a lot of space, especially in small gardens, and to be honest it doesn't look very nice either. However, the experienced gardener knows how to help himself by burying his water butt. Here you can find out how your specimen disappears into the ground.

A rain barrel in the ground looks like a small pond

dig in the rain barrel

manual

A conventional plastic water butt is most suitable. Other materials could potentially release harmful substances into the ground. How to proceed:

  1. Determine a suitable location (see below).
  2. Dig a hole equal to the depth of your water butt.
  3. The diameter should be slightly larger than that of the barrel.
  4. Remove all roots and stones from the soil.
  5. Insulate the inside of the rain barrel with pond liner.
  6. Put the rain barrel in the hole.
  7. Fill in the remaining gaps with fine gravel.
  8. In this way you create a drainage that protects the floor in the event of an overflow.
  9. Fill in the rest with loose soil.

location

You don't necessarily have to bury your water butt directly on the wall of the house. You can choose any spot in the garden with a pipe or hose that directs the water from the downspout into the barrel. Just be careful not to let small children or pets fall into the rain barrel. If there are no deep-rooted trees nearby, this makes the work much easier. Do not expose your rain barrel to direct sunlight. There is increased water evaporation here.

Pay attention to what?

You can only empty a buried water butt by skimming off the water manually or by pumping it out of the water butt. If you still want to dump the water butt occasionally to make it easier to clean, it is best to equip the model with handles before lowering the can into the ground. You can use these to pull the container out of the ground. This is particularly useful because even a buried water butt is not completely frost-proof. You should therefore dig up the bin again for the winter.

More ways to hide the rain barrel

If you don't want to bury your water butt, there are other creative ways to hide it:

  • Plant rain barrel
  • paint the rain barrel
  • disguise the rain barrel

Category:

Garden design