We receive a lot of questions about where to get rain barrels. As of February, 2009, these locations report that they have rain barrels in stock: TAPP offers this information to help you to find your rain barrel, but this is not an endorsement of particular products, vendors or companies, and there may be other suppliers both locally and online that are not listed below. Good Luck!
Native Nursery on Centerville Road has rain barrels in stock. Call 850.386.8882.
Tallahassee Nurseries on Thomasville Road has rain barrels in stock. Call 850.385.2162. They also suggest the website: http://www.sprucecreekrainsaver.com/
Esposito's on Capital Circle NE has 75-gallon rain barrels in stock. Call 850.386.2114.
Ace Hardware Killearn on Kerry Forest Parkway has 60-gallon rain barrels in stock. Call 850.668.3389.
Aquarian Environmental Concepts has locally-made rain barrels and will install them for you. Contact Tim McGann at tim@aecrainbarrels.com or visit http://www.aecrainbarrels.com
From the Ground Up in Killearn Estates makes, sells, installs and paints rain barrels. Contact 850-528-5699 or visit http://www.designfromthegroundup.com/rainbarrels/
Look for pickle barrels at the Country Feed Store & Garden Supply at 6260 Blountstown Highway. Call 850.574.3333 (closed on Wednesdays).
Rain barrels are a great way to capture nature's bounty and keep some stormwater runoff away from driveways and streets. The barrels can provide a good source for watering your plants and lawn. Collecting rainwater offers the opportunity to use "soft" water with no chlorine, calcuim carbonate, salts or other minerals that may be found in water that has filtered through the ground. And It's FREE. Lawn and garden water use typically makes up about 40% of your total water bill in dry spring and summer months. Remember that your rain barrel most likely will not be able to hold all the water draining from your roof, especially in a heavy downpour, so be sure to take into account the roof area draining to the rain barrel.
According to TAPP Master Gardener, Ed Schroeder, one eighth of an inch of rain on 1,000 square feet of roof would fill a 60 gallon rain barrel; so, you would need 8 rain barrels to capture all the rain from a one inch downpour over a 1,000 square feet of roof. Rain barrels can be set up in tandem, but the plumbing between the rain barrels would have to be of a diameter large enough to accommodate most, if not all, of the rain coming through the downspout in a downpour.
Some rain barrel systems can be equipped with diverters so the excess water can be sent to perforated hoses in beds or otherwise be channeled to locations for irrigation. It could also go to a dry pond or rain garden. There are endless possibilities for you to explore.
A great resource for information about rain barrels is the TAPP publication, Rain Barrels: A Homeowner's Guide, which can be downloaded from this site. Click here to download the Manual
Another good source of information can be found at:
Gardeners Supply, www.gardeners.com; see the "watering" category.
Here's a web site on how to build a rain barrel:
http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/Hort/Pubs/Rainbarrel.shtml
Here's a site for rain barrel kits, and/or parts needed for your rain barrell: http://www.aquabarrel.com/product_rain_barrel_parts_kits.php