Rainwater Harvesting + DIY Garden Box Part 1

We have definitely taken our urban farm life to the next level. It’s like the more we have - fresh eggs from our chickens, herbs ready to be picked and eaten and even garden roses ready to be cut and put in a vase, the more we want to incorporate. Maybe it’s quarantine, maybe it’s us getting older, not really sure, but we are all about the self-sustaining vibe right now, even in little ways.

Our latest project - a Garden Box that will be watered with rainwater we collect!

The conversation got started as Brent began a quest to get our eggs to have that really nice, orange yolk. As he dug into his research he discovered a lot about how an egg tastes goes back to the chicken’s diet. I mean, duh - right? But, beyond just feeding them organic food, it said incorporating leafy greens - spinach, kale, etc…into their diets would really add to the quality of the eggs. So, we set our sights on finding the perfect spot in our yard to incorporate a garden box to grown these veggies. Because these particular plants don’t require a lot of sun, we decided to set up our garden box on the far side of the shed, right in the middle of Chicken Central in our back yard.

The Before:

The game plan was to add a gutter to the back of the shed, so rainwater could be directed through gutter and down into a barrel. Our first step was to construct a little table for the barrel to sit on.

While Brent was working on the table, Croix and I got busy painting the gutters and gutter pieces to match the shed.

After we got the gutter pieces painted I turned my attention to painting the table that was to hold the barrel and Brent and Croix worked on constructing the garden box.

Because the chickens are little plant destroyers we decided to build the garden box on legs, making the top of the box 3 feet off the ground. The guys constructed the box out of cedar . It’s 60” long and 24” deep.

Here is a view of the box upside down.

The box was ready to be put in place on the side of the shed. Simultaneously while working on all of this we sourced the perfect barrel to sit on the table and collect the water. It came from Tractor Supply and it’s dark gray color literally looks like it was made to coordinate with the shed. I mean, if that’s not winning….

By this time the gutter + pieces were dry so Brent got those installed.

I know it’s such a small thing, but I’m SO glad we took the time to get everything painted to match the shed. The gutter is on the back of the shed, so some might argue it was unnecessary, but things look so much more considered and thought out when the aesthetic flows and is consistent. Definitely a bit more work, but 100% worth it in my opinion.

We wrapped this project up in a weekend, so I’m going to stop at the end of day 1. I will be back next week with the finished project + lots more pictures and details. Until then….