Harvesting Rainwater

We get a lot of rain in Costa Rica. At the closest weather station (in Barva, about two and a half miles away) the average annual rainfall is 95 inches. That's almost double what we got back in Clemson, South Carolina. Ironically, even with all this rain, there frequently are water shortages. This is because: (1) the public water infrastructure is so poor (there is a lot of leakage, and they always seem to be repairing the pipes), and (2)  the Pacific side of Costa Rica has a fairly severe annual dry season, that lasts about 5 months.

I became interested in harvesting rainwater when I lived in South Carolina. This was due to the high cost of water, and because I am always interested in learning about new ways to conserve natural resources, whether it be energy, food, or water. I did a little research on rainwater harvesting and discovered that if it was for the purpose of household use, including drinking water (what is called "potable" water), it was fairly complex. But if it was for something like watering a garden, it could be fairly simple. As an experiment, I rigged up a downspout to pipe water from one of our roof gutters into our fish pond. When we got rain it helped refresh the water in the pond, and to keep it full without having to add city water. That's as far as I got.

When we moved here I decided to take it a step further. I wanted to pipe water into our water garden and for watering our plants. Water is inexpensive here, but just the same, it seemed a shame to let all of the rainwater runoff down the hill, when I could put it to good use in the garden. In addition, we have a large cement driveway which collects a lot of rainwater, which has the potential to run down into our neighbors property and cause problems. So, when I decided to build the pond, I figured it would be a good idea to build a water harvesting system first.

I hired a local builder, Alexis Sanches, to build the system. He is an experienced builder and has some experience with building ponds. He and I went to a water tank place out on the autopista between San Jose and Limon. I knew from the start that I wanted a fairly big tank. We settled on a big blue plastic one that held 4,200-liters (1,100-gallons). It came out cheaper per gallon than the the smaller tanks, and the larger tanks would be perhaps too much of a chore to bury. Eleven hundred gallons is a lot of water. Our 4-person hot tub back in Clemson held 316 gallons. So this was about four times as big. The tank dwarfed the pickup truck that we hauled it in. Just before we got to the tank place we noticed a police checkpoint on the highway, so to avoid any difficulty once we had the tank on the back of the pickup, we got off on a side-road and took the back way home.

The tank arrives

The tank created quite a sensation when it arrived. The neighbors wanted to know first, why I was buying a water tank when the city already provided water, and second, why I was buying such a big tank. They thought it would take forever to fill. I told them it was actually quite small for what I planned to use it for, and that with the roof, the driveway, and the average rainfall we had, I could potentially collect 150,000 gallons a year. Now, that's a LOT of water. I don't think they, or don Alexis, believed me.

Digging the tank and drainpipe hole

Alexis and I discussed the options of having a backhoe dig the hole, or having Alexis and a couple of helpers dig it. Alexis convinced me that digging the hole by hand would be cheaper and would cause less damage to the property than a backhoe, even though it would take a little longer. So, they started digging, and two and a half days later they finished the hole. Alexis put sand in the bottom to prevent a puncture from any sharp rocks. On the third day I was taking a nap when I was awakened by a loud WUUUUMP. They had dropped the tank into the hole. Don Alexis hooked up a drain system from the driveway and the small roof over our carport. He then put an electric submersible pump in the bottom of the tank. When he left that Saturday afternoon he predicted it would take several weeks to fill. "Not that long," I said. He smiled.

We got some heavy rain over the weekend. When he returned on Monday morning I said, "Alexis, why don't you check the water level in the tank." He looked at me kind of funny and then walked over to the tank and lifted the lid. He almost fell over backwards in shock. It was already full to the top, all 1,100 gallons of it.

So, now we have the storage tank and a collection system in place. This is just the beginning of the process. I'll report back later on how the project is going.

Happy gardening!

The Bird Feeder, Part 2

We've been trying out some new items on the bird feeder. About a week ago Maria put out a half avocado that was past its prime. Surprisingly, the birds gobbled it up. Then, this week we put out a bunch of small bananas the Ticos call guineas. They are small, plump, and very sweet. The Ticos told us that birds loved to eat guineas. They were right. The feeder has been covered with birds for two days now. This morning we hit the jackpot. I was brushing my teeth when Maria began to shout excitedly. I came running out of the bathroom foaming at the mouth.

"What is it?" I gargled.

"It's a . . . it's a TOUCAN," she shouted.

We had not seen a toucan since we moved here. It was gone by the time I got out on the porch, so I'll have to take her word for it. One of the locals told us that it was true, on rare occasions toucans do come around this area. Later she looked it up in our bird book and identified it as a chestnut-mandibled toucan, the largest toucan in Costa Rica.

Happy gardening!

El Semillero

El Semillero is a seed and garden supply store located in downtown San Jose. I used to go there 40 years ago when I was a Peace Corps volunteer. I had forgotten about it until Fred Morgan, founder of the crgardening group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crgardening/ ) recommended that I try it out (see info in blog for Nov. 6).

El Semillero is located on Calle 6, between Avenidas 2 & 4. Calle 6 is one-way heading south. About a block and a half south (on the right) is a pay parking lot. Their telephone is 2221-2983, and Web page --  http://www.elsemillerosa.com/ . It was founded in 1918 by Felipe Van der Laat. Supposedly you can order things through their web page, but it seemed pretty incomplete and out of date when I looked at it.

The staff was courteous and helpful. They sell all kinds of tools, fertilizers, and pesticides. They sell a few ornamental plants, and had flats of 2 kinds of lettuce and celery.

Most of the seeds I bought were sold to in quarter-ounce, sealed plastic bags, poured from tin cans. Almost all of them were treated with that electric pink fungicide. Most of the seeds came from Bonanza Seeds International, out of Yuba City, California ( web page: http://www.bonanzaseeds.com/ ).

I thought the prices were very reasonable, mostly in the 250 - 750 colon range, per quarter ounce. My local nursery charges 1,000 colones per quarter-ounce packet. I bought 15 packets and saved at least 7,500 colones.

For most vegetable varieties, they had only one type of seed. Still, the best selection I have seen in Costa Rica. Three things I wanted they didn't have -- peanuts, potatoes, and peas. The guy said they never carried any of these, and for potatoes, "Go to Cartago."

They seem to do a high volume of sales, meaning quick turnover of seeds, which is what we want for such a perishable product, in the tropics.

Happy gardening!

Vegetable Seeds -- KAPUT

I have learned yet another valuable lesson -- take good care of your seeds. Back in South Carolina I had a system going. In late February-early March I bought my seeds at the local feed & seed, planted my garden, saved the remaining seeds for the fall garden, planted that in August, and then threw away the rest of the seeds. This was a yearly routine that worked like a charm. I always had good germination. Here in Costa Rica I've learned that seeds purchased might not be viable to begin with, and, especially during the rainy season (May - November), they will probably be viable for a couple of months, if that. While I prepared my garden, I bought seeds compulsively at nurseries and ag coops, plus my friend Louis had brought me some from the States in May, and I had also harvested sunflower seeds here. Well, I began planting in September, in flats, and directly in the garden. Everything -- seeds from the States, seeds bought locally, seeds I had harvested -- were kaput . . . finito.

I wanted to have the garden well underway by December, when the dry season started, so, in desperation, I began looking for flats. The answer was always -- we don't carry flats -- or -- we can get them, but you have to purchase a minimum of 200 plants. What? Finally my local nursery checked and got some small flats of sweet peppers and lettuce. Well, that was a start.

So now I'd come full circle -- I needed seeds, since I couldn't get flats. I posted a message on crgardening < http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crgardening/ > and fortunately Fred Morgan, the group's founder, recommended I try a store in San Jose, called El Semillero. Bingo! I remembered 40 years ago, when I was Peace Corps volunteer here, I made monthly trips to San Jose, and usually went to El Semillero, which everyone said was the best place to buy seeds. I went there within a few days of receiving the recommendation from Fred, and this will be the subject of the next blog post.

In the meantime, I went on the internet and researched seed storage. Basically, I found that seeds should be stored in airtight containers in either your refrigerator or freezer, with a small dose of powdered milk to absorb moisture. Silica gel, apparently, can actually absorb TOO MUCH moisture. So, I've thrown out my old seeds and the new ones (that I just purchased) were popped into the refrigerator in the recommended manner.

Happy gardening!

October Weather Report -- Dry(er)

October brought a welcome relief from the two-and-a-half months of torrential rains. On the second, we got a drenching of 3.6 inches. Winds had been blowing steadily from the west for months. The next day was calm and it rained less than half an inch. On the 4th the winds shifted around to the east, the sun came out, and the humidity dropped. Nine rainless days followed. It rained a couple of times a week for the remainder of the month, bringing the total to 10.1 inches.

Agapanthus orientalis

The plants have recovered nicely from waterlogged conditions, and the agapanthus lining our driveway have put on a spectacular show.

October is usually the rainiest month of the year. What happened? According to a friend, the change is due to the Madden-Julian oscilation (MJO), an eastward-traveling tropical weather pattern causing rain anomalies, lasting 30-90 days, meaning we could be due for some more heavy rains in November or December. For more information on the MJO, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madden-Julian_oscillation.

On October 31 the winds shifted around to the west again, the humidity increased, and it began to rain.

Happy gardening!