Harvesting Rain Water Using Watering Cans

I love this ingenious idea for harvesting rain water using watering cans and pieces of pipe which feeds each one. My only query is that you'd have to have a pretty sturdy gutter to be able to take the load of 4 full watering cans and more to the point how do you get them down once they're full?

Water weighs an incredible amount – for each litre it weighs 1kg, so 5 litres = 5 kg each x 4 and the gutter has to potentially hold 20kg – unless of course the gutter are made from metal, like they are in France, and then of course there won't be a problem just as long as the gutter is securely fixed.

As for being able to reach them – well if they're hung from a shed or low roof then that will be fine!

I actually love them for their aesthetic looks and think they'd also make great places to hold trailing plants. Take a glance at the shadows as well, a great way to make a plain wall a little more interesting. If you want a little more vibrancy you could always use brightly coloured plastic watering cans.

Harvesting rainwater to water the garden or vegetable plot will also save money on your water bills – especially if you're on a water meter.

Image: via cc Flickr