I’ve known for a while that the downspout diverter for my rain barrel wasn’t working. My rain barrel wasn’t filling, and even when it did the algae growth was so vigorous that the barrel wouldn’t drain. The design of the “barrel” mimics a giant rock, but there is no way to get in and give it a good clean, so the system sat until I could formulate a plan. Then I noticed that the soil was washing away from around the barrel. Hm. When it rained, no water was going down the spout. I took out the diverter and found an entire tube full of dirt made from decayed leaves and roof tile grit.

I reassembled the downspout without the diverter and spread the new dirt where the rain had washed away the soil. I found it interesting that there was enough to fill the space.

I’m still working on a plan for the rain barrel.