Adventures of a Ranch Garden: In Which We Attempt to Turn an Old Diesel Tank into Water Storage

Call us crazy (we like it when you do that), but we really think this just might work. My Uncle owns a ranch, and I'm an avid gardener. He has ample space and no one to work it, while I have itchy fingers. Not in a bad way, though. I want to garden. I'd been living in a small condo with no yard to speak of, except a small 8x12 square of dirt that only reaches 12" deep before hitting gravel base, for the last 5 years of my collegiate education before moving to Oregon. My fingers are itchy to garden. To paint the landscape with flowers and plants and to create an oasis. Cliche, I know, but it's true. I want to create something other than drawings on paper. My Uncle allows me to do that. Our only problem? Water. The small well that feeds water for the house isn't enough to take care of a garden all summer long... so together, we schemed. It runs in the family, I guess. Here's our solution.

We take the rainwater the comes off the roof of his shop, seen below...

And store it in an old diesel tank that he can no longer afford to fill with fuel. Again, feel free to call us crazy. My uncle went ahead and moved the fuel tank and hooked it up to the rain gutter, like so...

But, won't diesel kill the plants you're trying to water?? I can just hear it now... Yes, it could, in large quantities. However, in our tank, there was only a little left at the bottom and to help remove it and the residue left behind, we filled it with Dawn dishsoap (You can also use Simple Green cleaner) and then let it fill up with rainwater and emtpied it (that's why the tap is open and water is coming out in all of the pictures). We'll continue to do so until May/June when the water coming out of the tank is clear of all signs of diesel. 

You can see the suds in the puddle at the bottom of the above picture. That's from the dish soap. 

We felt that this was a safe alternative to storing water for our garden later this summer. The shed, and the tank, are elevated enough above the house and the garden plot that we'll have enough gravity pressure, so we don't have to use a pump!

What do you think??

You can see the forums here on how to remove diesel/gas from a tank (and whether or not to use it for watering your garden/plants):

Candle Power Forums

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