Originally we were hoping to have the water tank installed prior to winter however financial delays meant that we just managed to get the water tank delivered this month, and we have now connected the guttering on both sides of our shed to the water tank.

The actual piping and drilling required to do the job was much simpler than I had thought, so with minimum fuss we are now collecting rainwater - JUST in time, since we are due a lot of rain this week. Since it is the first week of spring and winter is officially over we can expect the rainfall to lessen over the next few months, however hopefully we'll collect just enough to be able to help out the plants over summer.

We planted many more seeds in the swales in time for spring and are considering growing cover crops over the swale tops instead of mulching so heavily next time. What are other people growing on their swale banks around the trees? Let me know ...