There’s a lot of talk about collecting rainwater as a frugal and ecology-conscious way to reduce water waste, and that’s certainly a good thing and a project we hope to take up in the future. I do have to say, though, that in Israel we don’t get any rain to speak of approximately from May to October. What we can do in the summer months, without any special equipment, is collect dew.
Our system is simple. We have a plastic awning at the entrance to our home, and when I step out early in the morning I can see puddles of water around it. By placing buckets in strategic locations, and then combining their contents, we get roughly a bucket of clean water every day this way. We primarily use it in the garden, but if we used cleaner containers I wouldn’t hesitate to drink it. It’s easy, useful, doesn’t cost anything and could turn out very important in a survival situation. I expect we could harvest a lot more water if we set up a water catchment system all around our roof, too.
The dew we collect is used daily to water our garden. Our peppers already look very promising!
I have noticed that dew is especially abundant when a cool, quiet night follows a hot day. We have many such nights during the summer, as we live up in the hills and usually experience very pleasant temperatures once the sun sets. In Israel, and in other countries with an arid climate, dew collection can be done on a larger scale and play an important role in water conservation.
Domestic Felicity 
Have you heard of hugelkultur beds? I am pretty sure you have far fewer trees around than I do (Pacific Northwest in the US), but I’d think even a gathered pile of the largest downed branches you could find may form a decent base for a hugelkultur bed.
The idea is that wood underground (we did a combo of digging a trench and piling soil up into a mound) absorbs rainwater very efficiently and stores it for the dry months. My gardening skills are not high quality and many of my plants are alive only because of the moisture in the hugelkultur beds they are planted on.
Anyway, I enjoy reading your blog and this post reminded me of my watering solution, so I wanted to pass it on.
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Tanya, I have heard of hugelkultur and it seems like a very interesting concept, but you’re right, there aren’t many trees around here and those we do have are mostly small. I wonder if the same principle can be applied with lumberyard scraps.
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