santa  fe  rain  barrels

Spring time has come back around, even though it appears that the weather is still deciding whether or not it is ready to leave behind the winter cold.  With the melting of snow and ice off our roofs, now is an ideal time to collect water, especially in anticipation of the possible dry months lying ahead of us.  Santa Fe Rain Barrels is back in full swing, providing rain barrels and other services to various stores and businesses in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque area, as well as individual clients.

We currently wholesale to a number of nurseries and other businesses in the area.  Although the majority of our clients reside in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque area, we also wholesale to Taos, and an individual distributor in Las Cruces.  We offer our wholesale rain barrels at a discount price, as long as the buyer has a store or business and is buying at least twenty barrels at a time.  Anyone with a business in sustainability, landscaping, irrigation, and water catchment, can benefit from the interaction, as those who we are currently selling to have.  Wholesale rain barrels in Santa Fe and Albuquerque can be a good opportunity for many local businesses. 

The monsoons are finally here,  the hot dry weather has subsided for the time being and it has been great feeling more moisture in the air for a change.  Seeing the rain has been very encouraging for most people and their plants trees and bushes are looking greener then before.   Water catchment is very important to have in this high desert climate, whether your catchment system uses rain barrels or above and below ground tanks.  Lets all do our part in saving as much water as we can.  Making improvements to your water catchment systems such as rainbarels in Santa Fe or Albuquerque is the best way to effectively recycle rain water, let’s keeps up the good work!

The days have been getting hotter and hotter building up to the Summer Solstice that is now upon us, and little moisture has come to alleviate any discomfort caused by our high desert's heat and dryness.  Although the recent weather can discourage people from outdoor activities such as gardening due to a shortage of water, this only gives more of a reason for us to collect the rain water when we are fortunate enough to recieve it.  Santa Fe Rain Barrels continues to have a large supply of rain barrels to aid in the development of more sustainable water in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, as well as other nearby areas.  We also have a regular supply of discount tanks and cisterns, totes, and water catchment supplies.  We are committed to helping out with all of our clients' water catchment needs.

Let's minimize the effect of this dry period that we are in by being more sustainable with our water usage.  Please come to us for any needs, questions, or concerns regarding water harvesting and rain barrels in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

The planting season has returned to Santa Fe and the surrounding area, and local nurseries and outdoor businesses are once again offering their services for people's gardening needs.  Last Saturday, April 24, the Santa Fe Master Gardener's Association held the Santa Fe Garden Fair at the Santa Fe Fair Grounds.  The fair brought together local gardener's and related businesses, allowing for everyone to make community connections as well as obtain anything needed for outdoor planting projects.  There were a large variety of businesses at the fair selling things from small greenhouses to plants, as well as much information from the vendors and gardening community.  Santa Fe Rain Barrels was present at the fair, selling 60 gallon rain barrels and handing out flyers and business cards.  For those that attended the fair, it was a great way to prepare for outdoor work and see what's going on in the sustainability and gardening scene in Santa Fe.  By the end of the day, plants were being sold at half price by some of the booths and my dad was writing his phone number on pieces of paper for business cards.  It was a productive day that should lead to a productive year of planting and growth!

For those that did not attend the fair, rain barrels are still available at all times in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and can be delivered for a small charge.  The price on our main rain barrels is the same as at the fair.  All information regarding rain barrels, tanks, cisterns, and any of our other services can be found on our website.  Water catchment is a service we continue to offer, and are committed to provide in the Northern New Mexico area.  In the spirit of the Santa Fe Garden Fair, may we all live more green, community oriented lives!

 

As the spring season comes to a near, rain barrels in Northern New Mexico will soon be back in full swing with the need for more gardening and watering of plants. This time of the year is a great time to plant new seeds, and in accordance with that, raising awareness on the environment and sustainability can open many doors for the year, as well as offer the possibility of making some money.  Santa Fe Rain Barrels has in the past sold rain barrels at a discount for non-profit organizations to hold fundraisers. This is beneficial to both parties as it gives us a chance to distribute our product and develop a better network of clients in the Northern New Mexico community, and gives those having the fundraiser a chance to make some money! People presented with the choice of buying rain barrels in Santa Fe and Albuquerque are more likely to do so in this setting as it benefits not only our business, but the cause behind the fundraiser and the community as a whole.

All ideas are welcome, and we will do our best to meet the needs of anyone wanting to make something happen. Whether it is to raise money for a school program, for a trip, or some kind of project, we are prepared to help. Please come to us for all rain barrel fund raising requests by contacting us.

As the snow blankets the ground and the animals around us prepare themselves for a period of scarce food in the late fall, my father and owner of Santa Fe Rain Barrels, makes his own migration to warmer climates. His trips serve as a break from both the cold and his work, seeing as the business tends to slow down in accordance with what we see in nature. In this light, my dad has left the rain barrel business in my hands until his return in the spring. I am currently a student at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and generally will do work for the business on weekends when homework isn't the only thing on my mind. The majority of our business is during the warm, summer months, and therefore the general pace of the work during this time is easier to keep up with in addition to school.

After ten years selling rain barrels, we have come a very long way in the water catchment business. Our methods have improved extensively since my dad first began the endeavor, and we have steadily developed from our days vending "food storage" barrels behind our house. We now have a storage yard where we keep the barrels as well as the large cisterns and square, 275 gallon totes that have been growing in popularity. We also sell a number of different fittings and connections which make water harvesting in NM a much easier and more practical investment. Our storage yard in Santa Fe is stocked with barrels of two sizes (50 and 60 gallons), and all available colors; terra cotta, gray, black, and blue, and brown.

The dawn of the year 2000 had many expectations leading up to it. Will it be the end of the world? Will it be the end of technology? Is it the beginning of a new era and consciousness? Similar to today´s 2012 doomsday speculations, the meaning and significance of Y2K had everyone around the world asking questions. People didn´t know what to think. Many people were afraid while others claimed that it was all just a big myth. As the time drew nearer to January 1st, however, the rumors got louder and those listening to them got prepared.

People driving by the back of our house off the main road of Eldorado in the year 1999 were occasionally greeted by a sign that read `Y2K Storage Barrels`, with a large amount of terra cotta barrels waiting to be sold, and my hopeful dad attending the many intrigued drivers that stopped by to have a look. The corner of our yard was stacked higher than the level of our fence with barrels, which we had unloaded from a full-sized semi despite the scrutiny from neighbors. Aside from that, the barrels smelled (and continue to smell) like garlic or peppers before getting washed out. We had hope that it would be worth all the trouble.

Needless to say, we didn´t have to send all the barrels back to where they came. People were buying them. Some for food. Some for water. Some to put pillows in and turn into a doghouse. Anything you could imagine. The Y2K hype was really working!

After the ball dropped and the parties died down, and people began forgetting about the Y2K new world which had been the only thing on their minds the night before, life went back to normal. It was only then that we really started to sell rain barrels as a way to store the water coming off people´s roofs. As the business started to grow, the city of Santa Fe got involved and granted us the right to give customers $30 dollar rebates on their water bill for buying barrels. We soon found ourselves delivering barrels to places outside of Santa Fe, and I became busier and busier getting orders ready for wholesale. The business spread to Albuquerque, and our methods of selling evolved with the number of barrels we were selling. It wasn´t as easy anymore to keep up with orders, so we were forced to find better and more efficient ways of preparing the barrels to be sold.

Today, after 10 years of selling barrels, the business has seen many changes. We now have a distribution in Las Cruces, NM, as well as the one we have had in Altanta, GA. We have many different sizes of tanks and cisterns, and they are all of various types and prices. The more people buy, the less limits we have in selling the barrels, and we encourage anyone interested, no matter where from or what is needed, to contact us.

The city of Albuquerque, although already big for NM, is continuing to increase in size and population. As the number of people using water increases, the level of Albuquerque´s ground water decreases at an even faster rate, signifying that water conservation must grow to match the demand for water. The earlier people conserve water, the more secure the future of our water supply will be, and we will be more prepared for any water-related problems to come. Rain barrels for Albuquerque and Santa Fe are always available to interested clients. As the demand for water increases, we hope to meet that demand with a reliable supply of barrels.

Hope we can continue to serve you, and happy 10th anniversary of Santa Fe rain barrels!