How to Install and Enjoy Your Rain Gauge
An essential tool that helps you monitor whether your trees and shrubs are receiving adequate water.
If this is your first rain gauge, get excited! This will become an indispensable tool. If this is not your first rodeo, welcome back, even if you probably do not need this “how to” article.
The rain gauge is an essential tool for any green thumb, gardener, or plant enthusiast.
It allows you to see how much rain your plants have received on a given day or week. This information helps you monitor whether your plants are receiving adequate water, particularly during hot months.
Setting up your rain gauge is easy, so long as you avoid several pitfalls. Here are important guidelines for installing the gauge:
- Choose an open location; walls, trees, or other obstacles affect how much rain makes it into the gauge. A quick and easy rule of thumb is to place the guage as far from an obstacle as that obstacle is high.
- Make sure the gauge is level so that it accurately measures the rain it catches.
- Attach the gauge such that the opening is ABOVE its anchor point. You want to avoid creating a back drop that can affect how much water lands in the gauge.
- Place the gauge 4 to 6 feet above ground if possible, and no lower than 2 feet above ground.
One of the easiest places to install a rain gauge is at the top of a fence post.
Just make sure you choose an open area, level the gauge, and ensure the top of the gauge is above the top of the fence post. If existing fences posts aren’t available, you can drive a post into the ground and install the gauge on the top of the post.
Once you install your rain gauge and begin using it, you will wonder how you ever lived without one. Enjoy!