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Water Harvesting with Martha Retallick

Want to learn how to conserve scarce water and put it to work? Join 400+ people on my monthly newsletter list and get your free Water Harvesting Cheat Sheet!

I'm an author, photographer, podcaster, and avid water harvester in Tucson, Arizona.

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Rainwater entering harvesting basin.
Featured Post

Let's Talk About Overflow

Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | October 14, 2025 Here Comes the Rain! Rainwater filling basin. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. After a yearlong drought, there’s nothing like good, thumping thunderstorms with plenty of rain. More than an inch, in fact! We in Tucson would like to thank the remnants of Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Storm Raymond for being so generous. I'm especially grateful because Priscilla and Raymond have filled my 1,500-gallon cistern to...

9 days ago • 4 min read
Meet Roadie 2.0 and experience the joys of urban wildlife watching. Also, backyard garden problem solving during a hot, dry Tucson summer.

Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | September 16, 2025 Urban Wildlife Watch Roadie 2.0. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. Meet Roadie 2.0! This greater roadrunner started showing up in August, and I was thrilled. Back in 2022-23, my front yard was a hangout for a bird the neighbors called Roadie. In addition to enjoying the grubs, lizards, and other delicacies, Roadie was a ham. It got to the point where I’d be following him around the yard, and I’d say, “Closeup?” He...

about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Ripening Pomegranate

Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | August 19, 2025 That Time I Flunked Water Harvesting Ripening pomegranate. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. It’s a common lament. You water, water, and water fruit trees like the pomegranate shown above. But they just aren’t thriving. Happened at my place, and it was one of my worst water harvesting failures. Here’s the story: In 2017, I had a laundry-to-landscape greywater harvesting system installed. Instead of sending my laundry...

2 months ago • 3 min read