Find out how you can capture the rain water that falls on your roof, patio, driveway and yard this Saturday at the annual Rain Water Harvesting event at the Bisbee Farmers Market, just in time for the summer monsoon season. Cado Daily, an expert with the Water Wise program, will be on hand to answer questions and provide lots of information to help plan a water harvesting system for your home.

Water harvesting is capturing, storing and using rainfall. It is one of the oldest known gardening and farming methods in water-scarce environments. Systems can be simple or complex. Water flow from yard or driveway can be channeled to a garden, lawn, vegetable and flower beds or tree wells by contouring the yard with earth mounds and depressions. With an annual rainfall of twelve inches, a quarter acre lot receives 70,000 gallons of rainwater per year. By installing roof gutters and rain barrels you can catch the rainwater from the roof. A thousand square feet of roof collection area will yield 600 gallons in a one inch rain.

Rick Weisburg of Hereford who sells custom rain barrels that come in 30 colors in 50 to 200 gallon sizes will bring some of his elegant barrels. He offers free on-site consultation and custom installation. More economical rain barrels will be offered by Bisbee's Andrew Nelson who will paint the barrels he installs to match your home, build stands for them and also put in a gray water system. The barrels are all covered with screens to keep out mosquitos and other critters.

The Bisbee Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon in Vista Park in the Warren section of Bisbee. Right now sweet corn, sweet onions, watermelons, cantaloupe, regular and elephant garlic, summer squash, apricots, plums, lettuce mix, green onions and more will be available as well as grass-fed beef and lamb, pastured chicken, natural pork, sausage, chorizo, bacon, and free range eggs. Fiore di Capra, the husband and wife run Grade A Goat Dairy & Creamery outside of Benson, will return this week with all their gourmet goat cheeses and raw goat's milk. Lots of honey, honey products, pickles and jams, baked goods, plants and hand made arts and crafts will be for sale.

Renegade Posse from Portal and Rodeo, New Mexico will play world music with emphasis on reggae, Cuban and Celtic on keyboard and drums. Relax under the trees at the outdoor eating areas and listen to the music, visit with friends and sample home-made popsicles or fudge, fresh fruit juices and healthy southwestern food from the Bistro at the Market.

For more information call 378-2973.