I refilled some of the washer tubs and dryer drums last fall and others early this spring. So far we have tomatoes, cabbage family members, mints, pimento peppers, Ichaban eggplant, Lily of the Valley, and some annual flowers in some of them. They all did quite well last year and I can see the plants growing fast this year too. I thought about making a potato bed that was layered a few times as the plants grew in one or more of the tubs but didn't get that done.
I do more container gardening nearly every year. I consider the raised beds to be just large containers. We have 8-9 of them that are 4'-5' X 19'-26'. We usually cap them off in the fall with leaves and maybe manure from a local stable and try to till it in then or in really early spring. This keeps them filled and revitalized for the close planting we do. I also add commercial fertilizers and some organic specialty items like bonemeal, rock phosphate, etc..
Does anyone else use large containers like old bathtubs, automatic or manuel washer tubs or dryer drums? They were all free so there was only an hour or so labor involved in getting them. Of course then we had to get them removed to the proper places. The guys saved transmissions, motors, etc. if there was anything that looked like it even might work. I sometimes took the colored electrical wire for tying things together, holding plants up on trellises, etc.
Washer/dryer tubs for containers
Wow. I've never considered using an old dryer drum to plant flowers in. I remember going to a campground once, and having a fire in an old washer drum. The flames shining through all of the holes in the drum... amazing. I did plant a bunch of spring bulbs in our coal bucket. It was pretty funny to see a bunch of hyacinths blooming in it this spring.
I use a couple of old stock water troughs the oblong type. I also use a wheel barrow. Both work well . Ernie
What a nifty idea! My fiance just chuckled when I pointed this thread out to him, as we recently had to replace our washing machine and he was breaking the old one down for scrap. I wanted to try some potatoes, too, but just didn't have the room... hmmm... :)
Do you spray paint the outside of the tub/drum? And do you put it in the ground partially, or just leave it on top? Would love to see pics from anyone who has used these kinds of containers!
Oh me, oh my, I sense another project in the near future!
(editted to add a note)
Thanks to the wonderful search feature here, I have obtained even more info on using washer tubs. And my fiance's son is going to finish scraping out our broken washer this weekend in exchange for some fun time with friends. Woo Hoo! ;)
This message was edited May 28, 2004 6:14 PM
Sorry to be so long getting back here. Been really busy outside.
We just set the tubs/drums on the top of the soil. No, I haven't painted anything-yet. Most still have the plastic outside tub which helps to hold the water in. The ones with the holes showing also usually have weeds trying to grow out thru the hole. LOL.
As you can see, we did it... twice! These tubs were from rather old washers; all metal with a porcelain seal. I used a gallon plastic garden pot to cover the center hole while we filled each tub with dirt, and then the lil pigs showed up and took over. *shrug* ;)
My fiance partially submerged the tubs in an area we just cleared out. There had been an old wooden garage of sorts there... which we fondly referred to as the 'lean-to' before it became firewood ;)... but we feared that some of the richness of the black dirt in that area might be motor oil, so this was a perfect solution to using the area while we see if sunflowers (or even weeds) can survive. Thanks again for the inspiration!!!
TuttiFrutti, those are so cute. It took a lot of work to bury those tubs that deep!
We have russets! *giggle*
Leaflady, the area for the tubs is where an old garage stood, so it didn't take much work to clear it or dig it down a bit. Over time, the soil and mulch built up and around the garage perimeter so that the inside was about 3-6" lower. :)
