Our mobile home had what is referred to as a "garden bathtub"-I wonder why that name? We hated it, so it was replaced with a whirlpool tub. For 3 years it stayed in the back yard collecting dirt. Yesterday I started digging, and today it is a REAL GARDEN TUB ! Since I took this photo I have filled it with 4cu ft peatmoss, 4 cu ft of growers mix, and 4 bags of cow manure- all mixed up and settling in to be planted soon. i will take more photos later-
Great idea but, did you have to drill holes in the bottom for drainage? Can't wait to see photo's when you get it all planted. I would love to find a tub like that for my backyard!
I just made sure the drainage hole was at the lowest point(it is about 2") and I glued a metal colander upside down over the hole to keep it from getting clogged. Our soil is very sandy so I don't think there will be a problem. I plan to attach some poles later to support plants- stay tuned!
I love this idea! Can't wait to see how it turns out.
I should be able to plant it in about 2 weeks- we are supposed to have another freeze over the weekend, so I don't dare to put my young plants in yet. I have cucumbers, peppers & tomatoes that I did from seeds. Then I always buy more when the nurseries have them!
. I think I'm missing something if your filling it with dirt, what is the purpose of planting in it rather that just augmenting the soil in that area? I know I must just not understand what your goal is. Sorry I'm being so dense here. I've seen people use them for water gardens, looks like you did a nice job of installing it. Have you thought of a water feature?
I guess I should have explained-LOL! I live in central Florida, and my yard is totally SAND! I have tried amending the soil, but it just disappears with the rains. Therefore most of my growing is in large semi- buried containers. At least I can control the soil that way. I have a dozen or so big kitty litter containers with drainage holes that I sunk down in the sand. It works well, but the larger the better for sustained growth. We have the climate here to grow year round, but not the soil!
PS- No water gardens here- we are surrounded by pine trees and oaks that drop leaves year round!
Ok, Now I understand, I was wondering if it was a Florida thing, since everybody else seemed to understand. I do know about Fl yards being all sand. But I don't think I understood that you can't augment them like we do up here. I spent two weeks cleaning up my FIL yard and house after those series of Hurricanes a couple of years ago. In fact we loaded up a trailer with tools and headed down there between one hurricane and another. His back yard was an absolute jungle, he's 75 works full time and only takes care of the front yard, the back he just lets go. I loved getting in there and cleaning it out, looked so good when we were done. The sand is so easy to work in and I love the plants. I have Zone envy. We will be going down again this year in the Fall and I can't wait to get back into his yard and see what I can do while we are down there.
You're right- working with plants in the sand is really easy- pulling weeds is a snap! But that sand will not hold nutrients or moisture worth a darn! Before coming here I lived in NW Louisiana where my soil was on the clay side, and when I added stuff it was great! Different world here, though. Everything grows super fast, but then declines fast. I have yet to have a full season's crop of pole beans, cucumbers or most anything else. You just have to pull them up and do a 2nd planting.
Holly,
You can amend FL soil but becaue of the temps here, the microorganisms break down the organic matter superfast. I use all my own leaves to amend my soil, steal the neighbors leaves, and bring in horsepoop/sawdust mix and still it is quite sandy. I m improving my knowledge about plants that prefer poor soil though.
Maggie
I keeping looking at all the beautiful plants you grow all year long. I want my Bougainvillea to craw up the side of my house not sit in a little tub in the corner of the living room. I get a little Zone Envy when I see something I like and know that it will never really reach it's full growth. That it will have to come into the house at the end of summer, or die. I bet you would love to have the dirt in my garden. Years worth of horse manure and sawdust bedding, tons of leaves and grass clippings. I guess we all have our challenges.
I wonder if coir would work. It can be used to amend the soil and is supposed to last longer than regular compost. On the downside it is on the expensive side. Our soil is also very sandy so I can understand your frustration. I can't get any coir locally. So I'd have to go all the way to Austin to look for some.
What is "coir"? I have never heard of it-
Shredded coconut husks. It's pH neutral and the fibers are very tough. It can be bought as compacted 'bricks'. Soaking in water expands the stuff.
I've also heard something about adding (clean) kitty litter to amend sandy soils... since it's just made up of little chunks of clay, I thought that made sense... I can understand not wanting to use it for a large area, but maybe it would work as a base material in a raised bed? I'm thinking you'd use the cheap stuff, with no perfumes or strange "crystals" added.
I love the idea of using your tub as a large sunken garden... I can't wait to see photos of it all planted up!
I hope I can start planting my tub this weekend- we had a freeze just a few days ago, and I am ready for Spring! I will post photos as soon as it looks like something. Right now all I see are cat prints every day !
OK- here's the 1st photo since I planted stuff in my garden tub! There are tomatoes, cucumbers & 6 stalks of corn in the center(which most likely will be stolen by the squirrels!) I put a big plastic pot upside down in the center to cut down on the amount of soil, since there won't be anything growing way in there- More photos later-
Your garden tub looks great Jo! What a great idea.
Looks good! How about some pole beans to climb those corn stalks.... ?
