| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Huckelberrywine |
Posted - Apr 25 2009 : 9:17:54 PM
So, our town is having a clean up week with a "free" dumpster if only people would use it (and they are). Appliances are carted off for a bit of a fee. And I just coveted my farmgirl sister Amy's raised beds... then it hit me.
Wouldn't an old fridge/freezer be a convenient raised bed? Remove the innards, drill some drainage holes, cover around the outside with some cut sticks, lattice work, straw bales or whatnot, and I'd have a rodent-proof (too many moles around here) ready to go raised bed and one less large thing hauled to the dump. I guess there are ways to recycle whole fridges, just saw a notice from the power company about that (how nice!), but seeing those fridges waiting for the dump haul got me thinking about what they really could be doing in their repurposing years. Nicely insulated too.
Gives new meaning to the phrase, let's go see what's in the fridge for dinner tonight! :)
We make a difference. http://huckleberrywine.blogspot.com |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Contrary Wife |
Posted - May 09 2009 : 7:34:42 PM
My DH is plotting and planning how he is going to make raised beds for me and he thought he would form up concrete walls and then put whole bales of straw in them and top it off with two or three feet of topsoil. The straw would eventually compost down, you wouldn't need as much dirt initially to fill the beds that way, only having to add a little each year. I thought it was a great idea.
Teresa Sue
Farmgirl Sister #316
Planting Zone 4
"Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly." The Dalai Lama |
| pamcook |
Posted - May 09 2009 : 09:46:37 AM
another advantage to the concrete blocks - I stacked another row along one side for carrots (giving them more room to grow down).
www.ikat.org
www.longaberger.com/pamcook |
| Sandra K. Licher |
Posted - May 09 2009 : 07:03:17 AM
Concrete blocks sounds great and they're cheap aren't they? And using the holes for herbs...wow....what about those landscape timbers? Are they treated though? And the hay/straw bales is a great idea also I just don't have the access, strength, or method to get them to my house plus reaching over the bales to get to my garden would certainly throw my back out....I'm old! LOL! But for you youngin's especially if you live rural and have access to straw that would be great. I wish I would have thought of that when I had my farm. I used straw as mulch between the beds and used it in bale form to insulate around the dog house but never thought to use it for raised beds! Great ideas! You gals are SO smart and creative!
Sam in AR..... "It's a great life if you don't weaken!"
Farmgirl Sister #226
www.farmgirlsam.blogspot.com |
| pamcook |
Posted - May 08 2009 : 9:05:11 PM
I used concrete blocks to border my square foot garden - the holes in the blocks are perfect for herbs.
www.ikat.org
www.longaberger.com/pamcook |
| Huckelberrywine |
Posted - May 08 2009 : 9:02:03 PM
HolyGuacamole! 500 fridges in a town of 1500? That is impressive and puzzling. Sounds like a whole farm of raised beds. :)
We make a difference. http://huckleberrywine.blogspot.com |
| Celticheart |
Posted - May 08 2009 : 2:02:35 PM
Last year our town had a weekend where they took in things that needed to be recycled like computers, appliances, etc., that people didn't want to take to the dump themselves because they charge so much to take items like that. There was a central location to take everything and then the county arranged for it to be hauled to the dump for free. They took in 500 refrigerators! There are only 1500 people in our entire town. The organizers are still a little mystified over where all those refrigerators came from.
I've seen the hay bale idea too. Did they use hay or straw? Maybe the straw bales would have fewer weed seeds.
It's not about being perfect, but enjoying what you do. Set aside time to be creative.
Robyn Pandolph
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| Huckelberrywine |
Posted - May 08 2009 : 11:52:51 AM
I've heard of the hay beds idea, but there is a lot of weed seed in some hay. Still, when the season is over, you can mulch/compost the whole thing and start over again with an enriched garden the next year.
I do love all these ideas. I'm going to keep my eyes open for a cute claw-footless tub. What a fun idea that is!
We make a difference. http://huckleberrywine.blogspot.com |
| Desiree |
Posted - May 07 2009 : 3:20:09 PM
I was in Salt Lake City, Utah this past weekend and visited Red Butte Garden. The raised beds that they use for vegetable gardening are made of hay. Hey, what a great idea! I posted a couple of pictures on my blog.
www.beyondagarden.blogspot.com
Simple Living With Nature......... |
| Huckelberrywine |
Posted - Apr 29 2009 : 1:49:59 PM
I've about got myself talked into making a tub cut out, painting it up and planting my own "garden tub" (with a little planter box behind on legs to the right height. Alyssum make wonderful mounds of "soap bubbles" too. This is fun.
We make a difference. http://huckleberrywine.blogspot.com |
| graciegreeneyes |
Posted - Apr 28 2009 : 5:39:03 PM
I love that vision Michelle!!
Amy Grace
Farmgirl #224
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"
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| Huckelberrywine |
Posted - Apr 28 2009 : 2:35:51 PM
Julie, you are so sweet. I'd love to see a picture of your garden tub. Makes me think...how pretty would it be to plant some allium behind it (or in), maybe staggered in height a bit, and a low growing baby's breath spilling over the rim so that from the front it looked like giant purple soap bubbles floating out of the foam above it!
We make a difference. http://huckleberrywine.blogspot.com |
| Gardengal |
Posted - Apr 28 2009 : 08:41:44 AM
These ideas just open so many doors for raised beds....never thought of it like that before! My husband may be looking for his "old Beer fridge" when he gets home... hahahah
~Gardengal~
It's the little things...
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| paradiseplantation |
Posted - Apr 28 2009 : 07:52:10 AM
I have to confess -- I have a clawfoot bathtub (sans feet) I painted PINK right in the center of my garden! As I'm a true lover of the deep bubble filled tubs, I made sure this one wasn't really usable, unless I found feet to fit and had someone to reporcelain it. As I'm a newcomer to my rural area, a lot of people have been curious about it, and one woman asked her dh just why I had a bathtub in the middle of my garden. He calmly looked at her and said, 'Why, it's her garden tub." As of yesterday, it is now surrounded by four raised beds made of cypress and cedar, and is just the beginning of a major-sized raised bed garden plan. Michelle, I applaud you for seeing the beauty and usefulness of an old refrigerator. What a grand idea! And, by the way, my tub is growing some of the best carrots I've ever grown.
from the hearts of paradise... |
| katmom |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 10:40:48 PM
There you go again, Michelle, always "thinking outside the (ice) box" lol!
>^..^< Happiness is being a katmom.
"I've never met a sewing machine I didn't like!"
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://www.graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
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| Alee |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 1:00:52 PM
Sandra- you could aways just paint it one straight color with a roller brush- done in 10 minutes! And if you do use the plastic tubs to do your garden- you could pack them with you when you sell your house!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| Sandra K. Licher |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 10:36:13 AM
Alee...what a cute idea, just not sure I have THAT much energy...I love the planning and idea part...execution...not so much! LOL! That's where I'm like a slug! Darling idea though. Plus, my house is for sale so I'm not wanting to invest too much money at this point but I might as well as it may not sell for years! If I don't get stuff in the ground pretty soon it will be too late.
Suzanne,,,thanks for the tip too. I will go to his website and check it out and I actually may have the book...not sure I've read it though. It's storming here today and supposedly tomorrow so NADA for anything outside today plus I have my quilt class tomorrow and I am busy doing my homework today....oh, did I tell you I procrastinate too?
Sam in AR..... "It's a great life if you don't weaken!"
Farmgirl Sister #226
www.farmgirlsam.blogspot.com |
| Suzan |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 08:14:31 AM
Go to squarefootgardening.com, then buy his book (from amazon), he has great tips for raised bed gardening. I just used regular 2x6's to build my frames - I know they aren't treated, we'll just see how it goes... |
| Alee |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 07:53:44 AM
What about using those tubs from Wal-mart and then buying cheap ply wood to make the "box" around your tubs which you could then paint white or green or whatever that could blend in with your house. I would totally paind mine like a little Barn!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| Sandra K. Licher |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 04:33:56 AM
Suzie that is AWESOME that you are already harvesting things! I think it is warmer there than AR though since we have "snowbirds" here that go to Texas in the winter. They would tell me they were going South for the winter and I had just moved here and thought I was already in the South! What did I know....I'm from the midwest but after that ice storm we had this past January I realized what they meant! LOL!
I would love to do a sort of greenhouse and I have soil like yours so digging here and growing is out of the question without "ammending" the soil and composting. Do you have "critters" there? We have so much wildlife here it is wonderful but makes it hard to garden! I may have to try that method! Thanks!
Tina...what great ideas! Thank you....I can see it now....a rainbow of raised beds! Wouldn't that raise the neighbors eyebrows...they already think I'm "strange"! Ha! Ha!
Sam in AR..... "It's a great life if you don't weaken!"
Farmgirl Sister #226
www.farmgirlsam.blogspot.com |
| Tina Michelle |
Posted - Apr 26 2009 : 10:52:50 PM
Sandra, you know..you could paint those plastic tubs with the outdoor plastic furniture spray paint in any color that you need..the paint comes in lots of different colors..and then you could decorate it with painted on flowers or something to gussy it up if using those for a "raised bed"
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As for other uses for the old refrigerators..I have seen old discarded refrigerators used as worm bins too/for fishing worms..they would make quite the worm bed for sure/of course they'd have to have some sort of drainage/maybe even a spigot of some sort in the bottom to collect the "worm tea" for your garden, and you'd be able to use the composted matter for your gardens.
~I Dream of a Better World..where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned!~
blogs:http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and http://thevictorygardener.blogspot.com
magazine: www.stliving.net
etsy shops: http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com
and http://myvictorygarden.etsy.com |
| SuzieQ |
Posted - Apr 26 2009 : 7:43:07 PM
Sandra,
I did the Mother Earth News way of having bags of potting soil down and I have beautiful tomatoes, brocoli, and have a sweet potatoe in one. They are doing great. I started them during winter and have them in a quizi green house and I have tomatoes and waiting for them to ripen. It has worked out great. At my house I only have about two inches of soil over rock. Good luck. |
| Sandra K. Licher |
Posted - Apr 26 2009 : 7:18:10 PM
Oh, you gals are a hoot! And I LOVE your ideas! I have been wanting to build raised beds and drove an hour to Lowes to buy cedar lumber (can't use the treated cuz it's "treated" with chemicals that aren't great for veggie growing/eating) anyway...one cedar board which would be about 2 sides of one raised bed was $27.00!!!! GASP! So, back to square one...someone suggested landscape timbers because they're lots cheaper but aren't they treated with something too? I saw an idea in some magazine...Hobby Farms or Mother Earth News where they used a plastic kiddy pool and another where they laid bags of soil on the ground and just split the top and planted right in them! I'm looking for it to be cheap and yet look nice when I'm done. I live alone so hauling refrigerators is probably not an answer for me. Another idea I saw which I might try was to use those big plastic storage bins you get at Walmart or K-mart etc. drill holes in the bottom and you can even put screening over the holes to keep out critters and fill with soil or compost. Now, that might be where I'm headed now...hmmm....what do you think a bunch of those in my yard would look like? I have REALLY picky neighbors who think...keyword here is THINK, we live in a ladeedah area....NOT! Dark green ones would be nice but the only ones I ever see are the white/clearish ones but they'd be darker filled with soil. I think I will try 1 and see how I like it....they're definitely cheaper than wood! Keep up this thread...it's a great one!
Sam in AR..... "It's a great life if you don't weaken!"
Farmgirl Sister #226
www.farmgirlsam.blogspot.com |
| Huckelberrywine |
Posted - Apr 26 2009 : 6:31:22 PM
Ooooh, clawfoot bathtub raised gardens! I wouldn't use any camo on those! Lucky guy. I would turn one into my outdoor hot-tub though. I wonder where/how you get rid of the nasty coolant. I suppose a car-repair shop would take care of it for a small fee. They must know what to do with it since they service car AC too. They might even be talked into taking all the wiring...I guess the copper gets quite a recycling payoff now. Maybe they would look at it as breaking even? If I smile really big and wear my apron?
We make a difference. http://huckleberrywine.blogspot.com |
| Huckelberrywine |
Posted - Apr 26 2009 : 6:20:47 PM
Amy Grace, I don't know how long the "free dumpster" program is running. They mentioned it in the water bill if you still have your newsletter. I suspect the freezers/fridges will wait until the town guy gets free time to make a dump run. Swing by the shop and ask them.
Hmm. Big plans. Recovering. So sore. Q was SOOO happy to get green grass when I took him for a walk to the spring pasture (which is now fenced in) that it was a bit like a rodeo for awhile. As I came up to the gate to take him back to the other pasture (so he won't founder by eating too much too fast), DH threw a bunch of metal in the pickup, making a loud crash, and we were off like lightning! 600 pound crazy yearling horse, short little me, and no fence. I ran as best I could to keep from letting him lose and/or falling on my face. Got him calmed down, but in the process had to turn lose of Scout (a little help with the horses, dear?) who then ran to the far ends of the earth (through all the lovely growing wheat field). Really? Did you have to do that one particularly horse-scary thing right at that moment? Hello? Yearling knot-head in training? I'm just glad he chilled out before I fell. Realized that trucks don't really eat horses, and watched Scout disappear toward the creek (I think that particular interesting sight obliterated the horse-eating-truck thought). I'm mad and sore, but calming down. Anyway, I love my husband, who went and caught Scout. Today we had a discussion and I let him lead the horses back and forth between the pastures. Ah, learning curves and aspirin. It's a long road but we'll get there.
We make a difference. http://huckleberrywine.blogspot.com |
| Bellepepper |
Posted - Apr 26 2009 : 11:47:03 AM
We use an old freezer to keep our chicken feed away from the mice and varmits. Ole Ron uses an old refrigerator to keep his welding rods dry. He keeps a light bulb burning to keep out the humidity.
We have a neighbor that has about 30 claw foot bathtubs lined up in his back yard. They are his raised bed garden. Really neat to look at but seems like a waste of vintage bathtubs. |
