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Garden Gate:  Barrel gardening??  |
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magnoliakathy
True Blue Farmgirl
453 Posts
Kathryn
Magnolia
Texas
USA
453 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 21 2013 : 10:37:14 AM
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This year, because of my bad knees, we will try gardening in barrel halves. We have set up our first row, tweleve barrel halves on landscape timbers, on top off 2 cinder blocks at each end and in the middle. I have seen several articles on this method and the biggest obstacle for me was finding barrels I could afford. One of the local feed stores sells plastic 55-gallon barrels for $25 each, I get mine for $20 each from a road-side vendor, he is in the same place Fridays and Saturdays. My truck bed holds 6 barrels, my husband cuts them in half, and I drill the drainage holes with the small drill I got for Christmas. The goal is 5 more rows of 6 halves per row. The plan is to put tomatoes, bush beans, and squash in the "pots", melons and pumpkins in the remaning raised beds. I will let you know how this works out.
When you free your mind your heart can fly. Farmgirl # 714, |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4738 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4738 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2013 : 10:49:04 AM
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Good luck with your barrel gardening. I am going to be growing veggies in containers this year too. We moved to a beautiful townhouse last summer & containers is the only way for me to go with the vegetables.
Let us know how your produce does. Have you thought of trying potatoes in a barrel too? I grew them in a sack and they did just fine.
Dawn in IL |
Edited by - ddmashayekhi on Feb 21 2013 10:49:55 AM |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1403 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1403 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2013 : 11:09:31 AM
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What do you plan to fill your barrels with and how much? I've always found it hard to scrounge enough dirt up to fill them. My main problem, so I haven't started gardening in raised beds either. I would have to buy the earth. I have four barrels in front of my house. They contain flowers. One of them is cut in half from top to bottom and I get a lot of compliments on it. The others have liners made of plastic set in them that are between 10 and 12 inches deep. That way I can use potting soil to fill them.
Good luck. Your idea sounds really good.
Betty in Pasco
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magnoliakathy
True Blue Farmgirl
453 Posts
Kathryn
Magnolia
Texas
USA
453 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2013 : 8:05:18 PM
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I bought 40 bags of top soil with compost for 99 cents a 40# bag at a local big name nursery. We will be renting a bobcat to move some large logs from some trees we cut down and will use it to widen and deepen a drainage ditch in the pasture. I will use the dirt from that and compost to fill some of the barrel pots. If you have a pickup or access to one, go to a local dirt yard and buy what you need. It is cheaper than buying potting soil in bags.
When you free your mind your heart can fly. Farmgirl # 714, |
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gramadinah
True Blue Farmgirl
3557 Posts
Diana
Orofino
ID
USA
3557 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2013 : 8:21:27 PM
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I have grown lots in my barrels I put 4/5 inches of fill stuff in the bottom for drainage. I have used all kinds of things from rocks to empty milk containers.
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
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homsteddinmom
True Blue Farmgirl
441 Posts
Brandee
bullard
tx
USA
441 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2013 : 05:10:00 AM
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I do most of all my garden in tubs/barrel halves! This year i am adding 30 more barrel halves to my garden. I got my by barrels for $6 each so $3 each half. Plus i also have 40 other tubs(mineral tubs from cattle mineral) but they dont last as many years as the barrel halves. I grow everything in them!
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm!
http://homesteddinmomsworld.blogspot.com |
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SandraM
True Blue Farmgirl
295 Posts
Sandra
Coldwater
Michigan
USA
295 Posts |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1403 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1403 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2013 : 07:55:29 AM
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I have one very, very old wooden wine cask that the bands have slipped down and do not support the staves. However, a neighbor said that the best thing I could do would be to screw the bands into the staves before I ever started planting. Sounds like a good idea to me.
Betty in Pasco |
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Garden Gate: Barrel gardening?? |
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Barrel gardening??
