01-09-2003, 06:03 AM
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Final Report - The Grand Tire-Gardening Experiment (LONG!!)
writes:
Oh drool! Why do other people always find this great free
or cheap stuff and I don't? 
Actually, it was someone in this newsgroup that posted last year the name
of the company that had these barrels available near PDX airport; the
original poster makes rain barrel systems and has the plans for them on
his page for those who wish to make their own, a terrific idea!
The supplier, whose address I finally found this summer after requesting
it here (the original poster apparently isn't currently reading the group)
now charges $5 each for the barrels but still a bargain. There is vinegar
left in them so a bonus is a gallon or so of 20 or 10 percent vinegar
which I promptly used as a weed killer on my block walkway. Those are the
white barrels; the blue barrels contained soy sauce. Because they both
contain food products, it seemed they'd certainly be safe for veggies. :-)
I could also carry two in my Escort, one in the back seat and one in the
trunk with the help of a bungee cord to keep the trunk lid secured. I was
fortunate to have someone haul six of them for me in the back of his truck
so that saved trips, much appreciated since I don't get over that way too
often and just cannot justify to myself a special trip of 16 miles round
trip to get recyclable stuff.g
You can probably check the directories of various industrial parks for
food processors and start calling to see if any have 55-gallon barrels to
get rid of. Wholesale food suppliers might be another source. Everyone
benefits; they don't have to haul them off, and we get to purchase them at
a reasonable price which also gives them some compensation for the
productivity lost by their employees to get the barrels for us.
This past month, I saw the *same* barrels at one of our feed stores for
$15 each!
On several, I cut off the bottom third of the barrel, drilled holes one
inch above the bottom of the 1/3 section and use them to set plants in so
I can water them with no worries about overwatering (it drains out) but
ensuring they get enough water. I'm horrible about buying things and not
getting them planted in a timely matter! I'll be using some of the 1/3
sections in the spring for starting plants in pots as well. A piece of
plastic over the top will make it a sort of cold frame also.
The other 2/3 pieces of the barrels became potato planters with drainage
provided by removing the plugs from the tops (since they are actually the
top 2/3 of the barrelsg). I have four of them lined up along the
sidewalk on the section of lawn between the alley fence and the driveway.
Because they are this lovely white (like a picket fence white), they don't
look as tacky as it might sound. I transplanted sunflowers on the house
side of them so the sunflowers growing behind them added a festive look to
them. Next year, I might try to also plant creeping thyme in the odd
areas between the barrels and the sidewalk or at least some marigolds so
they look more like they belong there. Of course, some of that white pvc
trellis would be perfect for making it attractive from the street side
though it might look a bit odd since I have chain link fencing everywhere
else that is fenced. But if I came upon another garage sale special (see
below), that is likely to happen.
In the back, along the east side of my garden (the side that faces my
house), I have pvc trellis fencing in 2-foot widths as my garden fence. I
scored two 8-ft panels for $5 at a yard sale this spring so added four
panels that would have cost me $7 each ($28 for $5) so basically finished
that this year as I had only purchased two panels last year to get an idea
if I wanted to do that. The panels are removable for mowing, tilling,
etc. I fastened the panels to 2-ft long white 3/4" pvc pipe sections with
the strap fasteners which are also white in three places. I have cut 3-ft
lengths of metal electrical conduit to pound into the ground where I want
the fence and set the fence over them. When I mow or use the weed-cutter,
I can easily remove the fence panels to keep a mowed-to-the-edge look if
wanted. Because the electrical conduit goes in and out of the ground
easily, it is a simple matter to reposition them as needed and to store
all the components over the winter months and easily replace them in the
spring.
Two feet is an easy height for me to step over but provides a "don't go
there" for people and domestic animals. Even the chickens didn't go over
them when they were loose, surprisingly, but then it was an easy matter
for them to walk around them.g The panels are much more attractive than
the wire rabbit fencing I had used the three previous years and provides a
clear lawn end/garden begin line.
It will eliminate the "portability" of my fence placement, but I will be
adding two rocks of concrete blocks for a raised strawberry bed along one
section of it with one of the cattle panels on the back side for berries
to grow on (to be transplanted there when they become dormant for the
winter). Because this section of garden is in the shade of the magnolia
tree much of the day, the cooler area should be good for all the berries.
Experience has shown that is the best garden area for cauliflower,
broccoli and chard.
On another section of the fence, I have black planter tubs full of potato
plants. The white trellis fencing totally blocks view of the tubs so
makes something that might be considered unsightly by some much nicer to
look at since the tubs are not even visible from the house side. As the
potatoes are harvested, the tubs, and subsequently that section of fence,
will be removed for winter and next spring's garden prep.
Obviously, my garden/yard is not in any way set in stone. LOL
Good look on finding some of those barrels!
Glenna
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