Hi - I just moved to Austin and am hoping to do some sort of fall barrel /
raised container/ square foot - type of veggie gardening. I went to a
couple of nurseries, but all I can find is huge artistic pots for $300 and
up! I just want containers, or pottery I can paint myself - cheaper! I've
used whiskey barrels in the past, but find now the few places selling them
want $30 a pop (used to be $13!). Any suggestions? I am almost thinking of
buying some livestock water troughs at the Tractor Supply store. I just
want to get something in quickly, without much money because I'm renting,
and just paid for relocation. Any help appreciated.

Lori

Buy some large used (50gal+) poly syrup barrels & cut them in half?
Would be super cheap:-) How ~ the $3-4 plastic tubs at Wally Mart
or HD?

Gene






"L.A. Rizzo" wrote in message
.. .
Hi - I just moved to Austin and am hoping to do some sort of fall barrel /
raised container/ square foot - type of veggie gardening. I went to a
couple of nurseries, but all I can find is huge artistic pots for $300 and
up! I just want containers, or pottery I can paint myself - cheaper! I've
used whiskey barrels in the past, but find now the few places selling them
want $30 a pop (used to be $13!). Any suggestions? I am almost thinking
of
buying some livestock water troughs at the Tractor Supply store. I just
want to get something in quickly, without much money because I'm renting,
and just paid for relocation. Any help appreciated.

Lori

Try Garden Ridge. Sometimes they have real wooden whiskey barrels, sometimes
plastic to look real. Also, Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart sell them for about
20 dollars, but now they may be somewhat cheaper toward the end of the summer.

Another I've done in the past is to ask garden centers how much they'd want for
their 20 and 30 gallon used plastic containers. They sell them for much less
than what they could get and I would put hypertufa on the outside of those to
make them look more realistic and trough like.

V


On Fri, 22 Aug 2003 19:51:43 GMT, "L.A. Rizzo" opined:

Hi - I just moved to Austin and am hoping to do some sort of fall barrel /
raised container/ square foot - type of veggie gardening. I went to a
couple of nurseries, but all I can find is huge artistic pots for $300 and
up! I just want containers, or pottery I can paint myself - cheaper! I've
used whiskey barrels in the past, but find now the few places selling them
want $30 a pop (used to be $13!). Any suggestions? I am almost thinking of
buying some livestock water troughs at the Tractor Supply store. I just
want to get something in quickly, without much money because I'm renting,
and just paid for relocation. Any help appreciated.

Lori

Howdy folks,
In regards to this message:
"L.A. Rizzo" wrote in message
.. .
Hi - I just moved to Austin and am hoping to do some sort of fall barrel /
raised container/ square foot - type of veggie gardening. I went to a
couple of nurseries, but all I can find is huge artistic pots for $300 and
up! I just want containers, or pottery I can paint myself - cheaper! I've
used whiskey barrels in the past, but find now the few places selling them
want $30 a pop (used to be $13!). Any suggestions?

When I was at UT married student housing on Lake Austin Blvd. I
used a child's swimming pool with holes punched in the lower sides for
drainage for an instant garden in that otherwise austere environment.
I've built raised beds using hay bales, where I peel off the
compressed hay into 'bricks' to hold the soil in place. Easier to weed
around then stone or wood and soft on the knees.
If you are looking for 'used' standard plastic containor pots, the
best place is to make some contact with landscapers who often have to
unload a bunch after a job. If you got to nurserys they usually save
their old plastic pots for potting up plants to bigger sizes ( or they
just want you to fork over for new ones ) but landscapers often have
to cart off plastic pots from a job they have just planted so if you
make some calls you might get a deal on pots piled up behind their
tool storage shed.

No matter how good a deal you get on pots the soil is going to be
what sets you back since you can get away with cheap pots but I
wouldn't want cheap soil for plants. Be aware if you are new to town
that prices vary widely by nursery and season. In addition there are
some places like GeoGrowers and The Natural Gardener ( formerly
...... known as GardenVille ) that sell good bulk soils.

Hope everyone is doing well, take care,
Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com

I would check out The Red Barn, on Slaughter just west of IH35 South. They
are cleaning out the back lot and there's alot of containers and planter
boxes out there. I was able to score 2 (3foot x 8foot) raised boxes, you
know the kind that are made with 4x4's, for free.


Chad


"L.A. Rizzo" wrote in message
.. .
Hi - I just moved to Austin and am hoping to do some sort of fall barrel /
raised container/ square foot - type of veggie gardening. I went to a
couple of nurseries, but all I can find is huge artistic pots for $300 and
up! I just want containers, or pottery I can paint myself - cheaper! I've
used whiskey barrels in the past, but find now the few places selling them
want $30 a pop (used to be $13!). Any suggestions? I am almost thinking
of
buying some livestock water troughs at the Tractor Supply store. I just
want to get something in quickly, without much money because I'm renting,
and just paid for relocation. Any help appreciated.

Lori