Thinking Outside the Box! Re-Purposing Stock Tanks as Raised Garden Beds

Welcome to the Member Ideas area! This community feature is where our members can post their own ideas. These posts are unedited and not necessarily endorsed by the National Gardening Association.
Posted by @Ecograndma on
Do you have limited gardening space? Do you have poor gardening soil? Would you like to limit water use? Is it necessary for you to garden in a seated position or are you tired of stooping over a garden bed? Re-purposing stock tanks as raised garden beds might work for you while avoiding the high cost of labor and materials in traditional construction.

We have a very small backyard (by design). We wanted to convert a side yard into a garden oasis and make it wheelchair accessible. We did build one traditional redwood box (3x8) but wanted to add more edibles to our landscape and make the new gardening beds accessible. We decided to use stock tanks (2x2x6). We procured the stock tanks at a local feed store. Step #1 Place tank upside down and place 2 - 16" x 16" concrete pavers on the bottom and outline them. Step #2 Drill a series of 1/2" drill holes for ample drainage. Step #3 Prime the exterior of the tank and paint (not necessary, but looks pretty). Step #4 Move tank to location, place the paver stones underneath (be careful not to block drainage holes). Step#5 If you are concerned about excessive heat, you can line the interior sides of the tank with cardboard (remove any tape on cardboard). Step#6 We filled tanks with 20+ cubic feet of organic soil and then topped with 2 cubic feet of worm castings. I know the topping is extreme, but it works for us. After the soil was added, we watered regularly to promote soil biology and waited approximately three weeks until temps warmed up a bit for seed germination (we live in California, so it is already warm). Also, if you have them, add some red wigglers (worms) to your soil. For irrigation, we configured 3 mini sprayers off a half-inch drip line. The project cost us about $200 per tank (finished).
Thumb of 2015-04-03/Ecograndma/2c66aa


Thumb of 2015-04-03/Ecograndma/9aade2


Thumb of 2015-04-03/Ecograndma/34e96a


Thumb of 2015-04-03/Ecograndma/4ce070


Thumb of 2015-04-03/Ecograndma/2bc4cd

 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
Good idea by QueenEmma Apr 26, 2015 6:31 AM 0
Very nice!!!! by klc Apr 21, 2015 7:16 AM 10
Untitled by KurtMN Apr 20, 2015 11:10 PM 6

Explore More:

Member Login:

( No account? Join now! )