For years I've been planning on building some raised beds. And, once again I did not get it done in time for spring. However, I decided to get started with "something" even though it's not the pretty raised boxes that I will someday build. My driveway is in the back of my house and on the side is an unused space that is about 10' wide x 40' long. This area gets full sun from about 11am till 5ish. So far I've only used about a 3rd of the space.
This year, I brought home blue plastic barrels from work and cut them in half to use as planters. These containers were previously used for food surface soap. I rinsed them very thoroughly before using and they cleaned out very easily. In the bottom of each tub, I made a circular donut of 4" flexible drain which is then covered with a sock to keep dirt from plugging it up (this will create a 4" water reservoir). The I covered the drain pipes with sand, added an overflow hole 4" from the bottom, covered with landscape cloth, then potting soil.
Here are some pictures of my progress:
May 1st Progress:
Tomatoes:
Hot Peppers:
Various Lettuse & Beets:
Watermellon, Cantelope, & Zucchini:
1/2 Barrel with 4" Landscape Drain in Sock & Added a Fill Pipe:
Covered With Sand:
Added Landscape Cloth to keep potting soil & roots out of bottom:
April 1st - Planting Day:
Baby Preying Mantis - They eat bugs:
