55 Gallon Barrel

[Want Less]

We have a 55 gallon barrel that has about a 6 inch crack on the bottom. We've tried patching it but it still leaks so we're retiring it as a rain barrel. (It previously caught water from the barn roof for our horses)

The barrel is heavy red/brown plastic, does not have a lid, and does not hold water obviously. Since it doesn't have a lid, we can't use it for storing feed and such. We don't need another compost barrel.

Any creative ideas for repurposing our barrel? We live on a small farm with horses, chickens and organic gardens and we try to repurpose things when we can. I'm up for any and all ideas. I'm curious as to what creative things you guys do with barrels

 

[chickenjoe]

If your chickens are free range you can use it as a home or hide out for them. Fill it with dirt and grow potatoes in it when they're ready to harvest just drump the barrel over collect the potatoes save the dirt for next year or added it to the compost pile.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I found a blue one that I used as a nest box last year. I added milk crates with straw for the actual nests. It kept them off the ground & gave them a sense of hiding.

Now, my baby goat sleeps in it

 

[DawnSuiter]

I'd cut it in half and use the two halves as a planter

If you have chickens or any outdoor animals and it gets blistery hot in the summer... you can turn it on it's side, place it in the shade and put a couple of frozen gallons of water in it at the back(bottom) and it becomes an outdoor AC unit for the animals.. they'll hang out in it, on it, next to it...

 

[Aidenbaby]

You could use it as a large planting container. For potatoes?

 

[freemotion]

Goat baby warmer box....turkey nest.....and you can make a lid for it for feed storage by cutting a scrap of plywood or siding in a circle and making a handle with 1x2 scraps and using more scraps on the underside in a rough circle to keep the lid centered on the barrel. My dad made a lid for a barrel for me and it works great.

 

[TanksHill]

Depending on how fast it leaked I might use it to water something. While on vacations I filled my trash cans with water. Put a tiny screw hole in the bottom. The water leaked out very slowly and watered while I was gone.

Or just cut in in half and plant in it.

Good luck!!

 

[tortoise]

I vote for cutting in 1/2 also. But cut it the long way and use it for a trough. I cut a 35 gallon plastic drum in half the long way to make a small kitchen compost. Easy to turn and easy to dump out when it was done.

With the other 1/2, I cut a door hole in it and my free-range rabbits would hide in there.

 

[Mackay]

cut in half and sink each half in the ground 6 inches. fill with mulch and compost. Plant rhubarb, comfrey, or Jersulaem artichokes. It will keep it contained.

 

[Jamsoundsgood]

cut in half and sink each half in the ground 6 inches. fill with mulch and compost. Plant rhubarb, comfrey, or Jersulaem artichokes. It will keep it contained.

Why in the world would you want to contain rhubarb?