"Garden in a Buckett" tips needed!

[urban dreamer]

So I've cleaned out the old barrels in the backyard. I have two that were used to grow tomatoes at one point and have two holes in the bottom and a few holes in the sides around the bottom. I want to use one of them to grow some herbs. I tried it inside and the cat ate them. I want to make sure the barrels will have good drainage and not become stagenate. I was wondering should I fill the bottom with gravle, mulch, or big woodchips to allow the water from the soil above to drain? Should I put potting soil on top of the gravel, ect or should there be something in between? I want to plant potatoes in the second one but Im running into the same drainage problem. And how much soil needs to cover the potatoes so they grow properly? I have almost 20 of these big huge barrels and I would like to see them in use rather than cluttering the backyard. I have one that has about a foot of rain water in it that I would like to collect water in. Much easier to water the garden with a barrel full of water beside you than running into the house (we don't have a waterhose). I think Im gonna use one of them to build a "play house" for the chickens. The cat's got one, why not the chooks? We could turn one into a redneck table, but there's no room in the house for it. Anyone eles got any ideas? Thanks!

 

[FarmerDenise]

I would put rocks in the bottom of them to help with drainage, then just put the best dirt you can manage in there. Be sure to put the barrels where you want them before you fill them. They'll be awfully heavy to move once they are filled.
I plant my potatoes shallow and cover them with hay and dry leaves as they grow. The new spuds will grow above the one you planted.

 

[modern_pioneer]

Have you visited my how to video for growing above ground taters?

I have a new video coming out this weekend on cold framing..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGBdHls9zzk

 

[freemotion]

Make earth buckets with them and get super crops with less watering! These are awesome. I learned about them from my brother, who learned about them from his chiropractor, in Florida. I have a thread somewhere....

Here: http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1967

 

[urban dreamer]

I love the potato ideas! But isn't it too late in the season to plant taters? The earth pot idea looks like a great way to plant herbs (which I have so far sucked at )

 

[freemotion]

When dh and I lived in an apartment, we made similar planters with big storage totes and planted tomatoes in them. They were amazingly productive! Tomatoes do best with a steady, uninterrupted supply of water and food, and this system supplies that. I would definitely make a couple with the bigger barrels, cut down a bit, as the totes fell apart after a couple of years, not being made for this application.

I just use the buckets now for leafy greens that I don't want slugs to get on....ewwww!

 

[Occamstazer]

You have to be careful with buckets, they can attract lolrus to your property.

Anyway. Josh's dad was telling me about this very thing just the other day. He's a landscape architecht and very green thumbed. I was wanting to do tomatoes in buckets, and he said I could just put a few inches of rocks in the bottom, and that way I wouldn't have to poke holes in my buckets. I'd think taters would be similar, probably.

 

[k0xxx]

I used the black weed barrier, that is bought in rolls, in the bottom of my barrels. It lets water out, but keeps the dirt in.

Edited to correct fat finger errors

 

[urban dreamer]

OMG LOL! Occamstazer! I love the lolrus.

Anyways, I'm trying to figure out where to get some rocks or gravel to fill the first couple of inches of the barrels. I then want to put in a good layer of compost, followed by some potting soil. After that, plant the herbs in one barrel, blackberry bush in another, and potatoes in the last one (and pack in more compost when the potato plant are 8' high leaving 4 inches sticking up (right modern_pioneer?) How do you know when to harvest your potatoes (and onions for that matter, mine are already a foot tall)? I'm gonna have to till another little spot for cucumbers (I had extras and I don't want to just kill them). I never realized how big gardens get in such a short amount of time!

 

[Damummis]

I love the potato ideas! But isn't it too late in the season to plant taters? The earth pot idea looks like a great way to plant herbs (which I have so far sucked at )

Too late??? I am planting taters this weekend. Granted I am in Maine but I don't think it is too late.