Mini Backyard Garden: Barrel Planting

At last the sun has decided to come out on a regular basis, a good indication to me that I should start, or should I say restart, my attempts at barrel gardening.

When we first moved to our apartment I brought over 2 half wine barrels for planting. I filled one with dirt and planted it with winter seeds. My little garden was quickly flooded because I did not drill any holes in the bottom of the barrel to allow for drainage. When the second empty barrel filled with rainwater I thought it might be an efficient and resourceful way to water my plants come spring. Unfortunately I could not keep the mosquito larvae out of the tempting still water. This weekend I decided to start from scratch and dump the water and drill holes in both barrels by transferring the waterlogged dirt accordingly. Immediately the soil began to drain.

To fill the barrels I put 4 bags of EarthGro Topsoil and 1 bag of EarthGro steer manure and mixed them well. EarthGro also makes garden soil and chicken manure which are probably better options for starting a garden. The steer manure can be harsh and burn the roots of your plants. Even if you do not get the same (cheap) soil/fertilizers I did, I recommend not getting soil that already has ‘stuff’ in it, like the special slow release water soil or pre-fertilized soil. I personally do not distinguish between ‘organic’ and ‘certified organic’ because the requirements for certification are very strict. The idea of a home garden, in my opinion, is to avoid synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and all of the stuff that you don’t really know what it is.

www.Craigslsit.org is a good place to look for all kinds of garden supplies. Occasionally Boy Scout troops will be selling the half barrels for a fundraiser. If you live near a winery or other barrel using industry, they also sell off barrels from time to time.

Another FABULOUS tip: A friend told me that some libraries rent out garden tools, which is a perfect way to save some money on supplies.