Tub Garden Fits Into Small Space

Tub Garden Fits Into Small Space FARM HOME Food 26-1-30 Lewis Wereb, Hubbard, Ohio, wanted a garden but didn't want to dig up what little grass he had in his small back yard. That didn't stop him, though. He came up with the idea of a "tub garden." He planted peppers, tomatoes, peas and other vegetables in tubs he made from plastic 55-gal. drums he bought for $12 at what he calls a "local junkman's paradise." "I live right in town and have a small lot," he says. "Since I don't have much room in the backyard for a garden, these were just what I needed. I can move them out of the way when they're no longer needed and I still have my lawn." To make the garden tubs, he cut the drums in two lengthwise. Then he made wooden frames for them by cutting 8-ft. boards, one 2 by 4 and one 1 by 6 per tub, into 2-ft. lengths. The pieces of the 2 by 4 were used for legs. He made a box frame of the 1 by 6 pieces and glued and screwed it to the tops of the four leg pieces, using galvanized deck screws. He cut inverted arches out of the front and back sides of the box to allow the drums to rest on them without rocking. He put one nail through the tub into the end boards to further anchor them. Finally, he drilled a 1/4-in. diameter weep hole in the bottom of each drum to allow excess water to seep out. He says there are several advantages to gardening in tubs. "They're off the ground, so rabbits can't get to your garden plants as easily," he says. "It's also a lot easier on your back. "If you have an apartment with a veranda or back porch, you can put one or two of these there. You could even put them on a back porch or along a sidewalk and do your gardening from a wheelchair," Wereb says. With a little extra bracing and some cheap lawn mower wheels, you could make them portable and roll them wherever you wanted them. Wereb says to be sure to buy food grade drums for your garden. Drums formerly used for hazardous chemicals might contain trace amounts that could end up in your vegetables. The drums he bought had been used for orange juice. They were bright blue, so he painted them dark green to help them blend into the landscape. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lewis Wereb, 442 E. Liberty St., Hubbard, Ohio 44425 (ph 330 534-5312).

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