Galvanised bath - what would YOU plant in it?

twiglet98

I've just picked up an old galvanised bath from a lovely freecycler, rectangular with rounded ends. It's fairly rusty, painted blue on the outside, she said it has a few perforations.

My neighbour has strawberries in one. I was thinking of expanding my strawberry collection from the two that I have in hanging baskets but before I do so, I wondered what else I could consider?

Also, should I put a coat of Hammerite over the outside, and even the inside? I guess I should drill some holes in the base. It's quite deep and will take a lot of filling, I'm going to try and get some polystyrene or can anyone suggest a suitably MSE material I can use in the bottom?

Or I could line it and make a water feature, but I'd much rather grow food in it.

Thanks all!

earthlysparky

I'd grow potatoes in it!

One thing though, whatever you grow, remember that the roots will get quite hot.

Orange_King

Start off with a few stones in the bottom to help drainage and stop it being blown away in the wind - alternatively some broken crockery does the job.

I have specifically devoted some space in the garden for flowers for the bees as they need all the help they can get. We got free seeds a while back for this purpose so maybe do some strawbs and some flowers?

mrbadexample

I'd turn it into a bog garden with sundews, flytraps and sarracenia.

knithryn

Oooooooooh if I had one I'd fix it to the wall, stick a cushion in it and use it as a summer seat.
On the other hand, herbs, salad leaves, and a few nasturtiums...

Pixiechic

Sounds fab! I think if it were mine I would use it as a herb garden. It would be lovely full of different herbs with maybe some wild flowers grown in between. Let us know what you do do, its a great idea!

SailorSam

I have a tin bath which i thought may make a nice garden feature
but then i thought if i do that, what do i do on a Sunday night when i need to have a bath ?

twiglet98

SailorSam wrote: »

I have a tin bath which i thought may make a nice garden feature
but then i thought if i do that, what do i do on a Sunday night when i need to have a bath ?

Oh SailorSam you jest... when I was little we had one hanging outside the coal house, it was brought into the scullery on Sunday when my mum lit the gas copper, we kids had our baths - I was youngest, had the earliest bedtime and the longest hair (to dry by the fire), so I got first bath. My mother couldn't wait to get rid of it when she had her bathroom installed.

Tomorrow I'll see how it fits into various places round the garden and take it from there. Thanks for the brilliant ideas, I'll let you know what gets the vote!

gillian62

I got one of these off a freecycler a few weeks ago. I was ready to start it off as a veg bed, and then discovered how brilliant it is as a cold frame with a window frame on top of it. I have put some polystyrene and soil in the bottom to keep it partially insulated. When I have finished using it as a cold frame I will use for some late veg.