Large planters what to fill them with

mrbg07546

Hi,

I have been given two very large planters. I am planning to grow vegetables in it.

I presume I would need to fill them with 300L of something


What should I use? Top soil? Compost? Both?

Ganga

Can you not place some large stones/old bricks etc in the bottomm to reduce the amount of soil/compost needed plus will improve drainage.

-taff

Both, because compost driesout easily if you don't keep on top of it but leaning more to compost than soil.If the plantes were to be useful for a few years at least, then I would be putting some largeish branches or bits of wood offcutsin the bottom using hugelkultur as a pointer because they will soak up water anf keep the soil moist for longer.

I did that in a large pot last year instead of crocks, put geraniums in. Much longer lasting without watering [I was very forgetful last year]

mrbg07546

Would putting stones and bricks defeat the point of depth in a planter

-taff

There aren't many annual veg that needs a great depth of soil or compost to grow in, the only one offhand I can think of is parsnips, because of the depth of it's taproot.
Beans, peas, beetroot, lettuce, chantenay carrots, tomatoes etc, will be fine with about a foot of depth.
How deep are the planters you have? And what did you want to plant in them?

Farway

You could also use expanded polystyrene packaging in the bottom, which would help keep weight down should you wish to move them

But if intending to grow tall veg, like runners, I would stick to stones / bricks for stability in high wind
[voice of experience, trust me on this one:o]

mrbg07546

They are 14 inch deep, and 2.4 meters wide.

So should I lay like 4invh of stones twigs etc?

-taff

No, they should be ok with just earth and compost.
Theres not really enough depth for long canes but you could fix some to the sides with those pipe holder type things [the u shape with two wings either side. The wind shouldn't tip it over bevause they're quite long but I'd still put one long edge against sometging in case.

mrbg07546

Cucumber , tomato . Spinach


So your saying with 14 inch I don’t need to fill with plastic bottles/stones?

-taff

No, should be ok.
If you wanted to make sure, you could put a concrete block or two in there, but personally, I wouldn't.