Oak Barrel Planter

ispookie666

On a whim, I purchased two Oak barrel planters - Half (65cm wide and 45cm tall), which were used Whisky barrels.  
Not filled such a large volume planter before - how should I fill it?  

comeandgo

What you going to plant in them?  I start with some small stones, then top soil then compost.  

twopenny

What you plant may make a difference.
The recommendations on gardening programmes used to be use broken up polystyrene so you don't use so much compost. Haven't seen it for a while and think manufacturers now use cardboard.
Milk containers, old pots, stone, wood chips but weathered and not treated. Really anything you can find. Untreated pallets cut up small chunks.

Then compost to suit your plants. Don't use the cheap stuff. It dries out too quick.

With large pots I've cut lengths of waste pipe from a builders merchant and drilled some holes in the lower half. Put around container before compost. Then when watering you pour into the pipe and it seeps through the holes to the roots. 
Plastic bottles can work but are wider and let heat and cold down into the container.

ispookie666

It's all up in the air. 
I'm thinking of wildlife pond in one. I saw a video of adding castors, which looks good in theory!

-taff

You should be ok to add a bit underneath with castors because there's usually a recess, you could add castrs to a piece of board of some kind. And make then good strong ones , not little itty bitty ones because they will overbalance. If you're not going to add them, think very carefully about where you want it because it will be a pain to move when i's full even if half of it is full of nothing. I had one and the bottom rotted and fell out so I put the body of it around some calla lilies, I can't move the thing now.

Good idea re empty milk bottles. If you get enough of the little pint ones they can be stood on end and act as stones would too. Or cut the tops off a few of them to act as water reservoirs. Pond sounds good, no idea how to keep the water clean in such a small thing though, I'd be interested to know since I have a trough in the garden and the water is always murky, despite me getting oxygenating plants...

twopenny

Taff, I've got a terracotta bowl for a pond. New this year but so far the water is clean.

Just discolouration in the photo

A frog moved in before I'd sealed it just a bit of water and he's eating the mossie larvae

So perhaps make a way to climb in and of course, stones so they can climb out.

I'd agree to castors. I've got most of my big pots on those wire plant thingies with castors. Brilliant! But I've had to put pot feet under so they don't blow over in high wind. Lost 2 expensive pots one winter that way

ispookie666

The milk pints sound great.  I might canvas my neighbourhood for other bottles.  
I have gone full - going to sand the outside, apply Hammerite to the hoops and then apply boiled linseed oil.  
One is a bog garden, most likely sarracenias and another winter hardy carnivorous ones.  The second one is up in the air; I have shelved the idea of a wildlife pond.  

I was thinking of the best way to attach the castor.  

Murphybear

twopenny said:

What you plant may make a difference.
The recommendations on gardening programmes used to be use broken up polystyrene so you don't use so much compost. Haven't seen it for a while and think manufacturers now use cardboard.
Milk containers, old pots, stone, wood chips but weathered and not treated. Really anything you can find. Untreated pallets cut up small chunks.

Then compost to suit your plants. Don't use the cheap stuff. It dries out too quick.

With large pots I've cut lengths of waste pipe from a builders merchant and drilled some holes in the lower half. Put around container before compost. Then when watering you pour into the pipe and it seeps through the holes to the roots. 
Plastic bottles can work but are wider and let heat and cold down into the container.

I have 6 permanent plastic containers on legs plus pots and w8ndow boxes.  Last year I used the cheapest compost I could find.  With additional fertiliser after a few weeks it was fine.  The ones on legs  were filled with tomatos, they grew like weeds and looked amazing.  Because all my gardening is container I couldn’t possibly afford the most expensive.  

ispookie666

Getting there slowly.  I sanded the oak barrels. 
Hammerite paint on the steel hoops and decking oil on the outside.  
Waiting on heavy-duty castors to arrive.  Undecide how to attach the castors.

-taff

Attach the castors to some osb or plyboard cut to a circle to fit the recess or size of the bottom. Once you've filled the planter, they won't slip out from underneath because of the weight.

twopenny

Taff " no idea how to keep the water clean in such a small thing though, I'd be interested to know since I have a trough in the garden and the water is always murky, despite me getting oxygenating plants..."

Just been watching an old gardeners world and it was suggested Watercress for shade and clear water. Have you tried that?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001cc4b/gardeners-world-2022-episode-27?page=1

35min in.

I'm going to give it a go. Off to the supermarket tomorrow. Worth a £1.

Also I bought Barleystraw in a net from the pet shop for £2.50. Made it half size and it's an old idea that got lost in return for 'buy oxygenating plants'. So far not so good but I expected it to work overnight of course