Metal troughs are ideal, but - they're expensive. In the region of £150 upwards, and depth is more limited - around 30 to 40 cm. You'd have to be careful with metal too. I've used old sheep troughs in the past, but if you were growing in full sun, that could be very tricky.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The idea of a round hay bale container has triggered my brain. I have been thinking about how to make deep containers to use for planting shrubs and trees. I noticed Hugh Whittingstall's mulberry tree growing in a circle of corrugated iron sheeting, bent into a circle, in the centre of his veg. patch. A lot cheaper than a hay bale container.
Our original enquirer seems to have either been satisfied or just gone away but, if others are looking for ideas, about 12 years ago I took two huge tractor tyres from a local depot, placed strong cardboard packing cases on the ground, and then put the tyres on top in which to grow secondary crops like lettuce, radish etc. I used mine singly, but they could be used one on top of another if required. I can't remember where I got the idea from but, whoever it was, suggested placing four tyres in a square formation (2 x 2), thus leaving a star-shaped minibed in the centre to accommodate a 'nuisance' crop, e.g. mint or horseradish, that will spread and smother everything if not controlled. My tyres DO need more watering than open ground, though.
Most of the ready-made beds are flimsy and insubstantial and it’s almost always better and a lot cheaper to make your own, sturdier versions. I have noticed the price of timber has risen considerably though, so not as cheap as it was.
I have been eying up a pile of large, used plastic apple pallet crates stacked in the yard of a local animal fodder shop. They have been there for some years and they are around 1x1.2m with a good depth, maybe 75cm. Sad to see the demise of the old wooden crates, but I was thinking a few of these with drilled drainage holes would make good instant raised beds. Must enquire! Don’t know whether they have these in the UK? Similar to this:
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Most troughs have drainage holes so they can be drained and cleaned - mine have plugs near the bottom that I leave off so the water never builds up. I line the bottom with sticks and small tree boughs and use a modified hugelkultur-type layering system. It's worked fantastically for years to grow many different vegetables and herbs. I also purchased them used, so the initial cost was not as great. Growing perennials in this way was a complete failure as it just gets too cold here. At Thanksgiving I had to use a sledgehammer to break the soil in order to get the last of my carrots out of the trough, it was so frozen.
My mother grows her peonies in a small round galvanized fire-pit ring in full sun. They need more watering, as Nick pointed out, but the plants have thrived. I suspect the open bottom helps. That might be an idea for smaller shrubs, @Joyce Goldenlily.
New England, USA
Metacomet soil with hints of Woodbridge and Pillsbury
I have two galvanised water troughs. They are expensive but a good size. I think one or two large containers is better than several small ones, certainly easier to feed and water. Also, pallet collars stacked on top of each other can be useful. They are cheap or free. No sawing required.
Highly unlikely @puschkinia - sorry! Those are pretty inexpensive to make, and you wouldn't need to have concreted posts if it was just for veg growing. [the post was for a screen joining two of those boxes, and isn't needed for most uses] Good fencing timber isn't expensive by the metre either, although I expect it's much dearer now. I should have said about drilling holes in galvanised/metal troughs etc, but I thought it would be fairly obvious. Apologies.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
You'd have to be careful with metal too. I've used old sheep troughs in the past, but if you were growing in full sun, that could be very tricky.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have been eying up a pile of large, used plastic apple pallet crates stacked in the yard of a local animal fodder shop. They have been there for some years and they are around 1x1.2m with a good depth, maybe 75cm. Sad to see the demise of the old wooden crates, but I was thinking a few of these with drilled drainage holes would make good instant raised beds. Must enquire! Don’t know whether they have these in the UK? Similar to this:
Also, pallet collars stacked on top of each other can be useful. They are cheap or free. No sawing required.
Those are pretty inexpensive to make, and you wouldn't need to have concreted posts if it was just for veg growing. [the post was for a screen joining two of those boxes, and isn't needed for most uses]
Good fencing timber isn't expensive by the metre either, although I expect it's much dearer now.
I should have said about drilling holes in galvanised/metal troughs etc, but I thought it would be fairly obvious. Apologies.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...