There was an empty washer tub on the property when we bought it 5 years ago. So, it went into the tinkering pile for safe keeping …….. until now.
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| Cleaning up the tub. |
I got some doudy wood from my father-in-law. The first rule of handicapped prepping – don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Actually, that goes for any prepper. Connections are important…no man is an island…etc.
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| Rotten wood goes on the bottom of garden. |
The wood is supposed to act as a sponge to help hold water, and an aerator to give the roots spaces to grow around and air. It goes in first. Oh! There are drain holes in the bottom of the tub, and fiberglass screen to cover them.
I got some potting soil. You can mix your own, but it’s less expensive when gardening small scale to buy it already done. Pour it over the wood. (It took 60 liters to fill this container.) As far as I know potting soil is best for containers because it has fertilizer in it. In containers plants don’t have the option of pulling nutrients from around them like they do in a regular garden so they need a helping hand.
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| Organic Potting Soil |
I got some gifted plants from my sister-in-law. (There’s that no man’s an island thing again.)
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| Gifted Herbs |
I got some mulch. Being on the Eastern coast of Canada I’m using sea grass. Any organic mulch is good as long as it’s put on thick enough to keep the moisture in the soil. Container soils are susceptible to wind and evaporation so they do dry out very quickly and usually need to be watered often. Like once or twice day. But, with mulch not as often. Put the mulch on top after the plants and seeds are in.
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| Sea Grass |
I made some labels. Not necessary, but cute. I can’t help it, I’m a girl!
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| Polished, Stamped River Rock |
What you don’t see yet is the parsley and cascading nasturtium seeds in there, but they’ll germinate.
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| Dime in the middle for size perception. |
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| Baby Chives |
I thought it was interesting that a spider set up housekeeping on the container right away. I would like it to stay to help protect the plants from harmful insects.
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| Pollen Covered Spider’s Web |
To recap you need:
A container at comfortable working height – with drainage holes and something to cover them to keep soil in
Wood (or something that will act like a sponge to hold water)
Organic potting soil
Plants and seeds suitable for container gardening
Mulch
Friend to help if/when needed
Spider optional
This project may take days, or even weeks, to accomplish depending on how much mobility one has, and how many people need to be coordinated for drives and tasks that the handicapped person needs to delegate.
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| Mini Hugelkultur Herb Garden |