Gardening for Old Folks (Adaptative)

[R2elk]

\I broke down and planted a garden.
I made raised beds out of the duck swimming pools.
they are actually cement mixing tubs from Menards .
well, this is my chicken plucker.
the wrong image came up and I can't delete it.

Click on Edit and then click on the trash icon in the Attach files section. It will be on the top right of the thumbnail.

 

[jvls1942]

this is one of the planters I put together.
I used two of the duck wading pools.
they are actually cement mixing tubs from Menards.
I filled the bottom one with rotted wood chips.
In the cement mixer I mixed a 1 cu ft bag of cow manure compost and 4 cu ft of potting soil.
I cut the bottom out of the top section with my jig saw.
I drilled holes in the lips of the tubs and zip tied them together.. I estimate the weight is about 4oo pounds.
I forgot to mention. I drilled drain holes in the bottom tub at about 3" from the bottom all around. there will be a reservoir of water in the bottom tub.
I have some blossoms already. Those tiny plants sure are ambitious. lol

 

[R2elk]

View attachment 3862786

this is one of the planters I put together.
I used two of the duck wading pools.
they are actually cement mixing tubs from Menards.
I filled the bottom one with rotted wood chips.
In the cement mixer I mixed a 1 cu ft bag of cow manure compost and 4 cu ft of potting soil.
I cut the bottom out of the top section with my jig saw.
I drilled holes in the lips of the tubs and zip tied them together.. I estimate the weight is about 4oo pounds.
I forgot to mention. I drilled drain holes in the bottom tub at about 3" from the bottom all around. there will be a reservoir of water in the bottom tub.
I have some blossoms already. Those tiny plants sure are ambitious. lol

The problem I find here with black containers is that the sun cooks the roots.

 

[jvls1942]

I never thought of that. I will keep an eye on it and maybe will paint them white .

 

[R2elk]

I never thought of that. I will keep an eye on it and maybe will paint them white .

That's what my neighbor did.

Of course the sun is much stronger at altitude than it is at sea level.

 

[R2elk]

First potato blossoms

 

[R2elk]

I put only watermelon seeds in the pot these came from. I have no idea how pumpkin seeds got in there.

You can see watermelon leaves underneath.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

Wow, just discovered this thread, after getting my 2. hip replaced even though I am not that old, this is really interesting!! I will work through the pages , and get helpful pointers, I hope, what I really wonder is, where do you all get the earth for the raised beds and how do you fill them?! That is quite a bit of earth!! I am at the planing stage, first, how to even get raised beds, I could get (free) palettes, no problem, but holding them together , how?! Then, as I said before, that is a lot of ( heavy) earth to fill them ( also got dicey shoulders, walking with crutches didn’t improve them ) maybe these questions already have been answered here, then please excuse me

 

[Sequel]

Wow, just discovered this thread, after getting my 2. hip replaced even though I am not that old, this is really interesting!! I will work through the pages , and get helpful pointers, I hope, what I really wonder is, where do you all get the earth for the raised beds and how do you fill them?! That is quite a bit of earth!! I am at the planing stage, first, how to even get raised beds, I could get (free) palettes, no problem, but holding them together , how?! Then, as I said before, that is a lot of ( heavy) earth to fill them ( also got dicey shoulders, walking with crutches didn’t improve them ) maybe these questions already have been answered here, then please excuse me

It’s good to see you here! You’ve had more than enough experience to qualify for this thread if that even was a thing! So happy you’re home now with your new hip!

 

[Molpet]

Wow, just discovered this thread, after getting my 2. hip replaced even though I am not that old, this is really interesting!! I will work through the pages , and get helpful pointers, I hope, what I really wonder is, where do you all get the earth for the raised beds and how do you fill them?! That is quite a bit of earth!! I am at the planing stage, first, how to even get raised beds, I could get (free) palettes, no problem, but holding them together , how?! Then, as I said before, that is a lot of ( heavy) earth to fill them ( also got dicey shoulders, walking with crutches didn’t improve them ) maybe these questions already have been answered here, then please excuse me

one method of filling
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/show-me-your-pallet-projects.1541562/post-27799055