Permsteading.com

I found this idea and liked it a lot. As the worlds population continues to grow we will have to learn ways to grow more food on less space. I thought these barrels were a great idea, whether you have a small back yard or patio for growing things, or you wanted an herb garden close to you back door. They seem to be easy to build yourself with limited tools or skills. I liked the idea.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufEQ6ZljJBE

Here is another video showing how these barrels work, and how to make them. I have plenty of land for growing, my garden could be much larger if I wanted to work harder, but I still like this idea. I could see an Herb garden growing close to the kitchen, or perhaps some other use.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1C9zP5uJrE

Thanks for the tutorial on how to construct your own tower. I don't think I'll do one in the living room on the carpet, however.

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DB, have you seen the vertical gardens that folks are building with pallets? http://youtu.be/FLVeES6my2o

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The root growth was one reason I liked the Barrel idea. Even though there would be a lot of plants competing for space, there is a lot of space available to them. I liked the design, I liked the area for worms, I liked the area under at the bottom to catch the water and recycle it back into the barrel . All in all I felt they had put a lot of thought and effort into designing something that would work for many people who do not have land , live in an apartment, or rent their place.

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Five Gal Buckets are a lot easier to acquire than 55 gal plastic barrels. Here is a similar system that uses a 5 gal bucket. It has 20 plants in that very small area. I liked the watering system he uses. This shows growing strawberries [ a plant that is often grown in containers and small spaces ] but it should work just as well with other plants with a fairly small growth pattern. The idea of stacking the buckets on top of each other really increases your yield in a very small foot print. There are many options when using containers to grow your veggies. Your options are limited only by how imaginative you can be.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBh1fjMqjmI

I like the idea of the 5 gallon buckets over the 55 gallon. I have tried several times over the years to grow stuff in barrels (there was a big movement in Britain to grow strawberries in barrels). The one reoccuring problem was irrigation. The plants at the top dried out too quickly and the ones at the bottom rotted. Unless you could do a hydroponic thing with water constantly moving through it, it's just too big a distance from the top to the bottom to keep at the right moisture content. With the 5 gall, you wouldn't have that problem. The biggest reason I like it though is I have a cartload of those buckets.