IBC Tote Experimental Garden
We only have a few more weeks left in our growing season, but we have just enough time to put out a few late vegetables before it gets too cold. I wanted to take this opportunity to experiment with a small, mini garden. We are looking to implement some form of the Back to Eden method of gardening to see if it drastically lowers the amount of weeding that has to be done. So, we thought we would try it on a small scale before we incorporate it into our large garden.
The experimental garden will be a IBC tote and cage that has been cut in half (these were leftover pieces from when we made our stock tanks). It is important to also have something around the IBC tote, so that it will retain its shape when the dirt is added. Like I said, since we do not have but a couple of weeks left in our growing season, we were going to grow vegetables that do not take long to mature in our IBC raised bed. Some of the vegetables that we were possibly going to plant are things like radishes, onions, lettuce, and maybe some herbs. Most of the Back to Eden gardening that we have seen use wood chips, but we were going to try something a little different. While we plan on trying to get and use wood chips, for this experiment we were going to try grass to smother out the weeds. We have a fair sized yard and it has worked for other plants we grow, so we thought we would give it a try. We are wanting to keep our food as organic and natural as possible. The big thing for us is that it will be an indicator of how well the Back to Eden method will work for us.
Thanks for reading!
What a great idea!
I've been working on a winter garden this week. Planning and delegating where in the greenhouse, etc.
Wish i had one of these containers.
Good luck!
Thanks! One place you could look for some is on Craigslist. You have to be careful though because some can get kind of expensive. We found some that had molasses in them and were able to get them for a fair price, but we had to clean them out. The most important thing is to make sure they are food grade. If you are planning on putting water or food in them, you do not want one that has had farm chemicals in them.
Great idea. I'm just prepping some winter lettuce and keeping my garden ticking over for a few more weeks till I've used up the last of my beans, tomatoes and potatoes. I like the idea of using grass cuttings. I'll keep an eye on you and see what the results bring and then pinch them for myself. Good luck
It's amazing how I measure the year in 'what do I plant and harvest this time" versus the months. I am attempting my first 'winter' garden and have been researching so much information.
Thank you! Like I said, we have plans to go with wood chips in the future but we have had an over abundance of grass clippings from our yard. Are you growing any other vegetables besides lettuce?
OK where to start..... Onion, garlic, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, chillis, strawberries, raspberries and other herbs. I think that's about it. I'm contemplating planting asparagus ready for next spring.
We have never had a whole lot of luck growing carrots. They just never seem to get very big. I will say that we have put out a couple of small asparagus patches a few years ago and we love when its in season. These last few years, we have eaten about all of it and have been unable to can any. I guess that means we need to put out more!
I'd love to be in a position where I can produce enough produce to have some spare. I keep a few potatoes back for seed potatoes and the tomatoes make a great chutney that lasts till Christmas for when all the cheese boards, crackers and pickles come out. With carrots my method(and I've had some massive carrots this way) is to sow the seeds in guttering as this saves on space and watering. Once ready to be thinned out plant into raised beds inside old toilet paper inserts(the cardboard middles) lightly stuffed with good compost. The cardboard makes them grow straight down and the good loose soil allows them to push down hard. Then at the end of the season, leave the cardboard tubes in the ground, fork them over and let the biodegrade and add more back to the soil. Did that make sense? The raised beds can be anything from planting troughs to oil drums cut in half width ways. So long as there is about 12"/30cm depth.
Okay thanks! I will have to give it a try next year.
What a great vessel to use for the Back to Eden method. I've been slowly converting piece by piece of my garden to that method. So far, I love it. I'll be keeping an eye on this project and watching how it fairs.
Thank you for your comment! We have heard about some people really liking the Back to Eden gardening. So, I thought I would give it a try. Have you found that certain plants do better with Back to Eden compared to others? Also, has this method drastically cut down your weeding or do you still have to weed often?
First, it cuts back the weeding but does not eliminate it by any means. The first year was great but, I get more weeds each year it seems. Still, nothing like the weeds from plowing and tilling the land. No comparison.
One thing I learned the hard way, DO NOT throw any spent vines on there, tomato or melon. You'll get blight (among other things, like critter invasions) the likes that you have never seen before. I now burn all retired vines and compost everything else.
It took three seasons of layering and composting, but now my root crops can't get enough of this garden. They preform better than ever. The onions and garlic are out of this world. Not much luck when the layers hadn't broken down.
Overall, I really enjoy it and it seems the plants do as well. Things not to use as layers, vines and pine or cedar shavings from mucking out the animals. Vines = disease/insects and the pine = acidifying your soil.
Thank you for the helpful tips! I will definitely keep them in mind as we head in that direction. We were looking for a way to reduce weeding and increase the organic matter in our soil, so I think we will be happy once we get started.
IBC-ing some good veggies in your future! :-)
Have you tried this before? Just curious- as I said I would love to have one, or more, of these containers. They seem so versatile.
Haha! Thanks, I really hope they will have enough time to finish growing.
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