Where to purchase large containers.

For many years, I grew my garden in fifteen gallon tubs. Now for many years, I've grown everything in raised beds. Two years ago, I started adding some containers back to my garden, but have experienced difficulty locating a supplier of the larger (ten gallon or larger) nursery tree pots in the black plastic. Everyone seems to be selling highly decorative pots at high prices and I only want functional, not decorative. Any suggestions?

Ted

[Sun City Linda]

In CA, I have found them sometimes at Home Depot.

[Granite26]

I like the Nursery Supplies Grip Lip containers:
06-1831 GL-6900T #15 Tall: 17" tall and 17" across on top. I think these are about 14 1/2 gallons. BFG Supply carries them and I am sure others do as well. These will last many years.

[Granite26]

Never used these but price is pretty good: http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/p...ery-containers

[ginger2778]

For some reason this is in the seed starter forum, but it is all about container and general garden supply sources. The thread has a sticky on it. Here it is http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=25872
-Marsha

[livinonfaith]

Just recently received my Root pouches from greenhouse megastore, so I second them as a good source. (They have handles! Yaaaay! Easier to move from greenhouse to yard. And back, too, if I want to keep some in the greenhouse over the winter)

As noted, they have some large plastic nursery containers.

[Zana]

If you want really big containers for relatively cheap, look for something like this:
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/in...410873?Ntt=tub

I look for when they come on sale. Many times I get them for less than $10 and the last time I got them for $7 each. They're sturdy, and some I've left outside over the winter here for more than 5 years, and they're still showing now sign of deterioration. Another plus are the rope handles some come with for helping to move them.

I just drill about a dozen holes around the perimeter about 2 to 3 inches off the base to be able to use them. I've been using ones like this now for about 8 to 10 years. And have been known to put as many as 3 indeterminate tomato plants or quite a few pole beans (as many as a dozen) or cukes. I've got them in black, blue and lime green. (The $7 specials were all lime green...so they may have been a discontinued colour.)

If you're worried about the weight when full, especially if you want to move them to catch the sun, you can build little trolleys...or buy them.

[cschilds]

I have found some very good deals via our local Craigslist, as well as very reasonable deals for good used containers at our local nurseries.

I checked Craigs List and didn't find anything except some pretty expensive pots. None of them met the size requirements I had. Some local nurseries offered me some free pots from piles behind the greenhouses. Again, none were as large as I wanted.

I found these at my favorite farm supply store and bought fifteen of them at $2.00 each. Their original purpose was to hold mineral supplement in molasses for cattle. They are very strong and durable and hold 25 gallons of soil. I lined up ten of them in my garden as pictured below. They now are full of soil with tomatoes and peppers planted and drip irrigation installed. I will also plant herbs and flowers around the edges as well as cucumbers growing up the tomato cages when they are installed.

In answer to the first question usually asked, yes! I've grown tomatoes and peppers in the center of large containers many times in the past with herbs and flowers planted around the edges of the pots and cucumber vines climbing the tomato cages. It does require a lot of water when all of the plants are large, but the drip irrigation system does a good job of delivering the moisture with the ability to increase or decrease as required through the summer. I'll post some photos in mid summer so people can see how beautiful and productive the arrangement is.



Ted

[Zana]

Looking Good Ted!

That's about the size of the free ones I got when they landscaped my old condo complex....it was brand new and they were literally throwing out about 100+ pots...anywhere from 20L to 67L size....and hundreds of pots that were smaller. I replaced allot of my older ones that were 5 to 10 plus years old and were cracked...as these were heavier black ones....or mostly black...some were beige. Gave allot away to friends who also container garden. But think I kept about 30 that are in the 50L size range. Going to be interesting this year. I may still go with the containers instead of the ground, since I'll be cutting down 2 black walnuts and they may continue to "contaminate" the soil for awhile yet. Plus since it isn't my house, it will probably be less hassle with my bro.

[Darcie]

These work, and there's already holes in the bottom:
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/in...=recycling+bin

[Zana]

Originally Posted by Darcie

These work, and there's already holes in the bottom:
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/in...=recycling+bin

Darcie,

We can get those free (in limited quantities - up to maybe 4 at a time) at our local waste management site (dump) where the do the recycling. But they don't last as long in the sun...and you can't leave them out over the winter. LOL But good idea.

Zana
~ from home of the Blue Box - part of an environmental studies project of a group of student almost 30 years ago at University of Waterloo!

[Stvrob]

I've already repurposed our recycle bins as planters, since I never bring our recycle stuff to the curb anyway.

I had three concerns when I was looking for large pots. I wanted at least 25 gallons. I wanted them proven durable in the strong sunlight. I didn't want any holes pre-drilled.

The mineral pots fit the durability test because they were kicked around in pastures by cattle for a few months as the cattle licked the minerals from them. No sunlight decomposition occurred. Since I wanted my drain holes drilled about two inches up the sides of the pots to create a water reservoir in the bottom of each pot, they were perfect having no pre drilled holes.

It probably would have been nice to have them in a square shape to better utilize space, but the round pots will work fine.

Ted

[koshki]

This may be too late for your needs, but I have found a wide variety of pots at my local hydroponics store, reasonably priced.