I'm thinking about next spring and I'd like to do some gardening in my tiny backyard in the Seattle suburbs. I'm considering using galvanized watering troughs as I really like the aesthetic and size-wize I think two would be perfect. I'm just not sure if I should attempt to make them SWCs or just drill holes in the bottom. I found some pretty good instructions on turning watering troughs into SWCs from Mary Jane's Farm. Even though it would be more work I'm leaning towards doing SWC. The summer can be quite dry and my south facing backyard really cooks. I'm also not the best about watering enough during summer.

Has anyone here used watering troughs for either SWCs or just container gardening? With respect to SWCs, any suggestions for screen material? The instructions linked below use a material that has to be ordered and also cut with a jig (which I don't own). I'd like to find something locally that I can cut without major tools.

Thanks in advance!

Here is a link that might be useful: Horse Trough SWC