You mean the washing machine tubs?

Yes!!! You get the prize -- I haven't told him yet, but the prize is getting my 'mulch guy' to work free in your yard for one hour ;-) Or course he'll need gas money from you to get there and I get to come along. LOL!

If anyone is interested in some tips about preparing them for planting let me know.

How many of you recognized them like Jim did? How many of you use them?

It was news to me.

Roselee you are just too cute! She has wanted these tubs since she saw them in Billie's yard. I have been to Billie's at least a half dozen times, and never noticed them. I never saw the school house lights, or any of the other yard art. When I go I just look at her plants. This time there were hardly any plants, and thanks to Roselee I saw her garden thru diffrent eyes, it was just beautiful. Oh, course Roselee wore me out, don't let her fool you, when she says she is younger than her kids, she means it. Barbra

I got two of them near Aransas Pass from the place Billie told us about and then Barbra took half a day and called around all over San Antonio to find the four I got today.

They cost $5.00 each. I've already got the four cleaned up and setting where they are to go. Now I only have to line them, fill with potting soil and plant them.

Oh man, I wanted to play.

If Jim decides to forfeit his prize then dibs on it!!

Washing machine tub...how creative.

Oh I'll take my prize! But I'll forfeit the hours work and we can drink iced tea and talk gardening.
Jim

Here is Jim's prize. Get the iced tea ready. lol

Here is a link that might be useful:

I really like that she used roofing tiles to keep some of the pots off of the ground. I love reusing stuff in the garden!

Thunbergia on reused brass headboard

I'd like to know how she prepared them for planting as I have access to a few. Looks like a good Eagle Scout project for our community garden. We like to encourage re-using items for other things.

All sorts of things can be reused in the garden.
Jim

It's just amazing what people think of to use in their gardens. I think it's very smart and a good way to recycle.
I draw the line when it comes to a toilet full of petunias in the yard. lol

Jim, those are cute!!!

Carolann, it's a little embarrassing, but thank you for taking that photo of me falling back on my bottom. This is my excuse for letting my mulch guy, Bob, do all the work in Jim's yard while he and I sip tea ;-)

BTW, I agree with you on the toilet petunias :-(

Here's a photo of the white washing machine basket that I planted with things from my yard. All the tubs I saw were either white or gray, with white being more numerous.

The only thing about the tubs that is not finished off looking is the rim around the top so I've planted things that spill around the edges ...

The gray ones are really elegant! However, I wanted white to brighten up the shady area in my yard beyond the arch that I've never done much with.

This is one of Billie's gray tubs ...

Shebear, I'll give some particulars about using the tubs as planters when I get back from having my poodle groomed. As you see he needs it!

Roselee, will you plant roses in the baskets? Are they too heavy with the dirt to move into the greenhouse when it gets cold? I was thinking of putting the plumeria in them, but did not think I could move them into the garage using just a dolly. What do you think? Barbra

Those look great planted up. The price in amazing, I've been pricing large planters and they are expensive. Sounds like you may have cornered the market here in SA for a while, but I'll keep an eye out for some.

Your sweet poodle will be a lot happier in this heat for sure.

Those look really good! I love the white!

And to think, I just let them haul my old washing machine away, tub intact................darn !!!!!!!!!!!

Very cool!
It makes you look at your appliances in a different way now. lol

Carrie, I've slapped my forehead many times thinking about the things I've thrown away that others have found uses for in the garden.

And yes Carolann, I'm looking at a lot of things VERY differently. The Garden Junk forum and a lot of garden blogs Patty and I have been looking at have some great recycle ideas.

Barbra, as you know the tubs are fairly light weight even though they are metal. We easily put them in your trunk. However, with soil they are very heavy and would not be easy to move.

How many gallons do washing machine tubs hold? Anybody know? Just looking at it I'd estimate about 20 gallons.

The tubs would be great for roses, but the spot in which I have them doesn't get sun until afternoon. I'm still deciding on what to plant; probably a variety of things.

Anyway -- on to how to prepare them. It doesn't take much. Of course when I get them home I lay them in the grass and wash the outside with the hose and a stiff plastic scrub brush and/or one of those coiled plastic kitchen scrubbers. What little soap scum is there comes off easily.

I only got one tub where the user habitually used too much soap (so the repair guy said) and combined with our hard water that was a little harder to remove. I placed paper towels over the area and wet them with vinagar, let it soak, and with a little more scrubbing everything came off.

The inside of the gray tubs were white so I spray painted the top inside with dark green paint that I had on hand. There were a few tiny chips on the white tubs around the top so I spray painted the chipped places white. One could paint the whole outside of the tubs any color they wanted as Billie did with some of hers.

Oh, and by the way let the repair/recycle guys remove all the plastic pieces from the top and bottom that some of the tubs might still have. You can do it, but why bother when they will.

There is a thing that sticks up in the middle where the washer agitators were. My friend Lesli gave me the idea of putting a small plastic pot over it before filling the tubs with soil.

To cover all the little holes in the sides Billie said she tried calking and also tape. I noticed some of the calking was sticking of the holes slightly. I don't know what she settled on, but I taped two layers of landscape black plastic inside. I left the bottom uncovered so the pot could drain.

First I used regular duct tape to fasten the plastic under the shoulder of the pot where it would not show, but when I came back later it had all fallen down. The hardware store recommended the 'real' duct tape; an aluminum tape with great sticking capabilities. The plastic stayed up with that.

So that's about it. Easy, inexpensive, clean lined, long lasting, and handsome! I'm very happy with them.

To find washing machine tubs look for appliance recyclers in the yellow pages.

Hi,I just wanted to comment and say you can use the dryer drums for containers as well.I have in the past.I just place them where they will be permentally as I don't put a bottom on them.I fill them halfway or more with pinecones,straw,leaves,shredded paper ,etc(anything that will decay) and then use soil for the rest of the way.You will have to add more soil at times as the bottom stuff turns to compost.I've used these containers to root plants in,as a holding area for plants.I also used the washing machine tubs the same way but I don't fill in the holes.You really don't loose to much soil through the small holes.
Debbie

Debbie, thanks so much for your input and for mentioning the dryer drums. The one I saw had a great 3D checker board 'texture' and would also make a great table base as well as planters with something in the bottom as you say.

If one really wanted to hold the moisture in they could put plastic with holes in the bottom. They'd be easy to paint also.

I hope to get a couple and make pedestals out of them by putting a large round stepping stone on top and setting a plant on it.

As for the washer tubs you're probably right about not loosing much soil through the small holes. It is so hot and dry here I was concerned about loosing moisture as much as anything.

Also there is a circle of small holes in a little dip in the bottom and larger holes that will work for drainage a couple of inches up and toward the center. In case those small holes in the bottom don't drain and hold water that might sour, I put a couple of inches of charcoal in the bottom before putting the soil.

Boss Jim, you are such a smartaleck! LOL!

I love the pretty poodle! I like the washing machine drums but so far no washing machines in the field behind my house. I've found lumber,bricks,stepping stones, pretty rocks, and some industrial grade wire shelving. At home I use an old wrough iron reptile tank stand to hold plants, a used liner from a pond someone didn't want for my retention pond, and bought a used stock tank. My neighbor threw away a dead wheelbarrow I plant to turn into a planter and paint hot pink.