Horse Trough Garden Features Unique Watering System

2012 - Volume #36, Issue #3, Page #10

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Horse trough gardening is a tidy option for gardeners with many advantages: earlier planting, no bending, and less weeding.
  Keith Gummeringer is impressed after setting up his first horse trough garden with 25 galvanized livestock water tanks for a client last spring. Gummeringer, a landscape business owner, is working on modifying the idea to share with other clients in West Central Minnesota.
  The concept is to have constant water available under the soil and plants via a vertical filler pipe made from 1 1/2-in. pvc. A 3/16-in. rigid pvc screen, cut to slip inside the tank, is supported by several 4-in. pieces of perforated 4-in. pvc pipe. A special soil blend is poured over the screen and the garden is ready to plant. To water, slip a hose in the vertical pipe until it fills the 4-in. space under the soil. It’s full when water overflows out the 1/2-in. hole drilled on the side of the tank just above the screen.
  “My biggest challenge was finding the dirt – one-third each of vermiculite, peat and organic soil,” Gummeringer says. While available at home improvement stores it was very expensive to buy in bags. He found a company that sold the mix in bulk. The 2 by 2 by 6-ft. galvanized stock tanks Gummeringer used required 16 cu. ft. of soil apiece.
  All the materials can be found at farm supply and hardware stores. Plans can be found on several websites, including www.maryjanesfarm.org.
  Besides setting up the tanks, it’s important to set up a good foundation.
  “You don’t want water sitting under the tank, so elevate it a little,” Gummeringer says. He leveled the area for his client’s garden with a slight slope for drainage. Each tank was placed on a pad of class 5 gravel. He spread about 5 in. of woodchips on the 4-ft. wide walkways between the tanks. “There’s no walking through mud or compacting the soil,” Gummeringer says, and the chips squelch weed growth.
  He notes that he also installed a sprinkling system as plants and seeds need to be watered from above ground at the beginning and occasionally through the summer. But the constant water wicking from the tank through the roots produces amazing growth and lush plants.
  Once set up, maintenance is minimal. At the end of the season, remove the dead plants and pull the tank plugs to drain the water. More soil can be added as needed.
  “There’s a lot of interest in it,” Gummeringer says. He has seen versions using 5-gal. pails, and he’s working on smaller, less expensive designs for clients who may want to grow herbs, for example. The galvanized tanks or other containers used could also be painted, if people don’t like the galvanized look, he adds.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Midwest Tree and Maintenance, P.O. Box 196, Pelican Rapids, Minn. 56572 (ph 701 730-0475; www.midwesttree.net).

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Horse Trough Garden Features Unique Watering System FARM HOME Miscellaneous Horse trough gardening is a tidy option for gardeners with many advantages: earlier planting no bending and less weeding Keith Gummeringer is impressed after setting up his first horse trough garden with 25 galvanized livestock water tanks for a client last spring Gummeringer a landscape business owner is working on modifying the idea to share with other clients in West Central Minnesota The concept is to have constant water available under the soil and plants via a vertical filler pipe made from 1 1/2-in pvc A 3/16-in rigid pvc screen cut to slip inside the tank is supported by several 4-in pieces of perforated 4-in pvc pipe A special soil blend is poured over the screen and the garden is ready to plant To water slip a hose in the vertical pipe until it fills the 4-in space under the soil It’s full when water overflows out the 1/2-in hole drilled on the side of the tank just above the screen “My biggest challenge was finding the dirt – one-third each of vermiculite peat and organic soil ” Gummeringer says While available at home improvement stores it was very expensive to buy in bags He found a company that sold the mix in bulk The 2 by 2 by 6-ft galvanized stock tanks Gummeringer used required 16 cu ft of soil apiece All the materials can be found at farm supply and hardware stores Plans can be found on several websites including www maryjanesfarm org Besides setting up the tanks it’s important to set up a good foundation “You don’t want water sitting under the tank so elevate it a little ” Gummeringer says He leveled the area for his client’s garden with a slight slope for drainage Each tank was placed on a pad of class 5 gravel He spread about 5 in of woodchips on the 4-ft wide walkways between the tanks “There’s no walking through mud or compacting the soil ” Gummeringer says and the chips squelch weed growth He notes that he also installed a sprinkling system as plants and seeds need to be watered from above ground at the beginning and occasionally through the summer But the constant water wicking from the tank through the roots produces amazing growth and lush plants Once set up maintenance is minimal At the end of the season remove the dead plants and pull the tank plugs to drain the water More soil can be added as needed “There’s a lot of interest in it ” Gummeringer says He has seen versions using 5-gal pails and he’s working on smaller less expensive designs for clients who may want to grow herbs for example The galvanized tanks or other containers used could also be painted if people don’t like the galvanized look he adds Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Midwest Tree and Maintenance P O Box 196 Pelican Rapids Minn 56572 ph 701 730-0475; www midwesttree net

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