homemade strawberry planter

[hollychap]

i had a spare barrel so i decided to turn it into a strawberry planter for the allotment
another couple of weeks and the runners i have got pegged into plant pots will have a new home, i have made a water feed pipe to go in the center to deliver water two thirds down. as anyone else made there own strawberry planters ?

[rustylady]

What are the silver bits made of?

[hollychap]

galvanised steel

[Bren In Pots]

I've not made one Hollychap but one time i had a shop bought one but had problems keeping the strawberries watered. Somewhere on the vine there's instructions how to set up a central watering column and that would certainly help with watering.

[Pa Snips]

Looks ace, well done!

[hollychap]

I've not made one Hollychap but one time i had a shop bought one but had problems keeping the strawberries watered. Somewhere on the vine there's instructions how to set up a central watering column and that would certainly help with watering.

ive got a cut off piece of 4" plastic soil pipe which ive capped off at one end and drilled one small hole in the cap and rows of holes all the way up which i will fit in the center approx 1 third off the bottom of the barrel when i fill it with compost tommorow i will take some more pics and post them on here (you can not beat piccys )

[Bigmallly]

It'll certainly be a talking point HC.......1 tip if I may. Before you fill it, consider putting it on wheels as a standard planter needs turning in my experience.

[hollychap]

It'll certainly be a talking point HC.......1 tip if I may. Before you fill it, consider putting it on wheels as a standard planter needs turning in my experience.

thanks for the tip mal most welcome , turning will be a two man op with the handles but i am planning to make a few more which i need to make more ascetically pleasing for home and wheels will be an excellent addition

[Bigmallly]

Although I can't see it in the photo, I assume you are cutting out sections of barrel behind the cups. I also assume the lid will be removed & filled with strawbs?.......Should look good when finished but will take a heck of a lot of compost,

[hollychap]

hi peeps ,mal the first piccy was taken after i had fitted the cups for the first time , i then marked out with a felt tip marker the area to remove with a jig saw i will take a few more piccys showing the planter in more detail today down at the lottie

[Bigmallly]

I notice you have had to bend the angle irons, will this weaken the legs when full of compost or even rip them out of the barrel?

You should have put this in the DIY section HC, you may have got more hits.

[hollychap]

mal you were right about the legs they were a bit wobbly when i filled it so i have taken them off and i will build a raised platform 3 or 4 bricks high with a paving slab on top
it took just over one 75ltr bag of compost which cost me 2 quid i checked my runner pots and they had rooted to the bottom of the pots so i planted it up . heres a couple more pics

[Bigmallly]

Looks good HC, it'll be a bonus if the sun can hit all sides otherwise you may lose some. Hence the wheels.

[veggiechicken]

Would a mirror against the trellis at the back help to even up the light?

[Bren In Pots]

It does look good HC