anyone grow in old wine barrels?

gardeninglee · June 13, 2016

I have 2 large half wine barrels that I grow some plants in. Anyone have a good way to water these containers? It seems that if I just spend 4 or 5 minutes watering it - the water doesn't soak down beyond 2-3 inches. I hate to have so much water flowing out of the container.

luigiwu · June 13, 2016

Do you have potting MIX in them? Potting mix means its peat-based and should soak up the water.

gardeninglee · June 13, 2016

I put potting soil in them. Is that the same thing?

luigiwu · June 13, 2016

my understanding is no. Thats why bags have either MIX or SOIL on them... Potting MIX is very important for containers as it is peat-based. Potting Soil has well, soil and some peat. The soil will make a very dense grow medium (not well aerated) that doesn't hold water very well.

gardeninglee · June 14, 2016

This is exactly what I use:
http://www.hearnestore.com/gardner-b...in-store-only/

It says it is for containers. My local store doesn't really offer anything else...

My Foot Smells · June 14, 2016

I had to drill a few holes, as the staves got stoved up and watertight. The big ? is placement of the barrel, once filled they are a real booger to move.

KC.Sun · June 14, 2016

If you have a Home Depot near your area, they have been selling potting mixes around the 4-6$ range.

You want to make sure it's a potting mix. Nothing with the word soil in it.

If it isn't too late to change your growing media, I'd change it quick. You run the chance of either having a really hard growing season with a very small crop or root rot if water is being logged like how you describe.

With the water problem in California, it's probably worth the extra investment. There are moisture retention potting mixes available.

Punching some holes in the barrel wouldn't hurt either.

schill93 · June 14, 2016

Looking at the ingredients, it looks just fine. It has:

"A composted blend of Canadian sphagnum peat moss, screened fir bark fines, forest humus, pumice, chicken manure, worm castings, bat guano, kelp meal & alfalfa meal."

Sounds good to me. If it doesn't have any vermiculite, I might add some of that to it. The bark fines should help drainage, but the vermiculite should help retain some moisture for when needed in dry climate. Adding Perlite will give it more air space, oxygen.

berryman · June 14, 2016

Having owned a winery, I had quite a few barrels around but with the gentle urging of my wife I decided to put them to a purpose other than holding more wine

I have kept about thirty of them around and they are great cause you can modify the soil to fit the need. I did have to drill three 5/8" holes near the bottom of each for drainage.
Here's a pic of some that I haven't planted this year because of a remodel. Notice the big purple raspberry patch with crazy bee action in the background. These are on the north side of the building so I think I'll plant some lettuce in there soon.

zipcode · June 15, 2016

If the water is just flowing away, it probably means the whole mix is not wet enough yet. So basically peat that is dry kinda hates water, it just runs over it. It needs to be slowly wetted and after that its absorbing capacity increases a lot.
To do this probably the best is to manually mix it while watering it, this will force some water in it. If it's too late for that, just water it thoroughly, on all the surface, or let it in the rain for a good while, it will get there eventually.

gardeninglee · June 15, 2016

Thanks I'm going to try this! I think maybe I'm just watering too quickly now b/c I have some kiddos so trying to get the watering done as quickly as possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipcode

If the water is just flowing away, it probably means the whole mix is not wet enough yet. So basically peat that is dry kinda hates water, it just runs over it. It needs to be slowly wetted and after that its absorbing capacity increases a lot.
To do this probably the best is to manually mix it while watering it, this will force some water in it. If it's too late for that, just water it thoroughly, on all the surface, or let it in the rain for a good while, it will get there eventually.

gardeninglee · June 15, 2016

Mine look just like yours except I only have 3 of them. They are very aesthetically pleasing!

Worth1 · June 15, 2016

This is the first time I have look at this thread.
Soil/Mix what ever they call it there is no standard for it nor any laws regulating what you call something like this.
You can get crappy soil and mix.
Also from my research of one product the only difference is the addition of perlite and those moisture holding things.
(AT) a ridiculously higher price.
The stuff they call raised bed soil has no soil in it at all and no large chunks of wood or bark.

Worth

berryman · June 15, 2016

Gardening glee, what if you used a little bit of some kind of "wetting" agent in each barrel? I would try a little bit of detergent in one and see if the water acted differently in the soil.
Maybe someone else has tried this or knows about it?

peebee · June 27, 2016

If you are watering that long and only the top surface seems to get wet, it sounds like your potting soil was either dry in the bag by the time you bought it, or it just dried out after planting. I have 3 barrels and once I got a bag of mix that was very dry, I suspect it was old. Once peat is dry, it stays dry. I've read here that it helps to pour hot water over the dry peat, in a wheelbarrow or other large container, and let it soak up the water for a day or two.
Another important tip I've learned is to put a thick layer of mulch immediately after planting, so that the medium does not dry out again. What a big difference this makes.

June 13, 2016	#1
gardeninglee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: West Los Angeles Posts: 203	anyone grow in old wine barrels? I have 2 large half wine barrels that I grow some plants in. Anyone have a good way to water these containers? It seems that if I just spend 4 or 5 minutes watering it - the water doesn't soak down beyond 2-3 inches. I hate to have so much water flowing out of the container.

June 13, 2016	#2
luigiwu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: ny Posts: 1,219	Do you have potting MIX in them? Potting mix means its peat-based and should soak up the water. __________________ Subirrigated Container gardening (RGGS) in NY, Zone 7!

June 13, 2016	#4
luigiwu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: ny Posts: 1,219	my understanding is no. Thats why bags have either MIX or SOIL on them... Potting MIX is very important for containers as it is peat-based. Potting Soil has well, soil and some peat. The soil will make a very dense grow medium (not well aerated) that doesn't hold water very well. __________________ Subirrigated Container gardening (RGGS) in NY, Zone 7!

June 14, 2016	#8
schill93 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Nevada Posts: 275	Looking at the ingredients, it looks just fine. It has: "A composted blend of Canadian sphagnum peat moss, screened fir bark fines, forest humus, pumice, chicken manure, worm castings, bat guano, kelp meal & alfalfa meal." Sounds good to me. If it doesn't have any vermiculite, I might add some of that to it. The bark fines should help drainage, but the vermiculite should help retain some moisture for when needed in dry climate. Adding Perlite will give it more air space, oxygen. Last edited by schill93; June 14, 2016 at 04:38 PM.

June 14, 2016	#6
My Foot Smells Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Pulaski County, Arkansas Posts: 1,239	I had to drill a few holes, as the staves got stoved up and watertight. The big ? is placement of the barrel, once filled they are a real booger to move.

June 14, 2016	#7
KC.Sun Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: 6a Posts: 322	If you have a Home Depot near your area, they have been selling potting mixes around the 4-6$ range. You want to make sure it's a potting mix. Nothing with the word soil in it. If it isn't too late to change your growing media, I'd change it quick. You run the chance of either having a really hard growing season with a very small crop or root rot if water is being logged like how you describe. With the water problem in California, it's probably worth the extra investment. There are moisture retention potting mixes available. Punching some holes in the barrel wouldn't hurt either.

June 15, 2016	#10
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	If the water is just flowing away, it probably means the whole mix is not wet enough yet. So basically peat that is dry kinda hates water, it just runs over it. It needs to be slowly wetted and after that its absorbing capacity increases a lot. To do this probably the best is to manually mix it while watering it, this will force some water in it. If it's too late for that, just water it thoroughly, on all the surface, or let it in the rain for a good while, it will get there eventually.

June 15, 2016	#13
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	This is the first time I have look at this thread. Soil/Mix what ever they call it there is no standard for it nor any laws regulating what you call something like this. You can get crappy soil and mix. Also from my research of one product the only difference is the addition of perlite and those moisture holding things. (AT) a ridiculously higher price. The stuff they call raised bed soil has no soil in it at all and no large chunks of wood or bark. Worth

June 15, 2016	#14
berryman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: central utah Posts: 233	Gardening glee, what if you used a little bit of some kind of "wetting" agent in each barrel? I would try a little bit of detergent in one and see if the water acted differently in the soil. Maybe someone else has tried this or knows about it?

June 27, 2016	#15
peebee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 1,714	If you are watering that long and only the top surface seems to get wet, it sounds like your potting soil was either dry in the bag by the time you bought it, or it just dried out after planting. I have 3 barrels and once I got a bag of mix that was very dry, I suspect it was old. Once peat is dry, it stays dry. I've read here that it helps to pour hot water over the dry peat, in a wheelbarrow or other large container, and let it soak up the water for a day or two. Another important tip I've learned is to put a thick layer of mulch immediately after planting, so that the medium does not dry out again. What a big difference this makes.