Great! Now what you do with those concepts can make your growing year as stellar as you want to be. HügelPool, based on a Hügelkultur, is a centuries old horticultural technique where a mound constructed from decaying wood debris and other compostable biomass plant materials is later (or immediately) planted as a raised bed. Adopted by permaculture advocates, it is suggested the technique helps to improve soil fertility, water retention and soil warming, thus benefiting plants grown on or near such moundsOne could easily duplicate this method by utilizing a farm basin or a large kiddie swimming pool. By digging a hole next to it and placing a 5-gallon bucket in the hole, one could collect drain off from this for utilization as a compost tea elsewhere. By placing a spigot or spout in the side, you can collect drain off.For those who have poor soil and seek to build raised bed gardens, this is a great way to get the best of both worlds. Farmers often give these basins away when they develop a leak and many people will throw out the kitty pools for the same reason. Knowing how to source these might save you money in the long run. The higher you place your drain spigot the wetter your soil will be. I once grew rice in one of these basins by creating a rice paddy.Many of these basins are galvanized, which is utilizing zinc in the process. Excess amounts of this mineral can cause some issues to plants and soil except for the fact that recycled basins are often heavily worn and have lost virtually all of their zinc already.Many people like to use a liner in these. Plastic variants can also be found.A study done on zinc in soil noted that the zinc bonded into compounds within the first inch of soil making them inaccessible to plants.Minor amounts of zinc is a necessary micronutrient for plants.As long as you’re not chewing on the side of the brand new man’s basin, you should be OK.In South St. Louis, they were often used as backyard swimming pools because they were affordable and big. I still see these pop up on the free lists every now and then. The downsides are, of course, after you have received one for recycling. The metal is often very fragile, especially on the bottom where rusting holes probably have developed. This is probably the reason that Farmer gave it away in the first place. And after they’ve been filled with soil and have been kept in one place for many years, the bottom is practically worthless but, as long as you don’t plan on moving it, you’ll be OK.. I have one that I filled in with a rusted out bottom whose sides have remained intact and bonnie.
Photo courtesy of Gateway Garlic Farms
