Published via Ecency

I have been working with bath tubs and other large containers as planters for nearly two years now and even before I started applying Electroculture elements, results were always amazing.

this is the first tub I planted in. it is a cement tub and was originally brought to be used as a bath tub, but due to its weight, it ended up where it was off loaded and became what it is today.
designated for aromatic plants, it is today producing not only those but also berries, pumpkins and even veggies.

Layering

plants seem to love layering and being able to layer nearly 40cm. "deep" is very well appreciated by them.
they love the possibility to choose which layer suits them best and for what purpose. they can find more nutritions growing their roots into a layer of manure, or find more humidity down at the gravel layer. if they prefer a layer that is well drained, they can opt for the sand layer and so on.
at the bottom there is always a good layer of gravel to allow for good drainage, bearing in mind that within a closed container, poor drainage can ruin the roots of most plants.
on top of the gravel, one can be very creative with the layers and apply what is locally available at the moment.
i have used gravel, sand, animal manure, universal substrate, local soil among others.
another great advantage of a closed container is being able to maintain it thickly mulched and hence avoiding, even in our long harsh summers, any chance of hydric stress.

this metal tub was lying around for too long. it was going to be a sunken pond but I never got around to do the digging involved and eventually ended up making the other pond.
light enough to be carried alone, overhead and parked where it is now parked.
I only started it about two weeks ago.
since it does not have proper legs, I had it leveled on top of these tires. having it leveled is important for ensuring efficient drainage and avoid bogging.
it is layered with about 5cm thick layers all the way from bottom to top.
first I planted a young bush of Honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea), another of Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) and a cutting of a Goji (Lycium barbarum, time will tell about this last one).
then, I have sawn the three Marias system.

Three Marias, for those who do not know is a very old system known to have been used by native Americans where Corn, Squash and Beans are sawn together.
the Corn, which grows fast and straight is later used by the beans as a trellis to climb over while the squash with its wide leaves grows under, protecting the soil from drying by shading over it.
the beans provide Nitrogen and all three, eventually produce large amounts of food. all three are staple foods that can be stored for extended periods of time.

this improvised antenna from some copper wire and an old broom handle is in charge of capturing subtle cosmic energies for the benefit of the plants below it.
just like a mast on a boat, this antenna goes all the way down to the "hull", being in direct contact with it and hence helping electrify the whole tub.

I attribute the speed and quality of germination in part to the high cosmic activity as of late. I have never seen any seed germinate so fast and so vigorous as the ones above pictured.
what i did notice while sawing them, was that below the humid layer of mulch on the top, the temperature was very high. I suppose this helps as well, just like having seeds germinating in a green house.

lastly, a word about the squashes. while I do normally saw several different varieties of them, I have had the most success with the Hokkaido variety (Red Kuri) last year, having harvested a dozen nice sized ones that lasted for a very long time indoors.
If I remember correctly, 10 out of this dozen, all grew in the cement tub, or from it, I should say, as they all found their way down and around it.
note, in the above photo, how they are encouraged to do just that, being sawn close to the edges.

we use other smaller containers mainly as planters for Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes as we have had a problem with rodents eating big parts of what was before planted directly in the soil.