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armygirlvet

Planting in Kiddie Swimming Pools

armygirlvet
15 years ago

Hey all!

I'm new here. I found this site while trying to find some information. The latest issue of Mother Earth news has an article on "no dig gardening". It caught my interest then someone I know mentioned planting in those hard side kiddie pools. I was wondering if anyone has ever done that, what results were, etc. Also, how much cubic feet of soil does it take to fill one of those pools.

Thanks!

Lisa in Brigham City UT

Comments (9)

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    15 years ago

    What size is it - diameter and depth?

    There's a few threads floating around here somewhere.

    Al

    Here is a link that might be useful: Click me & sort through what you find for commentary.

  • aliceinvirginia
    15 years ago

    I went to Loews and they had pond garden liners for $12 and $20, depending on depth. I think that would be pretty durable for the long term.

  • brenoreo
    15 years ago

    My neighbor spray painted black around all of the top edge that may show, drilled drainage holes in the bottom, surrounded the outside with iron ore rocks (plentiful here in East Texas). It is located in the shade, so she filled it with soil, planted a holly fern (a perennial) in the center and in the spring plants impatiens all around the outer edge. It is very pretty and has lasted 4 years now. It was well worth the effort for her. Good luck!!

  • lama26
    15 years ago

    Putting rocks around it, what a great idea! I considered kiddie pools, but my yard can look trashy enough with all the kids' outdoor toys.

  • jodik_gw
    15 years ago

    Having a kennel full of dogs, we buy those plastic kiddie pools by the dozen every couple of years... I reuse the ones that develop leaks to keep all of my potted, up and coming perennials and young stock grouped together for ease of care. When the weather gets nasty, I can just drag the pool into the garage for temporary safety. I also find them useful for mixing batches of potting medium.

    In my opinion, the smaller ones are a bit shallow to grow anything that has a decent sized root system, but there are many other uses for them, and I never throw them out until they're beyond saving!

  • daffodillady
    15 years ago

    My SIL in Mississippi planted 6 of the small ones a little over two years ago with an assortment of bulbs, daylilies and other shallow rooted perennials. This is their third growing season, and she says they just get better and better. They are easy to water too.

  • s8us89ds
    11 years ago

    I turned my in-ground swimming pool (all 15,000 gallons of it) into what might be the world's largest planter/container. Like a planter, my pool now has some drainage holes in the bottom of it, and it holds dirt (about 7 or 8 large truckloads of it). I hope that it will eventually hold 5 mature trees, plus assorted shrubs and other plants. But it will take many years to find out!

  • JenH20
    11 years ago

    I didn't want to use treated wood, and cedar and other non treated choices that will last were way out of my budget. I made an above ground garden with concrete building blocks, like the kind they use for basements. I used the holes in the blocks to plant companion plants and herbs and stuff. I didn't use dirt, but instead my dad brought in a pickup truck full of 2 year old horse manure that we mixed with lime. My tomatoes were taller than me by June 1 (I'm 5'1). I was told they wouldn't be very fruitful because they grew tall so fast. I had tomatoes all year, asked people to please take any they needed, and still donated some to the big green worms I wouldn't use chemicals to kill and still had some left over.

  • JenH20
    11 years ago

    So, new to gardening and all, and always looking for new ideas, I think I'm going to watch this line and keep bouncing this around in my head. I can't till or plant in the ground so this year I will have 3 of the block gardens. Do you think I could use this for my viney plants, like squash or watermelon? That could free a lot of space with out worrying about the vines taking over.
    What do you plan on planting in the pools?