Timberline Homestead A self sufficient homesteading life
This is a fun DIY project and probably my favorite recycling project yet. I had no hand in this project as my hands were busy with our newborn baby. Husband and Dad tackled this project one afternoon and I couldn’t be more pleased. I love the convenience of having waist-high garden beds and they were nearly free since we had the materials lying around.
We had this 50 gallon food grade drum hanging around and talked about turning it into a raised garden bed for our strawberry patch. They turned out so nice we’re debating picking up some more drums and making the majority of our garden these raised beds.
Materials used:
1 50 gallon food grade drum cut in half vertically
small log- we had this from the area of trees we cleared for our garden area
2×4 scraps
small pieces of screen and staple gun
paint if desired
The drum was cut in half vertically with a sawzall and scrubbed out well.
4 leg posts were cut from the log. An additional piece was cut just short of the length of the drum to be used as a cross support. This piece was cut down the center lengthwise.
The legs were fashioned into an X shaped frame with the cross supports added at the top. It isn’t very clear in the above picture, but the legs were notched where they meet in the center of the X for a snug fit. Bolts were used to fasten.A piece of scrap 2×4 was cut to add support to the bottom of the barrel. These 2 pieces and the cross support up top create a bit of a cradle to hold the drum.
That is all that was done for the frame. To finish out the barrel, drainage holes were drilled and metal screen was stapled over the holes to keep the soil in place. The exterior of the barrel was spray painted with some extra paint we had. That’s all there is to it!
