Our move has been an odd one in many ways, but my ability to shop in person has been a huge one. I find myself running the mile numbers constantly. It used to take us 30 miles to get to the tiniest Walmart, that rarely had anything in stock, on the island. (And that Walmart has deep history in how an entire town gets crippled by size restrictions in an attempt to keep out Walmart back in the mid-90’s). So rarely did I shop there, because not only was it a very long drive up a 50 mile long island, there wasn’t much to look at. If I wanted to go to a large Walmart, it was a very long drive.
But now I live within 8 and 13 miles to two Walmart stores, one of which is a massive Super Center on the side of Hwy 81 in West Virginia.
And with showing up here with only a small amount of my gardening equipment, I used my mason jar selling fund to buy new items for my container garden this year. For certain things, I will always go for the lower cost version if I can – and Walmart is more affordable than The Home Depot is. It always shocls me how much some stores think you should pay for a few bits of plastic….
Up first:
I have bought so many of these plastic “whisky barrel” pots. They are huge and lightweight. I have used them in the past years on Whidbey, and they usually hold up for years. Even if they eventually crack, they still work fine. I actually left behind many that were tucked in around our gardens.
They are the Better Homes and Gardens Whisky Barrel pots, in the 20″ size (they are 13″ deep). At under $16 each, they are an affordable option. They slide easily, even when full, across patios.
They are big enough to grow blueberry plants in for years:
As you can see the Whidbey Red Garlic I brought with me is coming up quickly.
Just punch the two spots on the bottom, on each container, with a flat blade screwdriver and you are ready to fill. They take about 1.5 cubic feet of soil, I recommend using a lightened soil, such as potting mix, versus a heavier raised bed soil (which if you use, just lighten with coconut coir/peat moss and perlite).
The Next Find:
I saw the City Picker’s Trellis Towers on a shopping trip, and bought the two they had.
I paid under $24 for each of them. I ran the numbers in my mind and realized that for a pot and a trellis, I was coming out ahead.
But also, this trellis I could break down if I got to move up plants – something you cannot do easily using a metal tomato trellis.
It only took a few minutes to assemble both of them. You get two options on what to show, I went for the faux wood look, there is a wicker look on the backside. I would suggest that you fill the pot and plant first, then assemble the trellis, or you will be lowering your plant through the top like I did….
I used lightened raised bed soil and each one hols about half a cubic foot of soil/plant.
I left the wheels off, but it’s also very windy here, so I didn’t need my plants running away on me. These come with excellent drainage on the bottom, so these are outdoor only.
~Sarah
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