Topic: Old bath

[Heldi]

Can an old plastic bath be useful for anything?  My OH was wondering about a pond type thing for the duck in the nextdoor allotment.

[Obelixx]

The bath we took out when redoing the bathroom is now in the paddock and holds water for horses.    Possum's old baby bath is kept behind the garages and gets used for holding plants in transit from one bed to another as do old laundry tubs and plastic shopping boxes.  I kept three ornamental grasses in there for over a year before deciding where they would end up but that's only because it took OH that long to rotivate the new bed and lay the paths!

[jennym]

I scavenged some very, very large plant troughs (ex pub) and have them sited in a deep ditch. They are fibreglass, and lots of things have colonised them, and birds use the water too. I think if you sink them in somewhere out of the way, you'll be surprised at what turns up.

[Heldi]

Thankyou for your suggestions. If it were to aid a duck to water how would you do it? I'm a bit worried about sinking a bath because of my toddler, though I could always reduce its depth with gravel I suppose? I know toddler's can drown in only 2 inches of water. Maybe the whole thing is daft. I have thought of not sinking it and trying to disguise the edges somehow.

I'm only thinking about this because OH has one in the back of his van destined for the tip. I don't want to let it go and then think of lots of uses for it up at the allotment!

[Heldi]

Thanks Wardy you've given me some great ideas!  :)

[Tulipa]

Someone along the road from us has a bath in the front garden planted up with annuals in the summer and bulbs in the winter.

Would it be good for filling with potting compost and growing potatoes in?  I grew container potatoes this year and they were wonderful.  Quite fancy doing that as we are having a new bathroom soon and I could use the old bath.  If I left the plughole open it would provide drainage, or would I need to make some more holes.   Hmmm, got me thinking now...

[Garden Manager]

If it can be made watertight, what about a rainwater collector? Depending on size it could hold more than the average water butt.

Saw a bit in Amateur Gardening magazine a few weeks ago. Someone had installed an old bath in their greenhouse and connected the guttering to it. This saved the rainwater then they used a pump to get the water into a watering can. The bath itself was covered with duckboards to keep the water clear of debris and for plantpots to stand on. I thought this was very clever.

Now if i could just get hold of an old bath i would try it out myself!

Just a thought......

[Heldi]

Thanks Tullipa and GC.

 More ideas to think about.  I especially like the duck boards over the top if it was used as a water butt. I'd feel safer with it then.

[Catherine]

I've seen them on our plots with the equivalent of (firm) chicken wire over the top for safety when used as a water butt. I have wee ones wandering about too so feel the same about safety.

[weedbusta]

I've got an old bath in my plot and grew carrots in it this year. I've been told that carrot fly only fly at a height of 18 inches and cant get over the sides!! quite a few others are doing the same so i don't think my leg was being pulled. put plenty of gravel/ stones etc in the bottom and don't forget to leave the plug out ha ha

[Heldi]

Excellent idea weedbusta !