Turning Used Grain Bins Into Raised Garden Beds
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Doug Taylor of Bengough, Sask., found a way to repurpose a Westeel grain bin into a durable garden bed. “My wife wanted raised beds as they’re so much easier on the back,” he says. “I’d previously built raised beds from 2 by 6s, but they rotted away after 3 or 4 years. Still, we didn’t want to use treated lumber because of the chemicals it contains.”
Taylor explored alternatives. “I thought about building some with galvanized steel but found that new steel is quite expensive. I wasn’t concerned about the galvanizing as it’s mainly zinc, which is actually beneficial (depending on which websites you read).”
Then, a windstorm came through and tipped over his neighbor’s 14-ft. Westeel grain bin, destroying the roof and upper rings. “The easiest way to dispose of the bin was to dismantle it,” says Taylor. “So I offered to help in exchange for the bottom ring. With impact wrenches, it only took an hour to dismantle it. We left the bottom ring intact, and I hauled it home in my flatbed truck.”
Taylor’s neighbor also gave him a 6-ft. dia. damaged cattle feeder. He modified both to make a keyhole-style raised bed. “The bin originally had a door, about a 3 ft. opening. I cut a 3-ft. opening into the cattle feeder, effectively removing the damaged section. I had some sheets of corrugated galvanized siding, which I cut to the correct length and tied to the cattle feeder. Then I bolted a couple pieces of angle iron from the opening of the feeder to the opening on the ring.” The final detail was a strip of 1-in. black plastic pipe that he slit lengthwise with a razor knife and placed around the edge of the steel ring. “As for the cost, it was just my time. I had everything here lying around that I needed.”
To fill the bed, Taylor took advantage of natural debris. He gathered tree branches, straw, and leaves and placed them in the space between the feeder and the ring to a 16 in. depth. “Then I used a front-end loader tractor and added another foot or more of topsoil mixed with aged manure until the dirt was a foot from the top. I didn’t fill to the top because I want to be able to add more compost each year.”
He spent less than a day on the project overall and considers it time well spent. “Some people think that the steel will heat up and damage the plants, but the galvanized steel seals to reflect the heat away,” he explains. “And we’ve never grown such large carrots and beets. The keyhole entrance makes watering a breeze. Just stand in one spot and turn slowly with the garden hose.”
The design works so well that Taylor wants to build a second bed. “There isn’t much I’d do differently,” he says. “I have a complete ring with no door opening, and I haven’t found another cattle feeder for cheap, so I may just build a stairway to get inside if needed.” He plans to use the second bed for planting vegetables that spread, ensuring there’s no reason to get inside the bed until harvest time. “It’ll be easy enough to maintain by watering from the outside. And once they start growing, the leaves cover all the ground, and weeds don’t seem to grow much.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Doug Taylor (ltay_lorsk@gmail.com).
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Turning Used Grain Bins Into Raised Garden Beds CROP STORAGE Grain Storage Doug Taylor of Bengough Sask found a way to repurpose a Westeel grain bin into a durable garden bed “My wife wanted raised beds as they’re so much easier on the back ” he says “I’d previously built raised beds from 2 by 6s but they rotted away after 3 or 4 years Still we didn’t want to use treated lumber because of the chemicals it contains ” Taylor explored alternatives “I thought about building some with galvanized steel but found that new steel is quite expensive I wasn’t concerned about the galvanizing as it’s mainly zinc which is actually beneficial depending on which websites you read ” Then a windstorm came through and tipped over his neighbor’s 14-ft Westeel grain bin destroying the roof and upper rings “The easiest way to dispose of the bin was to dismantle it ” says Taylor “So I offered to help in exchange for the bottom ring With impact wrenches it only took an hour to dismantle it We left the bottom ring intact and I hauled it home in my flatbed truck ” Taylor’s neighbor also gave him a 6-ft dia damaged cattle feeder He modified both to make a keyhole-style raised bed “The bin originally had a door about a 3 ft opening I cut a 3-ft opening into the cattle feeder effectively removing the damaged section I had some sheets of corrugated galvanized siding which I cut to the correct length and tied to the cattle feeder Then I bolted a couple pieces of angle iron from the opening of the feeder to the opening on the ring ” The final detail was a strip of 1-in black plastic pipe that he slit lengthwise with a razor knife and placed around the edge of the steel ring “As for the cost it was just my time I had everything here lying around that I needed ” To fill the bed Taylor took advantage of natural debris He gathered tree branches straw and leaves and placed them in the space between the feeder and the ring to a 16 in depth “Then I used a front-end loader tractor and added another foot or more of topsoil mixed with aged manure until the dirt was a foot from the top I didn’t fill to the top because I want to be able to add more compost each year ” He spent less than a day on the project overall and considers it time well spent “Some people think that the steel will heat up and damage the plants but the galvanized steel seals to reflect the heat away ” he explains “And we’ve never grown such large carrots and beets The keyhole entrance makes watering a breeze Just stand in one spot and turn slowly with the garden hose ” The design works so well that Taylor wants to build a second bed “There isn’t much I’d do differently ” he says “I have a complete ring with no door opening and I haven’t found another cattle feeder for cheap so I may just build a stairway to get inside if needed ” He plans to use the second bed for planting vegetables that spread ensuring there’s no reason to get inside the bed until harvest time “It’ll be easy enough to maintain by watering from the outside And once they start growing the leaves cover all the ground and weeds don’t seem to grow much ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Doug Taylor ltay_lorsk@gmail com
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