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No Small Dreams

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Commenced:	01/06/2010
Submitted:	06/02/2011
Last updated:	07/10/2015
Location:	Graceville, Queensland, AU
Website:	http://nosmalldreams.net/
Climate zone:	Sub-tropical

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Aquatic Garden

Project: No Small Dreams

Posted by Tim Auld about 13 years ago

A small aquatic garden built from old laundry tubs.

Our neighbour had some old concrete laundry tubs sitting in his backyard. He was doing some renovation and demolition workers were about to deconstruct and remove his car port (I bought the roofing iron from the workers for raised beds). He said if I could remove the tubs they were mine! They were quite heavy but three of us moved the first one ourselves. The second was heavier and we moved it half the way, then a bobcat driver moved it the rest of the way.

I sealed the drain hole of the tubs with porcelain tiles and silicon glue, then filled them with compost, sand, cow manure, Organic Xtra and a silicon powder and organic fertiliser I received at a trade show. I planted up with Chinese water chestnut, kang kong, taro and duck potato. Later I added azola in an effort to limit mosquito breeding. There is often no pooled water, so fish would be unable to live in them without regularly topping up the water.

The chinese water chestnut, kang kong and duck potato have formed dense root nets through the soil and sent up new shoots everywhere.

Comments (4)

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Paul Young : love it! i saw one of these concrete tubs out front of a clients place today ready to be collected for the tip. i was in a hurry and supressed my desire to snap it up but tomorow im gonna go and get it. great job tim and thanks for the inspiration!

Posted about 13 years ago

Tim Auld : Cheers, Paul! Got to love re-purposing 'rubbish'. I'm sure there was plenty of things thrown our after the flood that could have been used. Fridges if not fixable could be turned on their back and turned into gardens like this, for example.

Posted about 13 years ago

Vanessa Monge Augusto Fernandes : The plants are looking great Tim,plenty of water in the floods!!!!I hope Graceville community garden is doing fine.Take care see you guys soon

Posted about 13 years ago

Millie Hrdina : This is awesome Paul. Thank you for sharing it. I'm inspired to take the next step here. I use freecycle.com a lot here for items and often some posts an offer for laundry tubs other such containers. Now I have a purpose for them.

Posted over 12 years ago

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