Is your yard filled with compacted clay soil and just the thought of attempting to grow vegetables and flowers seems daunting? Or perhaps you’re searching for a raised bed to avoid a lot of bending and stooping. Have you considered trough gardening?
Galvanized livestock water troughs, also known as stock troughs, can be used to create attractive, sturdy, non-rusting, and durable container gardens.
Advantages of troughs
- Unlike wooden raised beds, no assembly is required, and the galvanized metal will not rot.
- Troughs have metal bottoms to deter burrowing animals.
- Troughs are available in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit your available space.
- Taller troughs are helpful for gardeners with mobility issues, help discourage wildlife from invading, and offer deeper, cooler soil.
- Visualize your landscape filled with multiple circular troughs, or a series of rectangular troughs, or one statement trough.
Getting started:
- Identify an area in your garden where the trough(s) can be placed. Measure carefully. Consider the amount of sunlight available. Tomatoes, peppers, and many other veggies and flowers require six hours of direct sunlight per day to thrive.
- Identify a convenient water source: will you install drip irrigation or hand watering? Plan to water early in the day to avoid leaf pest problems.
- Level the area for the trough(s). Consider installing a layer of gravel under and around the trough. Elevate the trough slightly with tiles or bricks to facilitate drainage.
- Shop for galvanized troughs at farm stores, garden centers, hardware stores, and online.
- Consider plants you plan to grow and ensure the trough is deep enough to accommodate the roots. Tomatoes, beans, squash, and potatoes need a soil depth of 16 – 18 inches.
- Drainage is absolutely essential! Troughs have one spigot, which will not suffice! Turn the trough upside down on a drop cloth to capture the metal filings. Using a 1/2-inch bit or hole punch, create multiple holes horizontally and vertically across the bottom. Wear protective eye covering and sturdy gloves while drilling. Dispose of the filings in the trash.
- Insert a layer of ¼ inch hardware cloth or screening to discourage soil falling out and/or clogging the holes.
Soil
- This is the perfect opportunity to start your garden with rich soil – no more frustration with dense, nutritionally barren soil!
- Determine the amount of soil, compost, and optional amendments needed. Bulk soil is much more economical than bagged soil. You can use a truck or have soil delivered. Here’s a quick soil calculator: https://www.inchcalculator.com/soil-calculator/.
- Purchase high-quality, nutrition-rich potting mix. Consider a mixture of soil, compost and amendments.
- Fill the trough to the brim and water well a day or more before planting. The soil will settle dramatically.
Pest management
- One advantage of elevated container gardening is the ability to get up close and personal with your plants. Take time to observe your garden. Are there nibbling insects on the leaves? Is there mildew?
- Deadhead your plants frequently and clean up any debris that has fallen in the container.
- Don't over-fertilize, as this can encourage rapid growth, which attracts pests.
- If you find insects on your plants, treat them immediately with the least toxic method. For example, you can hose off aphids with a strong stream of water, hand-pick slugs and snails, and dispose of them. You can also hang yellow sticky strips to catch whiteflies and plant yarrow, dill, cosmos, and alyssum to attract beneficial insects.
Additional considerations
- Once in place and filled, large troughs will be quite heavy and may require total emptying to relocate. If you plan to move the container, add rollers to the trough before filling it.
- Container plants require more frequent watering and fertilizing.
The UC Marin Master Gardener website is brimming with valuable information to get your trough garden off to a fabulous start! Visit https://marinmg.ucanr.edu/ and search under Basics, Plants, Care, and Edibles. Happy gardening!
By Jane Scurich, May 10, 2025