Kitchen Garden Forum

Can anyone recommend where to look for large plastic containers to use as a water butt, container for planting, etc? We are in Manchester and a quick search around on the internet didn't find much. Doesn't need to be anything new or fancy, just CHEAP

Thanks

Tara

Thames water! http://www.getcomposting.com/thames/index2.htm

£19.95 five of your english pounds plus £10 for the base. includes delivery.

There's a firm on the border of Herefordshire/Others that sells ex French jam containers - with or without taps, would recommend with - excellent value for money as water butts. I've got 5 of them. Let me know if you want details.

How about trying a scrap merchant or plumbers merchant. You can always put the tap in yourself. It only needs a hole, a tap and a rubber seal.

Hi

Some years ago I bought ex. fruit pulp barrels from Baxters of Speyside for £1 each. If you have a local jam making factory they are worth a try. This source has now dried up. Last year I found that B&Q offer the best value for butts and stands if you can't get a cheap factory option.

How cheap is cheap? If you get an ex-something you have to buy a tap and install it and you won't get a threaded hole or a flat surface so it's not all that reliable. The other snag is the lid. If you get the sort of ex-something and cut a hole for a lid then it won't be a lock-on job even if you can find the right material to do the kob. We have problems with the wind carrying away most lids, eventually Wyevale who I generally try to avoid had a batch with tap and self-locking lid at as good a price as any so I bought that. The one it replaces is tucked away at home where the wind cannot take the lid off.
I am curious about the Hereford source of butts, we bought several 1000-litre butts ex-orange juice from a firm near Madley, I thought they weren't available any more. Those big ones were going at £50, the latest figure I know is well over £100.
Allan

I'll get the details of the Herefordhsire/Ross place and post them on here for anyone who's interested.

Find out if you have any quarries local to you. We use a product called flock which binds clay particles into clumps allowing us to pump clean water off site. It comes in a 1000 litre plastic tank sat on a standard pallet. We squash ours and then skip them once empty as they are non returnable. I have three on my plots and they are a boon. I can get them if required but they will require collection.

Here are two side by side next to my compost bins

Thanks all for the tips. We were actually thinking to use just a barrell with some sort of mesh type lid to catch rain water and then simply dip the watering can in. We haven't got a shed to attach a water but to at our allotment. Is this realistic? We don't need it as our main supply of water, but just as an extra. We also thought we could use others for growing.

Thanks again. We'll check out all of your suggestions.

Tara

Water butts with just an open top will take a long time to fill up unless there is a monsoon. If you can find something to make a sort of water shute with it'll work a lot better. I have a piece of corrugated iron which is propped from my fence going down to the edge of the barrel. When it rains the barrel can fill quite fast. I often have to bail out my main water but into an overflow tank as it's too full. Without the shute it takes all summer to fill one butt.

I am looking for home use. If they put in a wter meter it will kill me. I am going to get a big butt put it on the down pipe and dunk the kids in it at bath time. It will save me a fortune.

Can't you wash them in the sink after you've done the washing up? Better yet, stick them in the sink to DO the washing up!

Tried putting them in the dish washer but I couln't hear the radio for the screams.

So turn the volume up!

i think your kids need to call 0800 11 11 11.by the way try a builders site ,they give the big blue barrels away,great for water butts.