A raised bed does not always have to consist of a wooden, rectangular box. Instead, there are numerous great DIY ideas on how you can give old materials or objects a new life - for example by converting your old bathtub into a raised bed. The necessary water drainage is already available through the drain, and so the good piece can be planted directly in the garden.
How do I build a raised bed from an old tub?
Building a raised bed from an old tub is easy: place the tub securely, lay a water-permeable fleece on the bottom, fill with coarse gravel for drainage and cover it with another layer of fleece. Finally, fill the tub with the right plant substrate for your desired plants.
Don't throw away old tubs, repurpose them
Have you just remodeled your bathroom and now have an old bathtub? You don't have to throw these away; you can convert them into raised beds in just a few steps. Freestanding bathtubs with feet can be easily set up like this; for all others, you can build a simple frame and ensure that they do not tip over. By the way, not only old bathtubs are suitable for raised beds, but also zinc tubs or the plastic baby bath that your child has long since become too big for. It is only important that the tubs have a drain so that excess water can flow away.
Beautify the bathtub or zinc tub
With little effort, the tubs can be embellished so that they cannot be seen - but instead function as a kind of foil replacement in the raised bed. You can build a wooden border around the tubs, wall the tub in (for example with a wall made of bricks or natural stones), surround it with a fence made of thick wooden planks or hazelnut branches, or a pretty wicker weave.
Fill the tub correctly
However, it is much more important to fill the tub correctly. You should use a fleece as the bottom layer so that the plant substrate does not clog up the drain and prevent it from doing its job. A few centimeters of coarse gravel is placed on top as drainage material, which is then covered with a layer of fleece. Of course, you should use water-permeable fleece (€34.00 on Amazon), otherwise there will be waterlogging. Only then do you fill in the planting substrate, choosing it depending on the plants. In a bathtub - especially a zinc bathtub - colorful flowers, bushy perennials or herbs look very pretty.
Tip
If you don't want to line your wooden raised bed with foil, you can put a suitable plastic tray in it instead (of course with a water drain to prevent waterlogging). You can easily build suitable frames yourself for existing or purchased tubs, but you can also use ready-made kits from specialist retailers.
