Friday, 13 February 2009

Old trunk...

The other week I went to the salvage shop at the dump to find some containers to grow more veggies in (since I seem to have been fairly successful so far, I am motivated to grow even more). I came away with a couple of large old cooking pots (the sort you use over an open fire, with the swing handle to lift them on and off), and this old metal trunk.

The trunk cost me $25, which you might think is expensive at first, but if I was to go to Bunnings to buy a pot, I would only get something less than 1/4 of the volume of the trunk for the same price. Plus is would be made of plastic and have none of the character this trunk has. And this trunk is deep enough for me to grow root veggies in!


There is manufacturers label on the inside: R.G.Gibson: Wholesale & Furnishing Ironmonger, Manufacturer of Chimney Pieces & c. &c. I tried to find out some history on the internet...the only R.G.Gibson I could find was Robert Gemmell Gibson, and from his biography it seems plausible that it was his Melbourne based company which manufactured it.

I had it for a couple of weeks now and have just got around to drilling drainage holes in the bottom of it. I now need to get some soil to fill it with and sow some of the seeds I got from King Seeds to put in it (carrots, swede, maybe the gem squash).

5 comments:

Ally said...

Seems you already have decided what you're going to plant. I was going to suggest potatos, but carrots are also a good choice.

Mel said...

I've already got one of those biggish plastic garbage bins to grow potatoes in. I have a sweet potato that is starting to sprout that I'm going to plant in it.

Sue said...
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Sue said...
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Sue said...

Nup...R.G.Gibson who made your trunk was certainly not Robert Gemmell Gibson. Robert Gemmell Gibson was born in Ayr Scotland, lived for a while near Taunton, Somerset, then emmigated to Australia in about 1856. He was a banker, died Wellingotn NZ, Manager of the Bank of Australasia in 1897.