The Mint Test
April 27, 2007 – 4:22 pmAs I’ve been having trouble wintering over perennials in my horse trough I decided to use mint as a test plant last year. I reasoned if mint (a hardy, woody, Zone 2 variety) didn’t make it through the winter, there wasn’t much point in continuing to try to winter over the plants I love to grow. To my surprise, the mint did not make it – so the horse trough is now officially gone from the balcony. (It went to a good, new home.)
The horse trough was a great idea. If you consider using one on your balcony as a garden container, line it with one and a half inch foam insulation before you fill it. I had a healthy layer of landscape bark in the bottom for drainage. I placed a layer of landscape fabric on top of the bark and then filled the trough with a soil-less mix. Over the years, new soil was added as I emptied containers and planted new favourites. A bag of well rotted manure was occasionally dug in during fall clean up to supplement the top soil. After seven years, the trough was still in great shape with no water retention problems or rusting. I opened the drain every September to make sure there was no residual moisture before freeze-up. Looking for a large container for your balcony garden? Try a horse trough.
