DIY Stock Tank / Trough Planter Curb Appeal – Home and Darlings

This DIY Stock Tank / Trough Planter project will dramatically increase your curb appeal! My home’s curb appeal was sorely lacking. I needed something large and beautiful to fill the void on the right side of the house (I added a DIY “porch” / patio to the left which I’ll be posting soon!). This DIY Stock Tank / Trough Planter project fit the bill and I could NOT be more thrilled with the way it turned out! Let’s take a look at the before and the after. The pic on the left is an old Google Maps pic.

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I’m hoping that new guests will drive right past my home, not recognizing that old Google Maps pic. (I’ll fill them in eventually.)

This post contains affiliate links which may send me a few coins. I only recommend what I love and it never costs you a cent. If you like what you see, go through me! 🙂

This is a pretty easy, straightforward project. Here’s how to add a stock tank / trough planter to your landscape for some pretty awesome curb appeal:

Stock Tank Planter / Trough How to:

STEP 1:

Remove old mulch, if you’ve got it, and any tired landscaping like the tiny bush(es) I had that never seemed to grow.

STEP 2:

Add fresh weed control fabric like this highly rated, eco-friendly weed control fabric with these coordinating galvanized stakes to keep it in place, and place your stock tank planter in your desired location. NOTE: The tank is *heavy* so pick your spot wisely! You don’t want to be moving it around much. I bought my tank at my local home improvement store. They have different sizes, but the one I picked was 2ft high x 2ft deep x 4ft wide.

Amazon also has a pretty awesome selection of stock tank planters like this one, below. This company offers numerous sizes and they have no bottom, so your plants can draw from the ground too. Perfect for raised beds!

Metal Raised Garden Bed

STEP 3:

Leveling the Stock Tank / Trough Planter

It’s *really* important to get the stock tank / trough planter level. It’s heavy to begin with, but becomes far heavier once you add to it. If the stock tank isn’t level, too much pressure will press in one area and, ultimately, create a breach which can destroy the tank. So get your level and shims and take a few minutes to level up. I highly recommend using these plastic shims since they won’t degrade over time, as wood shims will.

STEP 4:

Before you fill your tank, start by removing the plug in the back of the tank, if there is one (mine has a plug). To avoid the plug opening from getting jammed up cut a piece of weed fabric and tape it over the hole, onto the inside of the tank. Water can flow out, but mulch and soil cannot.

Filling Your Stock Tank / Trough Planter

STEP 5:

Fill the bottom of the tank with three bags of mulch. Mulch is much lighter than wet soil. No need to fill it entirely with all that heavy soil.

STEP 6:

Top the mulch with a layer of weed fabric to keep the soil, above, in place.

STEP 7:

Add soil. I used about eight smaller bags of this Miracle Grow Potting Soil. The bag says it helps your plants to grow twice as big and by golly they were already huge after just a couple of weeks.

STEP 8:

Now comes the fun part! Plant your plants. I chose to keep it simple with three potato vines (my favorite!) surrounding a few other plants in the middle. However, those potato vines grow QUICKLY. I think next year I’ll use just two potato vines (there’s one behind the middle plants too) so that the middle plants aren’t too crowded later in the season.

STEP 9:

Surround your stock tank / trough with mulch and you’re DONE. Now you get to ENJOY! 🙂

I hope this post on the DIY Stock Tank / Trough Planter has inspired you to tackle this project too.

Comment below if you’ve included a stock tank planter in your landscape and/or let me know your thoughts on the project !

You may also like:

Easy Curb Appeal Makeover – Before and After, Home and Darlings

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