St. Paul Gardening DIY: Drilling Plastic Whiskey Barrels for Better Drainage

Erik Altmann

Erik Altmann

— 1 min read
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St. Paul Gardening DIY: Drilling Plastic Whiskey Barrels for Better Drainage

Still a bit cold over on St. Paul's East Side, but it's almost time to move the new blueberry plant into it's new home. I’ve got two new plastic whiskey barrels this season, one for the blueberry plant and the other for strawberries.

But...

We got one problem: these new containers had pretty poor drainage—a recipe for root rot in our unpredictable Minnesota rain.

So I went ahead and drilled holes in these barrels to make sure they can breathe. Using a 5/16-inch drill bit, I made nine new holes on the bottom of each barrel, plus four along the sides.

RELATED: I Bought a Blueberry Plant! The First New Addition of the Minnesota Gardening Season

It’s a quick DIY step that makes the difference between a massive harvest and a soggy mess.

If you’re using similar plastic planters, don’t skip this prep. It takes just a few minutes, but it saves your plants in the long run.

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