How to Make an Easy DIY Stock Tank Garden 2024

*We have updated this post with new content based on what we learned over the last two years of enjoying our stock tank garden. We’ve also added a section on amending our soil after two years of growing herbs, tomatoes, and flowers.

Why choose a stock tank garden?

If you’re looking for a creative and practical way to manage a tomato and herb garden, you might consider using stock tanks as a container garden. Consider them stock tank planters. In addition to being a nice alternative to a raised garden bed, it’s quite an easy DIY project that takes a little time and some hard work.

We live in the Northeast, and the typical growing season isn’t long. We usually try to start in April. We also have bunnies and other not-so-cute critters that are often spotted around the neighborhood. They usually dine on all of our tomatoes and herbs before they are ripe and ready for us to enjoy. So we decided to create a stock tank garden for several reasons. The first is that most of the animals can’t scale a galvanized stock tank. And secondly, it keeps the garden small and constrained enough to keep us from overplanting and trying to grow too many different variations of vegetables. We like to leave enough space for what we grow so that they can reach full maturity. And last, a stock tank garden enhances the look of any outdoor space.

What are the benefits?

The are many benefits to a stock tank garden. Because they are a small and constrained space, there is far less weeding. And if you’re not installing a drip irrigation system, hand-watering is very manageable. Another benefit is because of the limited space; it makes you prioritize only the tomatoes and herbs you will really use and eat. The planting is quick and easy, and because the tanks are raised, tending and harvesting are much easier on your back and knees. And last, the garden looks neat, organized, and well maintained – up close and from a distance.

Our tomatoes, herbs, and small plants have never been better. It’s easy to step outside and harvest what you eat that night. You could consider planting green beans, beets, carrots, or other vegetables, but we keep it simple with just tomatoes and herbs. Although this year we may try some lettuce.

What materials do you need when making a stock tank garden?

Surprisingly, or maybe not, you don’t need that much! The best way to determine where to place your garden most is to make sure it’s in a space that gets as much sun as possible. Since a garden needs six to eight hours of full sun a day, that meant our side yard was the only option. When we were getting started, a few of our neighbors were a bit skeptical. But once we finished and it started growing, the compliments came in.

Gravel for the stock tanks to rest on (a good rule of thumb is approximately a 4 inch layer of gravel)

Traditional stock tank (we used a total of four 2 ft X 2 ft X 4 ft tanks from Home Depot).

Landscape fabric to place under the gravel as a layer of insulation to act as a weed barrier

Topsoil to fill the first half of the tank (you don’t want to fill the entire tank – soil depth of 2-3 feet, closer to 3 feet)

Garden soil for the middle layer

Semican mulch for the top layer (a couple of inches)

Round wire mesh is to place over the drain holes in the bottom of the stock tank for proper drainage

Half-inch metal drill bit and drill for the drainage holes in the bottom of the tank (the tanks need good drainage and act as an outlet to avoid excess water buildup)

Wood stakes

Bamboo rods

Concrete pavers

How much do the materials cost?

The question I get most often is how much did your stock tank garden cost? We spent approximately $1,000, excluding plants/seeds.

Here’s how it broke down.

Four Stock Tanks 2 x 2 x 4 size – $500

Pea Gravel – $75 (delivered)

Filler materials:

Top Soil – $75 (delivered)

Garden Soil – $60

Semican Mulch $15

Weed Control Fabric – $30

Pavers – $30

Wood Stakes and Bamboo Poles for Tomatoes – $50

Mesh Circles for Drainage Holes – $10

Labor $200

How to get started building a garden

Determine the size and how many stock tanks you’ll need/want based on space

Clear the area and lay down weed control landscape fabric

Place the stock tanks in the position you want (ideally with full sunlight) because there is no moving them once you fill them with soil

We used 16″ square pavers as a path in the middle

Save room for garden chairs as an extra touch. I adore the Catalina Chairs from Serena & Lily!

Filling the stock tanks to prepare the beds for seeds, herbs, and tomato plants

Step 1

First, prepare the stock tanks by drilling drainage holes in the bottom of the tanks. We used a 1/2″ metal drill bit and made nine drill holes in each tank.

Step 2

We then put small mesh circles over each drill hole to prevent the holes from clogging. We secured them with a glue gun.

Step 3

Fill each tank halfway with topsoil.

Step 4

Then fill the remainder of the tank with potting soil. Every year you can add fresh soil as needed in the spring.

Step 5

When planting in early spring, when there’s quite a bit of rain, it’s a good idea to add a thin layer of Semican Mulch to cover the soil to protect your seeds from getting washed away. It’s chopped hay and straw. It also helps control weeds, adds organic matter to the soil, and helps control moisture. It decomposes naturally throughout the season.

What to plant in stock tanks

Flower Seeds

Since it was our first year, there was a bit of trial and error. We probably put too many flower seeds in each of the two tanks we reserved for flowers, but we still did get a great supply of cutting flowers that lasted through October. You can see the beautiful pink cosmos in this post from late September.

Tomatoes

We planted two tomatoes each in two of the tanks. That seemed about the right amount of space. Brent made simple cages from wood and bamboo stakes. This kept them growing straight and also supported them. We have tried basic round tomato cages, but they were never sturdy or tall enough to support them throughout the growing season. The stakes did the job, and we had tomatoes well into late October.

Herbs

This year, we used one entire stock tank for herbs. We have been propagating basil all spring and have several plants. The thyme came back from last year, and we filled in with a few other herbs.

Herbs in the stock tank garden

The herbs last until late November. We covered them if there was even a little threat of frost, and most stayed resilient throughout the fall.

How to amend the soil of an existing garden

We’ve had our stock tank garden for a few years now and decided we should amend or supplement our soil this year. After two seasons of growing tomatoes, herbs, and flowers and pulling up the roots at the end of each season, we had lost some volume of soil as well. So on a cold rainy day in early Spring, we went to our local grower, Gilbertie’s Organics, for some advice on what to do.

After understanding our situation, Gilbertie’s recommended adding organic raised bed garden compost mix to each of our stock tanks. We added about two cubic feet to each tank. They also recommended adding some organic chicken manure as a fertilizer to the mixture. So we did that as well.

As soon as the weather turns warmer and tomatoes and herbs are available, our raised beds are now ready for planting.

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