Recycled cast iron bathtub garden

This bathtub was on Craigslist for free, with some fire damage. We pull up to an empty lot except for this tub. There a very bad fire in the Lake Tahoe area called the Angora fire, very sad man made fire that burnt entire neighborhoods. This tub was the last thing left in a house that was burnt to the ground. The fire burned so hot it melted the enamel off the cast iron. The grid pattern on the bottom of the tub was where the rubber mat melted into the enamel. According to the original owner of the tub it was install about 2 years before the fire. It was VERY heavy, good thing we have a 78 Datsun that is low to the ground.

Now it contains our chocolate mint and spearmint garden. Anyone who has had any sort of mint know it can take over everything very quickly. All the mint and dirt came from a friends garden and compost. All summer I dry the mint in a large stainless steel bowl, store it in an vintage canister and use it to make mint tea all winter. Everyone seems to love the tea it makes and always asks for more.  If I can, I will acquire 10 more cast iron tubs for more gardens. They are self contained and you can always paint the outside of it to your liking:-)