Had great success with SIP containers last year using bills design but finding inexpensive durable large pots that are adequate for my large trees is not in my budget. The keg buckets are large enough and inexpensive but become weak with exposure to the sun. I recently found on Craigslist 55 gallon drums for sale locally for $15. They never had chemicals inside and were previously used to transport fruit juice. I'm planning on cutting them in half and making 2 sip containers from each barrel. Not bad $7.50 for a 25+ gallon container

CE4656,

Dawgdgrvr
The drums I purchased are plastic, so I think they should last a long time with no maintenance. I saw the pics of some of your plants in SIP containers, very impresive. It is amazing how fast they put on size. I'm gonna try different potting mix combinations this season.

Hey guys. I'm glad to see some other folks who've been using drums like this. I haven't done so yet but was planning to try them if I can find some drums this season.

Hello Bill, set them up the same as bill from nj. There's a link to his page on the f4f homepage with step by step instructions how to build. It's fairly easy and not too expensive if you can find the drums cheap. Check on cragslist.org
http://figs4fun.com/bills_figs.html

This is a great topic.
Don't know if you saw this related thread last year , but in post #11, I show a picture of a large pot SIP I made that is a variation on Bills Fig sub irrigation setup.
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/subirrigation-containers-and-figs-5112306
May be a faster and less expensive  way to go with a plastic barrel as well.
Best,
Kerry

I'm looking Into these set ups as well. Is there a certain type of potting mix you would need to use in these set ups?

@Kerry- Nice design on your SIP.

@Marcus- Pro-mix is fine in SIP.

Thanks Jason, that makes thing easier for me.

Thanks for the info guys. 

My plan is to use the blue 55 gallon drums, cut in half, and some drain holes. Will probably start doing it this Spring. I tghink your on the right track.

         A circular saw works well for cutting the plastic drums.Trace the cut around the barrel with a string and Sharpie marker.Set the depth of the blade cut so that it just cuts through the plastic for a clean cut and this will reduce blade kickback,but be careful.

This site called Inside Urban Green has lots of info on various types of SIP's.
I know they had something awhile back on using 55 gallon drums as SIP's , but I can't seem to find it now.
Worth checking out:
http://www.insideurbangreen.org/corrugated-drain-pipe-cdp-sip/

kerry - thanks for the posts and for the links provided

Saxon, I use the closed headed drums with the 2"  and 3/4 " Bungs in the top. I simply find the center.  mark it with a sharpy, then use a plum bob with Flo-orange. Make a few small pilot holes and cut in half with my Saws-All . Debur the lip and then crimp it 1/2" so as to not cut my clumsy self. Been there done that!

theman ,
The large planters go into the barn/garage basement for the winter. Temps in there are 20F at the lowest and normally 25F-35F for most of the winter.
This storage area has a dirt floor and is fairly humid so in preparation for storage I make sure the water resevoir is fully drained and that the soil mix is damp. Because of the humid storage conditions no water addition is needed until maybe just before I take them out to start the fig shuffle as Martin calls it.
My potting mix for these large pots is basically something like Pro-Mix with extra compost and perlite and some organic fertilizer called Pro-Gro. I am always trying to improve it , but this is what i have been using:
60 quart bag -of a locally available organic mix/ equivalent of Pro-Mix Bx
8 quarts of extra coarse Perlite
3 to 6  quarts of compost or worm castings (have my own worm herd so it is cheap).
2 cups of Pro-Gro organic fertilizer 5-3-4
1 cup of dolomitic limestone
1/2 cup of greensand
That is my basic fig mix , but I side dress with more Pro-Gro during the season every week or two.
This mix should be fine for 3-4 seasons between root prunings.
I only have 15 of these pots with figs now , the rest are used for tomatoes and peppers mostly. All of the rest of my figs are in 5 gallon SIP's like Dominick's and because of lack of space I need to see if with a quick and simple root pruning every year or every other year , I can keep them in those and get a decent yield. By quick root pruning I mean pull them out and slice off the bottom quarter of the root ball and make a couple of slices down the sides of the root ball with a knife. This season I should get a good sense of how well that will work or not for me in my situation.

55 gallon and 30 gallon plastic drums can be turned into self watering containers very easily. Of course there is a little work involved.
Most of my fig plants were grown in 5 gallon buckets last season, and most of those will be planted in ground this year. There are several tender varieties that will be planted in the barrels. I will be making 3 dozen self watering pots from 30 gallon barrels (the barrels were free, and contained a salt solution). I've been using the 5-1-1 (Composted pine bark - Peat - Perlite) potting mix, with good results in the regular containers. The SIP potting mix has to be 75-80 % peat or peat like for the proper wicking action to occur. I have had good success with a 4-1-1 mix ratio of Peat Moss-Fullers Earth-Perlite with 1 cup Pulverized Dolemite Limestone and 2 cups Espoma Garden-Tone Fertilizer per 5 gallon of mix.
Attached is an instructional video that uses one 55 gallon barrel to form most of the larger parts.