Harvesting, Post-Harvest Handling & Storage

Video: Gorilla Tubs® (formerly known as TubTrugs®)


Hi, I'm Niki Jabbour and today I want to show you one of my very favorite garden tools. This is one that I use in every season and in countless ways. This is a Gorilla Tub, formerly called Tub Trug, and it's the most useful tool in my garden shed. In this video I'll show you how you can save time, effort, and money with a Gorilla Tub because it does the work of so many different tools.

These multi-tools are perfect for a wide range of tasks. For example, I use them for blending potting soil, moving composted manure, collecting weeds, carrying gardening tools and supplies, fall garden cleanup, and as a harvesting container for vegetables like beets, carrots, potatoes, and squash. The list goes on and on, and in a minute I'll show you more ways that you can use a Gorilla Tub. But first, let me tell you exactly what they are.

A Gorilla Tub is a food-grade polyethylene container that's super lightweight, durable, and flexible. They're frost and UV proof, so you don't have to worry about leaving them in your garden, which is great because I always have a few of these convenient tubs lying around in my garden waiting for their next job.

You've probably noticed their bright colors as well. They come in many fun hues like green, blue, red, and purple, which not only look good but make it easier to spot when they're at the back of a garden shed or you've left them in the garden.

They also come in a variety of sizes, including 3.5 gallons, 7 gallons, and 10 gallons, with all having these molded handles at the top for easy carrying. This is a 10 gallon Gorilla Tub, which is 18 inches wide and 13 inches deep.

Look closely at the inside of the Gorilla Tub, and you'll spot the graduations listed, which makes it easy to measure liquid or granular fertilizers, compost, manure, and other amendments.

As mentioned, there are so many ways you can put this tool to work, not just in your garden, but also for tasks like pet care, cleaning, tidying, camping, and home repair work. But here are five ways that I use my Gorilla Tubs in my garden.

As crops are harvested from my garden, I use a Gorilla Tub to collect the spent plants and transport them to my compost pile.

It's also my faithful weeding companion, holding all of the weeds that I pull from my beds. It keeps the pathways tidy and the weeds contained until I can dispose of them.

A Gorilla Tub is also perfect for moving small amounts of compost, manure, and other soil amendments.

This is especially handy when I'm succession planting and need to add a fresh layer of compost in between crops. My medium or large Gorilla Tub holds the perfect amount for me to carry and spread in my garden beds.

After planting tomato, pepper, and other vegetable seedlings in my raised beds, I mulch the soil surface with straw or shredded leaves to hold moisture, prevent weeds, and reduce the risk of soil-borne diseases.

If you've ever carried straw around your garden, then you know it makes a mess. Over your garden beds, over your garden pathways, and over you. By using a Gorilla Tub, keep the straw contained for mess-free mulching.

Depending on the season, I'm often dragging a variety of tools into my garden. Trowels, pruners, weeders, row covers, and garden knives, as well as items like twine, gloves, seeds, and labels. Loading all of this gear into a Gorilla Tub makes for easy transportation and keeps all of these items in one spot.

Plus, you can even rinse off your vegetables in the rugged Gorilla Tub before you bring them into your kitchen.

Gorilla Tubs are a smart way to harvest vegetables like potatoes, as well as winter squash, onions, beef, cabbage, and carrots. They're really strong, but because of their flexibility and their handles, they bend to make it easy to carry your crop.