[Wilf]

I’ve got 3 large metal bins like the attached - what would you do with them, grow in them? I was thinking potatoes.

[Christine]

Is there drainage out of the bottom? Else you may end up with a bog at the bottom.

[Nobbie]

I’m not sure potatoes would be a great idea, bit of a faff harvesting them. You either up end the whole thing which will be very heavy, or you have to dig around to find them and risk damaging them. I’d stick a fruit tree in it, maybe a fig. If you wanted veg, maybe parsnips which would appreciate the depth, or a small wigwam of climbing beans.

[Wilf]

A fig tree... now that’s an idea - I’m going to look into that. I didn’t think of fruit tree / bushes. Cool stuff

[garrarufa]

You've got three?

- The first: I would keep just for nostalgia, and maybe teach your grandchildren how to "barrel" down a hill, come away with multiple bruises and minor cuts, and be rearing for another round. Builds character.

- The Second: Don't know your personal situation, but I would use it to burn certain types of non treated wood (spring pruning, free palettes from industrial estates etc... ) and get some ash mixed in with your soil. But again, it depends.

- The Third: Drill some decent holes in the bottom, find something awesome and unique to grow in it, and stick it front and center in a place where your neighbors are gonna start taking about it to one another, behind your back, and in a negative way... You know, the kind of neighbors that already have those balls of fake green hanging each side of the door (not sure about our friends around the world, but these soulless entities are a huge thing in the UK).

Oh, oldschool metal bins: So many uses.

[hasbeans]

Horseradish or hops would both enjoy the space.
Storage - open bags of fertilizer, fleece, string, nets, hosepipes
Forcing Rhubarb

[lettice]

Not good for potatoes, it would become very heavy to manhandle at that size.

Dig a hole and put the bin in it, so it is buried to ground level.
Put the dug soil back in.
Us it to grow plants that you want to restrict their spreading growth like mint or comfrey.

A few other ideas;
Storage container. I use some old plastic dustbins to store garden bits like tarpaulins and netting.
Water butt. You could easily drill a pipe connector into the side.
Compost bin. Remove the bottom and it makes a great other compost bin or as it is to temporarily store compost when mixing over your compost in your main bins.