I'm wondering if anyone knows a good way to clean out as much wine as possible from the walls of a wine barrel to use it as a planter. I've had trouble with these in the past, as it seems the wine can leach into the soil and prove toxic to the plants.
Is this a full hogshead barrel, or a half? If the barrel's not terribly big, you can put gravel and water into it, seal the lid back on, and roll it around on it side vigorously for about an hour. The action of the gravel on the oak walls will strip off any must and associated wine reside. You can then dump your musty, winey water on weeds that you want to kill. Alternatively, you can line the barrel with bamboo barrier.
I don't see why wine sediment - which is basically just composted grapes, no different to any other compost - should be toxic to plants.
Depends on whether it was white or red wine in the barrel, and what plants Monarch is growing. If they're at all acid-sensitive, it can hurt the plants. Same goes for too much nitrate (in case of red wine) which can burn roots.
I didn't think it would hurt the plants either, but I grew some aralia in a half wine barrel and after about 3 years the leaves began turning black! I spoke with a disease specialist from UC Davis and he said it was probably the leaching wine. It was definitely a toxin for this plant. I suppose I can just soak it in water, dispose of the water, and then soak it again and again until most of the wine is out of the walls of the half-barrel. Thanks!