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Going on 16+ years with our galvanized horse trough garden (one 3' x 8', one 3' x 6' & three 2' x 4'). These are horse watering troughs after all, so I seriously doubt leaching toxins are a concern. I found a design online (again, 16+ years ago, can't find a link now) that creates a cistern in the bottom so once plants are established, they need only be filled every 2-4 weeks depending on the temperature and plant thirst. I have some drip irrigation to get plants started and turn it off once established. Since it's closed loop (more or less, do need to add water) the plants do much better than on drip and there is minimal drainage to stain our patio.
Creating the cistern did involve a bit of labor and material/parts/tool sourcing, but we are very happy with the result.
If this sounds interesting I can scan the instructions and forward.
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