you may corrupt lovely – and expensive – planters from any garden memory . you may also clean , recycle and adapt containers , thus keep open money , dilute waste product and giving your resource loose rein .
Well , almost free rein . There are a few basic prerequisite for a container that will in reality hold goodish plants for any length of clip . Let ’s count at those .
Garden Planter Requirements
ensure your container has n’t harbor anything toxic – roof tar , oil blusher etc . This is specially important if you ’re going to eat vegetables , prime or herbaceous plant from your planter , but even non - comestible flowers will prosper better in a clean environment . For the same reason , avoid containers made from pressing - plow woodwind instrument .
conceive depth . Most veg need at least 8″ of grease for best yield ; many take a foot or more of depth . Small herbs and bloom may be capable to flourish in a 6″ cryptic container .
Provide drain so your plant do n’t drown . Drill 1/2″ holes in the bottom of your container and shore up them up so the bottom is n’t sitting directly on the ground , or drill holes around the bottoms of their side . If your container is at least a foot cryptic and is made of something you ca n’t make holes in , put crushed rock in the bottom 2″ or so and weewee sparingly .
apply lite - dyed materials unless planter will be in the tone . Black container sit down out in the sun can overheat and fudge the roots of your plant .
think how arduous moist soil is . If you ’re going to call for to move your containers once they ’re planted , keep them small enough so that you do n’t listen lifting them .
Nonporous materials like charge card or galvanized blade wo n’t rot as quickly as holey materials like wood . There ’s nothing improper with using porous containers ; just be prepared to interchange them .
Garden Planter Possibilities
A wide variety of recycle objects will work for planting . This is by no means an exhaustive list ; conceive these a few initial mesmerism to get you started .
TiresTires can be stacked and filled with filth . Some mass grow tater in these , planting them in one tire and continuing to sum tire and soil as the plant life grows , always pass on the top leaf above the grime . Others plant life flowers in tyre heap one or two deep .
Old BathtubsBathtubs make effective mega - planters . They come with one drain hole , but you ’ll need to sum up more or else put vanquish sway in the bottom and lay out the hole at the downward-sloping closing . Sinks also come with drain that is tolerable in itself .
BucketsTwo - and five - gallon credit card pail are low enough to move when full , large enough to grow satisfying plants in . Stick with bucket that have held intellectual nourishment , birdseed , or very low-down - perniciousness products like joint chemical compound . wash out them out soundly before function .
Old Metal and Enamel PotsOld metal or tooth enamel tidy sum can be used as planter if you have the tools to make holes in the bottom , or ( with hazard ) if you put a bed of broken stone on the bottom and water meagrely . colander run out freely and may be deep enough in the center to reconcile plant roots .
ShoesOld shoes and boots make short - lived but capricious containers for modest ornamentals .
Feeding TroughsGalvanized steel trough are sturdy and capacious , and they may be inscrutable enough so that you could apply them without drain hole if the bottom is filled with rock ‘n’ roll and you irrigate with some restraint .
VentsOld metal vents can hold small , shallow - rooted plant ; line the bottom with sphagnum moss .
ToolboxesWooden toolboxes take drain holes easy and are convenient to move .
Where to Find Salvaged Containers
Some of these container may already be lying around your house or service department – or around your friend ’ houses and garages . Let them have it off what you ’re look for and see what turns up . In some locality you could pick up large items like bathing tub and tires on the side of the road , either set out for scavengers next to a Free sign or waiting for trash pick - up . Other point can be gotten cheaply at thrift store , flea markets or auction .
Want to learn more garden recycling ideas and garden container requirements?
Do n’t omit these clause : Recycling in the Gardenfrom University of Florida IFAS ExtensionGrowing Vegetables , Herbs and Annual Flowers in Containersfrom Cornell Cooperative Extension
