Off the Urban Grid

Save Money Container Gardening with Recycled and Improvised Pots

Container gardening is a great option for renters, condo dwellers, and other folks who don’t have the space to dig up big chunks of the yard to lay a vegetable garden. Pots can be pretty darned pricey, though, especially the big ones that you need for growing dwarf fruit trees and other plants with large root systems. One way to save money is by getting creative. Sometimes you can buy used pots on Craigslist or from local gardeners, but it can be even more fun to recycle nontraditional items, giving them new life as garden containers.

Let’s look at a few examples:

The Old Boot Pot

Got old boots?  Try turning them into planters.  Of course, these won’t give you much growing space (unless you’ve got big feet!), but it’s an easy way to reuse something you’d just throw away, and there’s enough room for a couple of flowers.  If you want to stick to edibles for your garden, try marigolds, pansies, or nasturtiums.

Whiskey/Wine Barrel Containers

Half whiskey and wine barrels are available for a greatly reduced price after they’ve been used for their original purpose (oak wine barrels can cost $1,000 new), and they make durable containers that are big enough to grow just about anything that can be containerized.  This one is sporting an olive tree.  Try your favorite dwarf fruit trees and berry-producing shrubs.  Wine and whiskey barrels do tend to be sought after, though, so you might not be able to get them for free unless you know someone in the biz.  Here in Washington (wine country), you can find the half-barrels (sometimes with holes already drilled in the bottom) for $30 to $40.  Check out the Aussie site, Wine Barrel Gardens, for usage ideas.

Burlap Coffee Sacks

Growing everything from potatoes to tomatoes in sacks has been taking off in popularity, but why spend $10 or more for a special “grow sack” at the garden store when you can stop by an independent coffee roaster and, in many cases, take their burlap bean sacks off their hands for free.  Since burlap sacks are malleable, they can be filled with soil and fitted into just about any available space you have (you can even hang them), and they’re a natural material that is biodegradable, too.  After you’ve harvested your vegetables, tear up the sack and throw the pieces in your compost pile.  Or use them for sheet mulching (they make a nice natural weed block).  And, while you’re at the coffee shop, you can grab some used grounds, too, as they’re a natural way to keep slugs and snails at bay (they can make the soil acidic, though, so use sparingly).

Boots, barrels, and burlap… These are just a few fun ideas for inexpensive (or free!) containers suitable for your vegetable garden.  Let us know if there are any cool items you’re using!

Tags: container gardening, containers, free containers, free pots, pots, recycled pots