Using Containers In Your Garden
May 14th, 2008 | By Matt Mayer | Category: Container Gardening, Featured Articles |At my house we have a problem with rabbits, squirrels and also chipmunks. While I can keep them out of the garden space for the most part with chicken wire, sometimes it’s easier to use containers to grow certain food items, and then move the container around as necessary.
This is a picture of two large planter boxes I acquired at a garage sale. I like to use this planter box to grow lettuce. The rabbits enjoy eating my lettuce and by using this planter box I am able to put the lettuce up on a table or other platform that the rabbits can’t get at. Which means more lettuce for me, and less effort to keep them out.
Other things you could grow in here would be radishes, small carrots, possibly garlic or onions. Probably anything that would have a shallow root.
I like to reuse items in my garden when possible to grow food. Below I have a picture of an old plastic tote that someone (who shall remain nameless) broke when he tossed it down the stairs even though he constantly gets rebuked for doing that and breaking clothes baskets. I drilled some holes in the bottom for drainage, layered in some compost, put in a couple potato eyes and covered it with leaves. Already the taters are poking through as they grow. When it’s time to harvest I can simply pull off the leaves or just tip it over and pick up the potatoes. This is a great way to make use of containers that would otherwise go to the landfill.
Another way I am growing potatoes is in an old tractor tire. My neighbor has this tractor tire planter in the back portion of her house that is currently not used. She agreed to let me plant some potatoes there for the time being. They are simple to plant. Place the eyes around the tire, add compost if you wish, cover with leaves. Yet another container put to use in the garden and less yard work for my neighbor.
How do you use containers in your garden?
Noticing the Little Tykes sliding board in the photo above – I’ve used many of my children’s old Little Tykes items as planters. The turle sandbox is now a nursery bed for rooting new cuttings, the one piece kitchen set has trailing vines growing in the sink and microwave, the roof from the covered sliding board is a bird bath and the basketball goal is now home to climbing morning glories and gourds. I have also used my kids old wagons, bicycles, pogo stix and shoes to make containers or climbing structures. It’s a way for my garden to be connected to my children!
Mrs Greenhand–I’d love to see some pictures of how you have creatively reused these items. If you would like send them to me at mattamayer@gmail.com and I’ll do a feature on it. Thanks
These are great ideas…but I do worry about bisphenol A, phthlates, and other potentially harmful chemicals leaching into the soil from the plastics. It is for this reason I will no longer use plastics for growing food (ornamentals are fine). If this stuff, gets into our kids’ bodies through bottles and sippy cups and affects their hormone levels, what’s not to stop it from getting into their food, especially in long, hot summers?