Reuse Empty Milk Jugs To DIY A Vertical Garden That's Perfect For Smaller Yards

With all of the disposable plastic used today, it can feel wasteful to be constantly tossing containers into the trash. Luckily, this nifty DIY allows you to make a functional vertical garden and stop wasting empty milk jugs at the same time. Milk cartons are typically made of a fairly durable plastic, which makes them the perfect containers for your outdoor plants. By saving several milk jugs and attaching them to a frame, you'll be able to create a vertical garden that will fit on a patio or in a small yard. For the frame, you might construct your own out of wood or attach the milk jugs to an existing structure, such as a fence. The possibilities are endless, and with a little creativity, you'll make the perfect space-saving garden for your small yard while practicing sustainability and saving money.

Before repurposing your milk jugs, make sure that they have been washed and rinsed thoroughly to ensure your plants will be happy. While this method is great for potted plants with soil, you can also use plastic milk cartons for a hydroponic vertical garden, growing the plants in water rather than soil. Now, you can grow herbs, vegetables, and other plants close together, making room for more plants in your outdoor space.

To start, you'll need to decide how to orient your milk jugs depending on the size of your plants. Cutting off just the bottom of the container and hanging the cartons upside down allows more room for larger plants or more soil, while removing a section from the top and front of your jugs works well for smaller plants like herbs. When cutting off pieces of the plastic, make sure to leave the handle in place, as this can make it easy to hang your planters onto your structure. Once you have created an opening in the plastic, add a few small holes in the base for drainage, and your milk jugs are ready to house soil and plants. 

For hydroponic gardening, you'll only want to make a small, circular hole below the neck of the jug for your plant's roots and avoid drainage holes, as the container will always be filled with water. You can also cut slits in small pieces of foam and carefully slide them around the plants' stems to hold them in place.

After transforming your milk jugs into plant pots, you simply need to arrange them into a vertical garden. This smart way to reuse milk jugs is super customizable and can be built several ways. One option is to thread the handles of your jugs onto wooden boards or rods, then attach them to a vertical structure, like more pieces of lumber, a fence, or even a trellis. Alternatively, your unique garden pots could simply sit on shelves.