Reuse Soup Cans To Grow A Kitchen Herb Garden That Keeps On Giving

If you've been wanting to DIY a kitchen garden to grow herbs indoors and brighten your cooking space, don't throw away your empty soup cans. Steel cans are rather sturdy and upcycle beautifully into fun and unique planters for small herbs. Since herbs don't need much room and will be continually harvested, soup cans make the perfect containers to create a kitchen garden that will sit neatly on your windowsill. Eventually, your plants will start to grow too big for these containers and may be repotted or transplanted into your garden. You can then start over with small plants and reuse your soup can planters.

This project is great for those who are just getting into kitchen gardening (as these planters are super easy to DIY) or established gardeners who want to practice sustainability and enjoy more convenient fresh herbs. When planning your setup, consider some easy herbs to grow in the kitchen that will thrive in small soup can containers. Herbs like mint, oregano, basil, chives, cilantro, rosemary, and thyme are wonderful options for a small container garden and will do well in pots indoors. When crafting your soup can planters, you might leave the label on for a unique food-themed decoration. Otherwise, try painting the bare metal or adding cute labels onto the cans to match the aesthetics of your kitchen.

Before you start working with your soup cans, carefully rub around the rim with a piece of sandpaper to smooth out any sharp pieces of metal. For your soup cans to become suitable for plants, you'll need to wash them first. If you are planning to paint your containers later or want plain metal cans for more rustic planters, use an adhesive remover, like Goo Gone, to take off the stickers before washing. Though different types of food or soda cans might work for this DIY, using all soup cans will help your kitchen garden to look more uniform.

As you're making your soup can planters, keep in mind that most herbs prefer well-drained soil. Use a nail and hammer to punch some holes in the bottom of the can for adequate drainage. Adding a layer of rocks into the bottom will also aid drainage and prevent your herbs from becoming waterlogged inside your DIY planters. Now, fill your soup cans with potting mix or a well-draining soil. Arrange the makeshift metal pots on a small tray to contain drips, elevating them on a bed of pebbles if desired. With your small container garden, herbs can be started from seed in your soup can, or you could transfer plants that are already producing into your planters. If you don't have room on your kitchen windowsill for your herb garden, attach your planters to a board to turn your old soup cans into a space-saving vertical garden.