Reuse An Old Laundry Basket To DIY A Vegetable Garden That's Great For Small Yards

While those looking to feed large families or engage in agricultural businesses will certainly need acreage to grow veggies, flowers, and fruits, the smaller family or individual gardener can make a perfectly beautiful and productive garden in a small yard. The best way to maximize the space would be container gardening, and if you're ready for that to become your next hobby, then you should consider reusing an old laundry basket as a DIY vegetable planter.

Of all the creative and clever ways you can utilize baskets for indoor storage and organization, the thought of using a laundry basket as a garden planter might seem a little strange. However, the fact of the matter is that the construction of the laundry basket makes it perfect for container gardening. Laundry baskets are designed with holes in order to provide ventilation that prevents mildew and mold from growing on the clothes. Plant containers have small holes at the bottom to provide the necessary drainage that prevents standing water and potential root rot. When you think of the two in these terms, a laundry basket is actually ideal for a garden planter.

The question is how to keep the garden soil contained as opposed to escaping through the laundry basket's holes. You'll need some kind of fabric that can breathe and allow water to come out, while also containing the garden soil. Landscaping fabric, mesh laundry bags, and burlap are excellent options for this.

While you certainly won't find laundry baskets on a list of the best types of pots for container gardening, the fact is that they will do just as good a job as those other ones. Going about making a laundry basket planter is the same regardless of whether you have a small or a large one. The best kind for this is the classic, plastic basket with plenty of ventilation holes. You can either buy one for cheap at any home goods store or reuse an old one you were thinking of getting rid of.

Line your basket with your chosen breathable fabric and fill to just under the brim with garden soil. Laundry baskets are typically around 14" to 16" deep, meaning you can plant vegetables with deeper root systems, such as carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus), as well as tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), and herbs like basil (Ocimum basilicum).

As soon as your planter is finished, you can set it outside on your porch or directly on the ground. Placement of the basket should be in conjunction with the sun requirements for the plants. However, the benefit of using a laundry basket is that you can move the plants to sunnier or shadier spots as needed. Depending on the space you have, you can use several laundry basket planters to create your own productive garden this summer.