Milk Crate Garden: Grow a Lot of Veggies in a Little Space

A milk crateful garden is such a clever way to get a productive garden in a modest space . Instead of growing vegetables , herbs and blossom in expensive prime pots , mature them in stackable , repurposed , credit card milk crateful . you could often happen these crate on Craig ’s List or freecycle.org , or at garage gross sales , parsimoniousness shops and other cheap ( or gratis ! ) sources .

But , my preferent matter about growing in milk crates is all the aim possibilities it opens . you could stack the plant crates on their outer edges , checkerboard - style , to make a survive wall of containers . If you fill the stacked crateful with vine crops , likecucumbers , squash and melon , they ’ll whirl down your milk crate “ wall ” and provide a delicious – and beautiful ! – crop of veggies .

Another alternative is , rather than planting the crops in the open top of each crate , they can also be planted through holes poked through the sides of the crate . you’re able to even make hanging planters out of milk crate by attaching chains with randomness - hook shot to the top edge of the crateful and hanging it from a ceiling hook , flora hanger , or shepard ’s come-on . In other words , with a milk crate garden , your imagination is the only demarcation line !

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How to Build a Milk Crate Garden

Materials Needed

formative milk cratesRoll of burlap fabricEnough 50/50 potting soil and compost blend to satiate all of the milk cratesPlants

Step 1: Cut the Burlap

cut off a large piece of gunny from the bankroll . It should be twice the size of the inside of the milk crate . Natural gunny will last one or two seasons , while synthetic burlap will last much longer but may not appear quite as nice . For sum interest , use pattern or publish gunny from a fabric store .

Step 2: Put the Burlap in the Crate

Tuck the burlap down into the bottom of the crate , pushing it into each of the four corners . Pull the top edge of the fabric out over the bound of the crateful . The turning point of the fabric do n’t take to be perfectly array with the corners of the crateful .

Step 3: Fill With Soil Blend

Fill the gunny with the blend of potting soil andcompostto within one inch of the top of the Milk River crate . There ’s no need to cut drain holes in the gunny prior to fill up the crates with the dirt portmanteau because extra irrigation water system will easily debilitate through the poriferous gunny .

Step 4: Plant

take a single specimen plant for each crate . pepper , belittled tomatoes , cabbage , zucchini , tomatillos and other crops all do quite well in a milk crate garden . But , since each crateful only holds a few Imperial gallon of soil , do not overstuff them . If you ’d like , you may also add one or two filler flowers or herb to each crate . Jessica Walliser