Dollar Store Container Gardening

by Diann

$1.00

Easy

Buying larger planters for container gardens can get expensive. So, I decided to head to the dollar store and see if I could find a thrifty alternative. And I did! These wastebaskets come in several fun and bright colors. And the handles make it perfect to move around! The pictures below are of "Italian" planters I created. I included a Roma tomato, a sweet basil and a purple basil. I have also made "salad" planters with different lettuces in them.

Create a fun and thrifty container garden.

Grab some wastebaskets from the Dollar Tree. I really liked these because of the bright colors and the handles.

Beautiful container gardens!

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3 of 7 questions

Kris on Jun 29, 2017

What about drainage holes & something to catch the water (&sometimes tiny bits of soil) underneath this planters? Just using gravel usually dwns my plants even when the top is dry. I live in an apartment building so my container garden will be on 2 X-Large windowsills measuring 1'X9'&1'X6'. But $1 Store is just my budget!

5
Brenda Smith on Feb 12, 2018

I am putting these on my back deck, I do not want to ruin my wood, what would you put underneath to catch excess water? Like a pie pan or something?

4
Sally Soucie on May 26, 2019

U drill holes in bottom of ya container ?

1

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2 of 94 comments

Doreen Kennedy on May 23, 2020

I think it’s a great idea. I use dollar store and Home Depot buckets to grow vegetables. My best tip is to drill a few rows of holes along the sides. It makes the drainage so much better. My tomato plants do so well in the pots and buckets that have lots of side holes.

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JD on Aug 01, 2020

Always looking for a thrifty idea... I’ve tried it. As reported, containers become extremely brittle and break. In addition to needing to pick out the obvious, brightly colored pieces of plastic garbage from your soil, you’re left with the guilt of putting more unrecyclable plastic into the trash. Better to invest in clay. Timeless and classic. Shards can be recycled for drainage. (For many gardeners, clay investments are made over YEARS - a pot, or two, or three, a season. When properly cared for, they’re passed on to the next generation of gardeners.) For larger vegetable planters, build a box from untreated scrap. And upcycle the free pots that come from the garden center. It’s not thrifty if you’re throwing your money in the trash each planting season.

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