An Easy and Water-Saving DIY Potting Bench Sink

Turns out it’s an old travel trailer sink that he got at a garage sale. He said he might use it in our Airstream trailer – unless I wanted it for our greenhouse.

And yes I did! It would be perfect next to the soil basin. After I potted plants, I could set them in the sink, water them, and let them drain. And I could rinse of tools and pots.

The Install

To install the sink, we would need to sacrifice a 30″ X 30″ cedar section - one of four that make up the greenhouse's potting bench.

So my husband cut out some of the cedar slats to accommodate the 13″ X 17″ sink.

And (very important step) he added a cedar slat to the cut edge for support. 

The sink was lightweight as sinks go (which is the beauty of using a trailer sink for this project), so this additional support was all that was needed.

The sink was slightly damaged, so we touched it up with an epoxy paint and let it dry. And then the sink was in!

The Water Source

We have a water source on the opposite wall: A hose brings in water from our underground cistern.

The cistern actually came with our old house - which used to be on a hobby farm before the city slowly moved in around it.

But any nearby water source would work for this project - even just a garden hose.

So we have a repurposed trailer sink and we are using recycled rainwater in it. 

The Drain

But how are we handling the water that drains from the sink? We are recycling it again!

Under the potting bench, the water from the sink drains straight down into a large galvanized watering can. And that water is used for other plants.

Easy as can be. I just remember to check the watering can once in a while to make sure it isn't near overflowing. But honestly I use the water from the can so often that it's never an issue.

For more on this project, check out the link at the end of this post.

To learn more about our greenhouse, check out this page.

And to find out about our cistern, check out this post.

I estimated the cost of this project at $100, but it depends on what you already have on hand. And all the items can be found secondhand if a person is willing to search.