Cheap and Homemade Veggie Containers

Gardening does not have to be expensive. I take pleasure in finding the cheapest ways to garden, plus I love the little projects! Here are several quick and very cheap ways to make your own vegetable containers.

1. A cheap way to make your own pot is to use an empty milk jug. If you're like me and drink a lot of milk, then you'll have tons of these laying around! These are great for herbs, or even to grow a couple spinach or lettuce plants in them. Supplies you will need are: 1 milk jug, 1 pair of work gloves (for safety), and 1 box cutter.

Using the box cutter, cut the very top off of the milk jug. Leave it as deep as you can to allow more root room. Flip the jug over and cut 4-5 holes into the bottom for drainage. You are now ready to fill with soil and plant your seeds!

If you're not too excited about having plastic milk jugs all over your yard or patio, here is an easy and cute way to cover them up. All you need is wrapping paper of your liking, some twine, ribbon or string, and scissors. This is a cheap project; my wrapping paper only cost about $2.50, and the twine I found in the garage!

Cut your wrapping paper large enough to cover the milk jug. Place the jug on top of the paper, and bring up the paper around the sides. Then take your twine or ribbon and tie it tightly around the jug. This will hold the paper in place as well as create a cute little bow. Make sure to cut out a circle in the paper, at the bottom of the jug. Otherwise it will soak when you water. If your paper is too tall, cut it down a bit and fold down. Play around with it until the paper is in a position you like. That's it, you're done!

2.  Be festive and take advantage of the holidays! Almost anything can be turned into a pot. I found this trick-or-treating bucket at Target for only $1.00. I thought it was perfect since Halloween is only a month away! I put some holes in the bottom, filled it with soil and platnted my garlic chives in it. So cute!

3. Use left over starter plants as your pots. The pot on the left is the starter pot from a California Wonder pepper plant, and the little ones on the right are from flowers that my sister planted on her patio. You can either use them again as starter pots for your seeds, or as cantainers for your herbs!

4. If you aren't too crafty, or don't have the time to create your own containers, you can find plastic pots that are relatively cheap. At Home Depot, I found this 26 quart pot for around $10. They came in all shapes, sizes and colors, ranging from $0.90 and up.