One of the ways I save money when I do container gardening is to fill the bottom of my containers with left-over food grade buckets and potting containers. That way, I don’t have to fill the ENTIRE container up with expensive potting soil. I know I saved a boatload with these stock tanks, because hole-e-moly these suckers are deep. Even with the buckets, there will still be plenty of rooms for my tomatoes to develop nice deep roots.
I didn’t really have a method to my madness, I just tossed the buckets into the bottom of the tank and then started shoveling dirt over the top of the them.
Even after digging holes for the tomatoes, I didn’t even come close to un-earthing one of the buckets. Now I have potting soil left-over to plant even more containers. Hmmm, this tip could end up back-firing on me. Ha 😉
~Mavis
DIY – How to Make Your Own Potting Soil
Tisha says
You can also use dead tree branches which are an additional boon in that they will hold water as well (more important for those of us in a dry climate).
Kristina says
Also, packing peanuts work great for this (do they even use these anymore?). Last time I used stock tanks, that’s what I used, which also lightened the tanks so I could scoot them around a little if I wanted.
Deborah says
If you use packing peanuts, check them first by putting them in water. Some types will begin to dissolve when moistened. I learned this nifty trick last Thanksgiving from my niece and nephews. We dampened them to stick them together and make fun things. Anyhoo, when fully wet, they will completely dissolve in no time at all. 😉
Deborah says
I use recycled water bottles in the bottom of my 5-gallon containers…
Veronica says
How does this save anything? Won’t the containers just fill up with soil?
Pam says
It depends on what you use. I always turn my buckets upside down if I thrown them in. If you use something like broken flower pots, limbs or rocks – it just takes up space in the pot so the soil doesn’t have to. I’m with Deborah on the water bottles. I generally find using empty gallon jugs is the easiest. I save my milk containers (with lids) and throw them in the bottom of the tank. You’d be surprised how much soil you save by putting “junk” in the bottom of a big tank.
Liliana says
Not if you put them face down.
Harry says
Great idea Mavis. And just in time as I have some big pots I need to fill. What I’ve used in the past to fill pots that are deep is the packaging they use to encase appliances in the box. The ones that’s shaped like the side of your tv and fits over it for instance. I break them into chunks and throw them in there. I think it also helps with drainage then. But I don’t have any currently.
I’m waiting anxiously for you to start your vegetable garden, its getting too cold to do much gardening here in the Southern Hemisphere and ill just have to live vicariously through you until spring comes around again.
Keep up the good work. Love the new kitchen.
Daedre Craig says
I work at a botanic garden and we do something similar with all of our large containers. Usually we use bagged packing peanuts, up-side down pots, or plastic mulch or soil bags stuffed with more bags. Even still, we have to use a pallet jack to move most of our pots because they are so heavy!
Jan says
We have a sweet gum tree that drops thousands of sticker balls each fall. We rake those up and use them in the bottom of our potted plants. I also toss them in the bottom of new raised beds. I have never had any problems with new trees growing, they are usually under a foot or dirt or more.
Michelle says
I add firewood and newspaper. The idea being they will decompose over the years and add to the soil. I’ll have to dig to the bottom of one of my stock bins at the end of this season and see if that is indeed the case!