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container gardening - how to?
I am a novice gardener having lived in apts my whole adult life. I recently moved into a house and would like to plant. I have 2 old steel milk containers about 18 inches high with a 7 inch opening. I would like to put flowers in them. I am worried about drainage and how to transplant the flowers from a hanging basket. any help would be appreciated. thank you
2 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
YES YOU CAN! First off, if you want to re-paint them do it now while they are empty. A quick once over with steel wool to loosen up any old paint and scratchh the surface-lightly- do give a good surface for the new paint to hang onto would be a good thing to do. Then use a good spray paint(Krylon or Rustoleum) and take your time to apply a thin layer all the way around. Don't try to put the final coat on in the first application. Lightly at first and then go away and let it dry fo appox one hour then come back and apply a light second coat. Should look great by then.
Then, turn it over and punch 4-5 drainage holes in the bottom with either a drill with a metal piercing drill bit or just punch them in around the perimeter and a few in the middle with a large spike or nail and a hammer. Then turn it over and place old broken bricks/patio blocks/rocks into the bottom of the container until approx a little past half way so that you dont have to fill the whole thing with potting soil mix. Then add the potting soil mix/dirt until it over fills and start picking the container up and dropping it down on the sidewalk till the soil fills the nooks and crannys in the rocks/bricks you put in there and refill to within 2 inches of the top. depending on what your transplanting make the appropiate size depression in the dirt, drop a few sprinkles of some appropriate fertilizer in the depression and place your plant(s) into the container and mound the dirt up the sides-remember you will still have some settling over time.
Or, if you have the top, put it on and plave a nice flower pot with your plant in it on top of the milk container. Good Luck.
Source(s): Personal experience - RangerLv 71 decade ago
The only way to provide drainage in your containers will be to drill holes in the bottom, which will ruin their value as old milk containers.
Drill holes, put in the bottom of the container some stones, plastic screen or other material to keep the soil from washing out. Fill with a good quality potting soil and then just break off part of a plant container of plants, dirt, roots and all, and plant it in the top of the container. Fill in with potting soil around the edges of the root ball of plants you just transferred and water.
