- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Every gardener needs something for their plants to grow in.
Whether it is directly into the soil in your garden, into a garden bed, nursery pots, ceramic pots, terracotta pots, or if you get more creative, you need something for your plants to grow in. That's why we're always looking for free nursery pots and cheap planters.
If you have been to any of our plant sales, you will surely recognize the pots in the photos above and below. We simply refuse to add more plastic to this world than necessary, so at the Dancing Treetop Plant & Tree Nursery we only sell and give away plants in recycled containers.
For Christmas last year we gave away plants to our neighbors planted in ceramic coffee cups found cheap at the thrift store, and for next year we got Christmas themed ones at the holiday clearance sale at a local thrift store for 8 cents a piece.
We use a lot of food, juice and milk containers which we know are made out of food-grade plastic, but others have been found in the community, and we recently implemented a bring 10 nursery pots and get 1 free plant policy, because no nursery pot should end up in the landfill (or in the bushes), if it can be used.
While I have gardening beds at the house and a large growing spot at the Land, I am always looking for new pots, because pots can extend the growing space that I have around our house, and many plants, especially smaller plants prefer to grow in pots. Certain plants such as mint also grow best in pots, because they spread profusely if you let them grow in your landscape.
One of my first gardening projects here at the house was to grow magnolia trees from seed. It is quite a process, but I had great success and got about 8 small magnolia trees growing (Future post coming). When I began planting the magnolia seedlings out directly into our garden I lost several of the seelings. First a hurricane blew in and blew a couple over, and it left one under water, and another one which survived the storm just did not thrive directly in the soil. I found four containers to plant the remaining magnolia trees in, and these trees are still growing. After two years I tried planting one tree out in the soil again, but once again it did not work, and it just did not grow as well as the other three in pots, so I returned it to a pot. The result is that I have three nice-sized Magnolia trees, and the last one is still struggling a bit.
A few weeks ago I had run out of pots to plant in, and I was looking into get fabric pots, because it seemed to be the most economical solution. It was still a lot for my budget, so I decided to expand my usual search area instead.
It is the sad truth, but I have had great success in finding planters just by looking into natural areas and vacant lots in our community. Truly sad, but I turned the littering into green gold, and I now have lots of planters around the house, which has expanded my garden space tremendously.
Anyways, let's see what my most recent searches have produced. All of the free pots and planters below have been found within the last month or so.
A huge black pot ready for lots of plants.
A large rectangle planter perfect for growing lettuce in. Some smaller green pots, a large 2 gallon pot and 1 shovel!
The below planting pots were what got my initial attention.
But when we took a closer look we found 4 large black pots, 3 still with plants in it that we revived, a terracotta pot, a smaller planting pot and a bunch of small nursery pots.
The latest find was from yesterday's Sunday bike ride, when my daughter insisted on discovering new parts of the neighborhood, while we scouted the area for the next clean-up event location for the kids' nature organization.
Well, the little one should be applauded, because we hit the garden discovery jackpot.We first spotted the fern and two pots, but there were lots more to be found.
Our final discovered reaped 4 Boston ferns in hanging planters (No holes) and 4 black large nursery pots.
We're re-potting the ferns and many of the black planters already have new plants in them.
It was a bit of a challenge getting all of these ferns back on the bike, but with a little creativity we managed just fine. Our neighbors are always wondering what plants we're bringing home, but yesterday there was no doubt.
Where To Find Free Nursery Pots and Planters:
- Look around your neighborhood on bulk day/commingled day/yard waste day
- Look in the bushes and woods in your neighborhood
- Look in areas with new builds when they landscape.
- Look in the free section on Craigslist
- Look at the free section on Facebook marketplace
- Join your local buy nothing group on Facebook.
- Look for free estate sales
- Ask at your local garden store or big box store, if they have any leftover nursery pots.
- Get creative and look for food and drink containers at home.
- Use what you have - old rubber boots, old wheel barrows, etc. Get creative but make sure your planting container has holes in it for drainage.
- Make your own concrete planters (future post coming)
- Offer free plants in exchange for nursery pots.
Where To Find Cheap Planters:
- Look at yard sales
- Look at estate sales
- Look at your local thrift store
- Look at clearance sales in August - October
- Look on Craigslist
Below you can see the shelf at our local Lowe's, where we can pick up free nursery pots.
I am sure that our neighborhood is extreme, when it comes to the amount of littering and planting pots in the bushes. Have you ever seen anything like it?
Where do you find your free pots and planters?
Comments
Popular Posts
Troy-Bilt Wood Chipper - Super Tomahawk = Our No. 1 Tool For Better Composting
We could not have gotten as far with our sustainable land clearing and composting, if it had not been for our power horse, our Troy-Bilt Super Tomahawk wood chipper with its 8 HP Briggs & Stratton motor. We purchased this 31+ year-old wood chipper off Craigslist for $200 about a year and a half ago, and it is still going strong. Troy-Bilt Super Tomahawk Wood Chipper
Zone 9A/9B Gardening Calendar - North East Florida Planting Schedule
Gardening in Florida is a very different experience than gardening in the rest of the country, and growing fruits and vegetables in North East Florida is a very different experience than gardening down south. It has taken us about five years to adjust to the zone 9 planting schedule, and while there are many zone 9 garden guides out there, we felt that there was a need for a simple, user friendly zone 9A/9B planting calendar.
How To Remove Palmetto Palms
If you have ever tried to remove a palmetto palm by cutting it down, you will likely have realized that removing palmettos is tricky. So, when we got ourselves a piece of land with about half an acre of these wonderful palmetto palms, also known as saw palmettos or shrub palmettos, we knew that we had a challenge on our hand.
How to Transplant a Banana Tree
Wondering how to transplant a banana tree? I know, it's not a tree, so wondering how to move a banana plant? Bananas are pretty easy to move, and they're pretty hardy too. The best time to transplant a banana plant is in the rain season, but I've planted and re-planted banana plants all year round, just remember to water well if it doesn't rain. Last year I planted a small ice cream banana pup in front of our home, but I was negligent in my research and didn't realize just how big it would get. I prefer moving banana trees in the rain season, but the leaves were getting too close to our power line, so it had to be moved. The roots of banana trees aren't very deep, and they will quickly re-establish, if you give them some love and water. The root ball of a 1 year old Grand Nain banana We've been preparing an area at The Land for banana babies, since we now have six different banana varieties at the house and these are beginning to give us pups. Today was th...
How to Grow Mulberry from Cuttings
Our favorite mulberry bush is in danger of eradication, so for the past year or so we have been growing mulberries from cuttings. Our children love eating fruit straight from the trees and bushes, and while we lose wild areas every day to construction and development in our community, we still have a few areas left untouched for now. Some mulberry trees are simply too tall for great mulberry picking, but this one mulberry bush is low and spread thick like a bush. Mulberries look similar to blackberries, but they are sweeter and juicier. They do not hold up well, which is why you will not find them in the stores, but we freeze any leftover mulberries to use in our weekly smoothies. Wild blackberries and wild mulberries We've taken cuttings three times from the mulberry bush. We waited until after fruiting last spring to take the first cutting, and the second time was about four months after fruiting. The third set of cuttings we took was in late winter, just as the mulberry bush had...
Save Your Papaya Trees After Cold Damage
Papayas are susceptible to high winds and freezes, but do not let that prevent you from growing papayas in zone 9a or 9b. In our experience, papayas are pretty cold hardy, but they do not like temperatures below freezing, especially not a sustained time with freezing temperatures. Temperatures below 40 degrees F/4 degrees C will make the papayas begin to look sad, but it is not until the temperatures hit freezing, that the papaya trees will sustain damage enough to kill the papayas. Last winter we had two quick freezes here in St. Augustine (growing zone 9a), and while our tallest papayas looked sad after the first freezing night, it was not until the second freeze that they were defeated. How to Save Papayas After a Freeze: After a freeze wait and see for a week or two to determine where you need to cut your papayas. If another freeze is imminent before your wait or see period is over, make the cut low, cover and protect. Look for new growth or a firmer trunk. Cut the papaya trun...
Finding Free Plants on Craigslist
If you are looking to add new plants to your garden, make sure to keep an eye out for free plants in the free section on Craigslist. We have picked up free plants a few times, when someone is clearing out their garden, and in return we make sure to post items as well. This morning I spotted a post for a free estate sale on Craigslist, and it included potted plants. It was in a fancy neighborhood by the beach, where an old house was being torn down to build a new huge one. We picked up several knick knacks such as plates, vases,paintings, lamps, a coat rack, a book shelf and more, and we also brought home as many big pots and plants as our mini van could fit. Free pots and plants These pots were the big ceramic kind that are not in our teacher's budget, and there were lots of different plants too. The plants need to be re-potted and re-nourished, but we've added some new plant species to our garden, which we will make sure to create more plants from trough seeds and ...
How To Grow Papaya From Seeds
Papaya is one of the easiest fruit trees to grow, if you provide them with the right conditions. Here in North East Florida we are in growing zone 9, and while papaya prefer warmer winters than we have here, we have still had great success. Eat a papaya, grow a papaya. We got the idea to grow papaya from seeds, when one of our children began suffering from constipation. The pediatrician suggested that we added papaya to the diet, because papaya is a diuretic. However, papaya can be expensive often costing $5 for a single fruit, and sometimes papaya can be hard to find at the store. For a frugal family of seven, this means papaya is a luxury, so we now make sure to have papaya trees of all sizes planted around the house. Each papaya fruit has a myriad of seeds, and they are so easy to start. Papaya does not like to be transplanted, although we have been able to do so with varying degrees of success, so plant the papaya directly in the soil outside. If you are in zone 10+, you ...
How To Make Permanent Plant Tags out of Recycled Plastic, Aluminum & Copper
We have lots of citrus trees in the garden, but until they produce fruits, they will be just that - citrus trees - because I have no clue what type they are, since most of my plant tags never held up. I've tried many different plant tags from chalk signs to plastic and the infamous popsicle stick. All failed the test of time, but when I started selling plants, I had to come up with some way to identify the plants and trees to make it easier for the customers. I wanted something that would last at least 6 months, could stand up against the weather, and I began looking for plastic plant tags. I had a hard time finding affordable, recycled plastic plant tags, so I decided to create my own permanent plant tags . (< see video) We've also begun a complete revamp of our front garden, which means more plants, and we've got lots of plants and trees growing for our future garden at The Land. For these plants, I wanted permanent plant labels that could contain both the common name ...
I generally check this kind of article and I found your article which is related to my interest. Genuinely it is good and instructive information. Thankful to you for sharing an article like this.Organiser and table planter online India
ReplyDeleteGreat Article. Thank you for providing such a unique and valuable information to your readers. I really appreciate your work. battery powered garden sprayer
ReplyDeleteThe conventional indoor methodology utilizes large indoor planters with seepage openings in the base that demonstration a saucer to get the abundance water as it channels through the dirt. This arrangement restricts the style of beautiful pots you can utilize and may not accomplish the inside plan look you need.
ReplyDelete