A Clever Way To Repurpose Fabric Storage Bins In Your Garden

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Many plant growers choose raised beds over in-ground gardens because they offer more control over the soil's texture, nutrients, and drainage. Unfortunately, building raised beds from lumber and screws can be daunting for folks who've never wielded a saw or drill. Purchasing galvanized raised-bed kits instead can quickly eat up a small gardening budget. When these options aren't feasible or you just want to simplify your plant-rearing experience, explore no-build container gardening. One method involves using fabric bins as planters. If you have a cube storage system at home, you may already have bins made of canvas or non-woven polypropylene fabric. Turning worn bins into little gardens extends their lives instead of sending them to landfills. 

Repurposing fabric bins as planters also lets you transform an area that's unsuitable for in-ground gardening into a home for vegetables or flowers. If your yard is sloped or the size of a postage stamp or if your only outdoor space is a patio, this approach is worth considering. Of course, bins for cube-style shelving aren't your only options. Your containers can be a number of different shapes as long as they're large enough to accommodate the plants you want to grow and sturdy enough to withstand outdoor conditions. They should have flat bottoms so they'll stand up straight when filled with soil. Also keep in mind that bins with handles are typically easier to move around than those without. Finally, consider the material. Polypropylene, a type of plastic, is a common component of landscaping fabric and fabric grow bags. Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed it safe for food contact, you may prefer something more eco-friendly.

When using fabric bins to make a container garden, it's helpful to think of each bin as a miniature garden or a home for one plant. Once you have a sense of what you'd like to grow in each container, decide where they'll live, keeping each plant's sunlight needs in mind. If you'd like your bins to look more like a raised bed than individual plant pots, arrange them in a grid on a flat surface. Then, clip their sides together with clothespins. You could even make a grow table for your container garden to minimize crouching and bending. Once your bins are in position, fill them with a container-friendly growing medium — for example, equal parts potting soil, compost, and perlite. Or you can use a soil-free alternative such as PittMoss, which is popular for cultivating cucumbers in grow bags. 

Don't have any fabric bins to repurpose for container gardening? The Amazon Basics six-pack of 10.5-inch cube organizer bins can get you rolling. Or you can purchase grow bags designed for container gardening. Each 5-gallon container in the Garrdeen 7-pack of multi-colored fabric pots fits a tomato vine, green bean plant, or miniature rose bush. You can even buy an entire raised bed made of felt. The Back to the Roots breathable raised bed offers 9 cubic feet of growing space and partitions to keep neighboring plants' roots from gnarling together. If you're comfortable with polypropylene fabric, try growing plants in reusable tote bags made of this material. Some gardeners have also reported success growing vegetables in canvas bags.