Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Soda/Tin can pot

DIY pots are easy, cheap, and give you a LOT of options.  Plastic bottles are great for terrariums, but if it's something you plan on transplanting later, I do not recommend it.  If you do plan on transplanting it later on, there's a couple routes you can go.

Newspaper pots are great for things like vegetables that you will be putting in the garden.  Like peat pots, simply get the paper wet and break it up a little when it's time to stick it in the garden.  The newspaper can also be a handy dandy little fertilizer (not the best though, but it's safe at least).

Tin can pots are something easy to do that can be used over and over again.  There's a few things you need to do for the prep of this project.  Make sure there are no jagged edges on the inside of the can- sometimes when you take off the lid, a small piece is left behind that can cut you.  You can take that off by using small metal cutting scissors (I recommend the ones you can find in the jewelry section of a craft store) or a metal file.  The next thing you need to do is poke a few small holes in the bottom for drainage.  There's a few ways to do this, but however you do it, just be careful.

Soda can pots (pictured above) are similar to the tin can pots, but require a little more prep.  As you can see from the photo, I used some metal cutting scissors to take off the top of the can.  I cleaned up the edges a little and then covered it with some snazzy red duct tape.  I also poked some holes in the bottom of the can for drainage.

When it comes down to it though, you can use just about anything as a recycled pot.  I've seen pots made out of kitchen pots, coffee mugs, bowls, a toolbox (I wish I took a photo of that one, it was awesome!), and many others.  Just remember, if you use something that you can't make drainage holes in, don't over water your plants and look out for rotting from sitting water.  Also, don't forget to re-pot your plant when it out grows its pot, otherwise you will kill your plant.

One last note- if you make a pot out of a soda can, be careful when you cut the top off.  Small metal shards that fall are hard to find, and it's easy to cut yourself if you're not being careful (I should know, I'm like the queen of clumsy).  And, the cute duct tape can be found all over now a days (Target, Walmart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby and more).

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