Quick guide to DIY planters

These work for kitchen gardens and corners in all rooms

If you have a green thumb, you are probably always looking for new pots and planters for your garden. Here are some quick do-it-yourself planter designs, which you can make at home with waste material.

Plastic bottle planter

Materials: Bottle, cutter, soil, nails or double sided tape, seeds/small plant and paint, if needed.

You could place a couple of these or just one on the wall. Choose well-shaped bottles and not ones that have been crushed, says Ahmedabad resident Sakshi R, who is a botanist and has a kitchen garden. “Remove the stickers and labels on them. You can use soap and water to clean them. Place the bottle horizontally, take a cutter and cut a boat-shaped hole in it. Make a few holes on the flat side,” she says.

If you want to nail these to the wall, make small holes on the side, or use a two-sided tape. Tighten the cap onto the bottle and fill the bottle with soil. Plant your herbs or succulents of choice into them, and water them accordingly, she adds.

Boot planters

Materials: An old pair of boots, drill or hammer, nails, a few medium-sized stones, potting soil, and succulent of your choice.

Start off by making some holes in the boots, so that extra water can drain out, else the roots of the plants can rot. “Check the condition of the boots by removing its insoles. Pour some water into them, if the water is trickling from below, you won’t need extra holes,” says Bengaluru resident Kavya JN, who owns an online nursery. If not, use the drill or hammer to make two to three holes at the boots’ bottom, she adds.

Weigh down the boots by filling the toes and shoe part with stones. “This will help keep the boots stand up. After this, fill them with potting soil and plant your succulents,” she adds. Water the plant well and follow care instructions, as suggested by your nursery.

Egg carton planter

Materials: Egg carton, soil and seeds/small plants of choice.

If you are using a carton that has hooves on both sides, you can plant seeds in both the sections. If one side has hooves, cut open the container lid of the carton, and place it under the carton’s bottom, says Sakshi. “Poke holes in each egg cup, so that any extra water can drain out into the lid below. Fill each cup with soil and place seeds, and spray or pour water accordingly,” she adds.

Can planters

Materials: Tin cans, hammer and nail/drill, spray or acrylic paints, soil, rocks and succulents or other small plants.

Prep the cans by taking off metal shards and removing the lid. “Remove all labels, wash the can and dry it well,” says Akarsh Mehta, a Coimbatore-based recycling activist who makes gifts items out of waste.

Use a hammer and nails or a drill to make holes in the bottom of the can. Make additional holes on the sides of the can, if you wish to hang it with a rope.

Spray paint the cans or paint and make simple polka dots or prints on them. “Remember to dry them thoroughly before painting the inside parts that will show. Dry again,” he says.

Place some rocks for easy drainage, and fill the can up to three-fourth of it with soil. “If you are using these planters inside, you can use a plate under each for dripping water,” he adds.