Seven Lazy Ways To Make A Hanging Basket For Your Home Garden - Free

Seven Lazy Ways To Make A Hanging Basket For Your Home Garden - Free

By:


A hanging basket makes a great natural decoration but you should never buy one Why? You can put one together in moments, at no cost. It will raise beautiful flowers and even food organically above ground, with no need of a garden at all! And you can make a basket that waters itself, using the simplest strategies of sustainable gardening.

It won't matter if you forget to water the basket for a few days, because your plants will be safe. Nor should you ever buy gadgets to water your basket. It takes just moments to craft a hanging bio-basket, using recycled materials you already have around the house.

You've seen the standard commercial baskets, woven out of wire or wicker. But you can recycle any suitable pot or container that's weather-resistant. If it's ugly, paint it in subdued earth colors - or wrap it in sacking.

Of course, a mesh basket will spill its compost but the remedy is easy. Take any 100% nylon garment. Open it out and line the basket with it. A totally natural option would be some big leaves like rhubarb or comfrey, even used tea bags.

Your bio-basket can water itself

There's no need to water the basket every day. Even in the hottest weather! Just find a small strong plastic bag. (It's nice to recycle something that's so hostile to the environment!) Put anything in it that's very light and won't rot but will absorb water.

Even charcoal works fine. You can always sterilize it at year-end in just-boiled water and use it year after year.

That little bag goes inside your basket. Pour in your compost so it surrounds the reservoir. Water everything very well, so the bag and compost are drenched.

Plant out the basket in the usual way As the roots lengthen, they'll find the water below and need far less watering from that time on.

Relax. You've guaranteed that your plants will flourish, even in hot weather. You can take a vacation!

How about a basket that grows food and flowers on every side?

For this you'll need a stiffer water reservoir than a baggy.

Easy enough! Simply cut a large plastic drinks bottle in half. Put into the pot any lightweight water-absorbent granules, even roof insulation 'wool'. Drop the pot into the basket and perforate the sides of the basket to admit your plants.

It's now a simple matter to keep those plants well watered, in all weathers, even at the base and sides of your basket. How?

Simply apply these natural gardening ideas! A few strips of absorbent material will transport water wherever you need it. Just take a shoe lace or a spindled strip of nylon fabric. Soak it well. Drop one end in water and it will feed water to its other end, even uphill. Of course, you shouldn't use anything that will rot, like cotton or paper.

Simply trail those cords out of your water pot and intertwine them with the root balls. That's a good tip for plants grown indoors, as well. Water everything very well, especially the reservoir. The basket can then look after itself for a long while.

How to find your outer 'basket'

The cheapest basket can be any big 'plant friendly' container that you already have. An old cake box? A litter bin? A plastic wash bucket? You'll find endless discarded tubs that once held cooking oil or sauces in restaurants and fast-food outlets, free for the asking.

Just make sure that their contents were innocuous. Cut gaps in every surface for drainage, and also to insert your plants.

Some tubs will come with their own handles. If not, it's easy enough to hang them up with rope - then decorate them with burlap or some woven fabric.

Look out for fruit and vegetables in farmers' markets that come in their own weather-proof nets. If your neighbors are fishing enthusiasts, they may also have old nets to dispose of.

Don't be content to grow solely flowers. Try growing little tomatoes upside down. Truly, upside down tomatoes are a wonderful way to get food - as well as beauty - from a hanging bio-basket.

Insert the tomato root ball in the base of the basket and hold it in place with struts of wood or stiff plastic. Otherwise the plant will fall out when the fruits form! You can then grow flowers, herbs and saladings of every kind in the top and sides of the basket.

Why not try a hanging bio-basket if you have better things to do than water your plants regularly? This idea is a blessing if you have many baskets and some of them are difficult to reach. It will give you both food and beauty!

About the Author:
Dr John Yeoman PhD is director of the center for natural gardening ideas, the Gardening Guild. You'll find a wealth of original plans to get more fun, food and profit in a with less money and work in his practical manual Lazy Secrets for Natural Gardening Success. Get it entirely free at:
http://www.gardeningguild.org/lazy



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , , , , , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Home-and-Family Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.