Welcome to the renters guide to sustainable gardening, chockfull of cheap and cheerful ideas, projects and actions that will help make your little piece of (rented) paradise an urban oasis! Landlord friendly, wallet friendly and planet friendly, this series of articles will help you garden sustainably on a budget, without losing your bond or blowing your beer money! So let’s get into it! Our first article looks at cool containers and top notch pots, and some spiffing ideas for impermanent gardens.

A Garden Full of Pot(s)

Great for vegie and herb growing, pots allow you a moveable feast, meaning that when the lease is up, you don’t have to give the plants up. Problem is, glazed and terracotta pots can be pricey, especially if you need a few of them, and plastic pots can be… .well… ugly! So, what’s to be done? Never fear, the SGA Super Saver Fairy is here! And the word for the week is scrounge…

Glazed and Confused

First stop… the local pot shop. Have a look in their seconds area, or even ask them if they have some gear they are throwing away. You’d be amazed how much decent stuff gets marked down to virtually nothing in garden centres and pot retailers, and what little gems you can find. Cracked and broken pots should be snapped up, cause, as we all know, no-one is perfect. Cracks and chips can be turned to the back, and pots broken in half can be excellent vessels for trailing plants (like, oregano, thyme, and strawberries). Do look out for massive pot clearance sales, as you can often pick up some unbelievable bargains here also.

Be aware though that some glazed and terracotta pots can have huge environmental footprints, and may not be the most sustainable solution! Click here to find out more about that!

Next place to visit… the local tip! Now, I know this may not be the most appealing idea, but let me assure you that tips have seriously grown up since I was a little tacker! These places are amazing now, and you would be astounded at the range of gardening gear you can pick up at the tip for next to nix! Think pots, sleepers, containers, sinks (if you find a cheap kitchen sink… grab it!!), bits of wire and shade cloth, stakes, ornaments, lattice… whatever you think you could work into your garden. Just check out the photo to the right to see what can be collected from a tip in just one (cheap) trip. And you’re pulling stuff out of landfill, going for the full reuse, reclaim, recycle on hard rubbish… super sustainable and cheerfully cheap!!

Fantastic Plastic

Now, where ever you happen to see a plastic pot, regardless of size, grab it… these guys are so useful in the garden for a whole host of things that I just can’t go past them. You’ll often see these just hanging round on footpaths and by rubbish bins… grab them! Have a look at your garden centre too… the really big ones are perfect for miniature fruit trees (a renters dream), and can be pretty cheap. But, they can look really ordinary, so, read on, we have a couple of solutions (they’re totally affordable and look awesome).

The thing with plastic pots, is that they are enormously versatile, and the bulk of them end up in landfill. So hang on to them… you’ll be amazed what you can use them for – storage, moving soil, mini worm farms, raising seeds, striking cuttings, making scarecrows… the list is endless. Plastic pots can be painted (with non-toxic acrylic based paints), and you will find this a totally rewarding and garden enhancing project! They can look fantastic, so why not head down to the hardware, grab a stash of “mis-tints” (these are the colours that didn’t quite work, and get sold off really cheap) or sample pots, and get painting! If you happen to own (or can borrow) a hot glue gun, you can “draw” some designs on the pot before painting… they look amazing, and give your boring old plastic pots some real life!

The other thing you can do with plastic pots is disguise them. I have done this with eight large plastic pots growing miniature fruit trees at my place, and they look tops! It’s simple… place your planted pots in the appropriate space in the backyard, grab some wide plastic trellis mesh, a couple of stakes and a bale of pea straw. Wrap the mesh around the pot, leaving about an inch gap between the pot and the mesh, attach the stakes to the mesh and hammer them in. Then, simply chop off any excess mesh width and stuff the area between the mesh and the pot with pea straw. Use the left over pea straw to mulch the pot plant. The result is a really rustic looking, permanent appearing pot disguise, for the princely some of about $10 a pot (including the pot!). Check out the pic to get a fair idea of what it will look like! It also insulates the pots and stops it heating up and damaging the delicate young plant roots.

If you can track them down, polystyrene fruit boxes are top notch in the garden… all you need to do is punch a couple of pencil sized holes in the bottom, and you are away. These can also be painted, and look top notch as an edge for a garden bed, or around an entertaining or sitting area. They are deep enough to grow a whole host of perennials, annuals and edibles, so why not give it a go? They also make excellent worm farms, potato pits or storage boxes for the shed. Ask at your local fruit shop or market, they generally just toss them out.

Keep it Clean!!!

If you’re anything like me, I despise cleaning, but this is really important. If you’ve grabbed some used pots from the tip, hard rubbish, the local op shop or wherever, it’s really important to give them a good old clean out before you plant into them. Ideally, soil should not be bought into the property, as it seriously increases the risk of soil borne pathogens, viruses, diseases and bugs attacking your precious plants. To clean pots, first brush them clean (an old dish brush is perfect), over some old newspaper so you can wrap up the suspect soil and chuck it in the green waste bin. Follow this up by rinsing the pots in warm, soapy water (some people add a thimble full of bleach). You’ll need to use a bit of elbow grease on terracotta and glazed pots.

Raising Babies

Thrifty and experienced gardeners know that they get the best value – just by growing plants from seeds. Lazy, broke gardeners (I’m talking about myself here) know the costs can begin to add up if you need to purchase tiny seed raising pots to get you started. But, solutions are at hand, and they cost you nothing!! Firstly, egg cartons make awesome seed raising trays, just pop your seeds in, and leave them in a warm, sunny, humid place (the bathroom windowsill is a top spot). Once your babies are big enough, cut up the tray into the twelve individual sections, moisten well (including the egg carton base) and just plant them out.

The other option for seed raising, and raising cuttings, is to make newspaper pots. Now, there are a couple of ways of going about this, but my favourite is the “beer bottle/tabloid paper” pot, cause it’s dead simple and I always have the necessary components. The beauty of these types of seed raising pots is that they can be planted straight into the ground or container… so no risk of damaging the roots when transplanting! Check out this link to see how it’s done! No issues with the newspaper ink either… Australian newspapers use vegetable based inks in their printing process, so it’s safe, and sustainable!

It’s all about position!

Here is a hot tip… containers look best when they’re grouped together. It has a greater visual impact, cuts down on watering, creates some mini biodiversity and means you don’t have to walk so far to enjoy a plethora of plants. Group plants that require similar levels of watering together, bearing in mind that plants in terracotta pots will dry out a bit faster than others. I always try to keep my ‘frequently nibbled upon’ edibles by the kitchen door, as they are more likely to be used and monitored there. Stick some pretty stuff further out in the (beer) garden or barbeque area, remembering to whack some incredible edibles in these pots as well. Why not experiment with some mosquito repellant plants (like citronella, geranium, rosemary and lemongrass) in an area where you like to sit during the warmer months.

Pick Your Plants

There is a massive range of plants that can be grown in pots, but, I reckon if you really want to save money, and make the most of your space, grow as many edibles as you can. This is seriously sustainable, and the initial outlay for potting mix, compost and accessories will be well and truly be offset by the amount of money you save buying household vegies, herbs and fruit. Growing your own food at home also reduces your carbon footprint (less trips to the shops, less packaging), and saves you stacks of time. So, heres a selection of super tasty plants for pots:

Vegies: Tomatoes, spring onions, silver beet, baby carrots, capsicums, lettuces, rocket, chilli, eggplants, spinach, Asian greens and beetroot.

Herbs: Coriander, parsley, basil, mint, chives, curry plants bay tree, Vietnamese mint, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary and lemon grass.

Fruit: Dwarf citrus trees, Tahitian Limes, Pepino, Fejoia, Ballerina Dwarf Apples, guava, olives, strawberries and dwarf stone fruits (like peaches and nectarines)

Oh, and remember, plant what you like to eat, and cook with. There is no point taking up valuable real estate and resources with edibles you don’t enjoy or won’t use.