How To Make Flower Planters Using Old Kitchen Pots

All photos on this site are by L.C. Clifton / Country Sunshine, who retains the copyright.

In order to create your kitchen pot planters, you'll need the following:

• Old kitchen pots
• A hammer and a nail
• Drill & drill bits
• Coffee filter and/or coco liner
• Potting soil
• Plants

Using your hammer and nail, make a small dent in the bottom of your pot where you wish to drill a hole.  It's best to have at least one hole in the bottom center, with other holes around the edges.

The dent will help hold your drill bit in place, which in turn will cut down on slipping and scratches.

After creating dents with your nail, it's time to drill your drainage holes.  Using a medium to large size bit, drill all the way through the metal pot.

Once you've drilled all of your holes, turn your pots over.  The inside of your planters should look like this.

To keep the soil from coming out the bottom of your planter, you'll need to line it with either a coffee filter or coco liner. The coco liner works best, as it will trap the soil in addition to keeping the dirt moist.

A coffee filter is also a good liner, as it will eventually biodegrade.  With this in mind, you'll need to add a layer of small pebbles inside the coffee filter to trap the soil after the filter disintegrates.

It's best to fill your flower planters with quality potting soil.  If you don't have any, top soil from your yard will work. 

Add enough soil to fill your planter half-way.

Add enough flower plants that your pot looks good, but isn't too crowded.  Place the plants inside your pot, then add more potting soil until the plant roots are covered.

After planting your flowers in the pot, it's time to water them thoroughly.  Using a watering can or pot is the best way; a garden hose may have too much pressure and damage your plants.

After the soil is wet, wait a few minutes for the soil to settle.  You may need to add more soil to fill up the pot. 

Note:  If you add more soil, be certain to water your plants again.

Depending on your potting soil and the sunlight your plant receives, you'll need to water  your flowers often.  I often forget to water mine until they look a bit peaked!

I've found that if I keep my watering pot handy, I'm more apt to keep my flowers moist.  And when I know I'm going to be away for awhile, I've found that the aqua globes work as well.

• How to make boot planters
  Using old boots or shoes, make interesting and unique flower planters to showcase your flowers.
• How to install plastic lawn edging
  To keep weeds and grass out of your flower bed, follow these simple steps to install lawn edging as a barrier.

As a fan of recycling, I like the idea of using castoff objects in which to plant flowers.  Have you ever planted flowers in pots, tires or boots?  What other items have you used for planters?

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Copyright 2013-2016 L.C. Clifton / Country Sunshine
Originally published June 4, 2013 on Zujava

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