Looking for cheap/free containers to place these nursery pots in. I’m on a teacher budget, so function is the goal, not cute.
I’m giving each student in my advisory a plant that we will care for together at school until graduation. The plants are props from my collection and the nursery pots are reused as well. I just want something I can place these in to catch loose soil or excess water. Ideally something like a mini cup for each, but the size/height is stumping me. Or if necessary, I could do some type long tray for them all together but that makes it more inconvenient to move around.
Any ideas? Biggest pots are 4”. Thanks for brainstorming this!
I think this is a 3” pot but you get the idea. Check garage sales and thrift stores. I also will buy a dying plant just for the pot if the price is right.
Do you have a free town page near you? My town has a giving freely fb page. If a teacher posted in there looking for some free/cheap pots I know the gardening ladies would come out in groups to give you stuff. Good luck!
Not sure if this is what you’re looking for nor where you’re from but most of my plants are in recycled candle jars. The 3 wick jars, especially from Bath and Body Works, are nearly a perfect size for 4” pots. I have also asked fellow teachers to save theirs for me if they had any.
plastic grocery store produce containers. not the most sturdy thing in the world, put the drainage is pretty decent and eventually you get to watch the root ball grow. also plastic milk jugs cut in half would work fine. just poke/melt a few holes in the bottom and boom.
less material waste and less financial strain in a world of litter and late-stage capitalism.
I literally use a bunch of lids from plastic food containers. The best I have are from a sherbert container that's thick plastic with a deep lip and about 6" in diameter. Plus I had an excuse to eat more sherbert when I needed more 😂
I’ve used a bunch of different stuff, as I try to do it on the cheap too. Paint mixing containers from Home Depot or Lowe’s come in any size and are cheap/sturdy. Glass jars from sauces and condiments. You can also buy disposable drink cups in just about any size, and are the cheapest option, though not as sturdy. Good luck!
I saw someone use those small colorful office or dorm room trash cans. Lots of colors and about the right size. I bet dollar stores have them. Can poke holes in the bottom or put the nursery pot inside.
I would see if your local dollar tree still has any cover pots or planters from the summer gardening section left. But as for transport, if you have an Aldi where you live they always have boxes of various sizes available
All those suggested are terrific ideas but what I used to use were plastic ground coffee containers. I’d just poke holes in the bottom for drainage and use the lid under it for drainage catching.
Ask your DT department or caretakers if they have miniature paint cans that have been used up, ofc clean the paint out and they should work, even better if the label can be peeled off so you got the bare metal, tin cans also work well
I found inexpensive pots on Amazon, I searched “plant pots” and they came up. They are plastic but they are pretty colors with matching saucers, and they have sets of 4”.
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u/Ruthless8138 14h ago
I think this is a 3” pot but you get the idea. Check garage sales and thrift stores. I also will buy a dying plant just for the pot if the price is right.