making containers

For decorative plants and flowers, loads of different materials are OK but when it comes to fruit and veg, I'm very cautious (read paranoid ) and like to stick to materials such as glass, stone, clay, cement and wood (without horrible things like creosote).

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_can

 

There are half coconut shells which are filled with suet for birds that I have re-used for edging a border. They're not very deep though, would have to be for some quite shallow rooted herbs.

A quick search on ebay found some more like yours though, quite reasonably priced, so they are available

 

I didn't want to use the P word

 

Wood, glass jars and some hose clamps:

 

Wot? me paranoid? Never.

 

Oh no Dave - not aluminium foil on your head, what have you done

 

Better shielding than tin and cheaper than copper.

 

Found these, could prove a bit tricky cutting glass but would be a perfect excuse to drink more wine.

 

I haven't really came up with any ingenious ideas on recycling or upcycling things into pots but I must say that anything with sides and a bottom could be turned into a pot. I found a barbeque bucket that had been used and then dumped at the side of the road and gave it a fresh coat of hammerrite paint and it's now as good as new. I've yet to plant something in it though.

I hardly ever upcycle though as too many people round here are simply throwing away perfectly good large flower pots into skips to make me even think about taking one bit of junk and turning it into a pot. You could also try local supermarkets to see if they will give you their flower buckets for free of quite cheaply too. I've never done it but I know of others who have.

Another idea I'm going to explore is using these chaps left over from re-plastering my house to grow a few carrots in. Their really tall, strong and have handles too.

 

Did a few of these some years ago.....even without the scalloped edges they looked pretty good when painted. They're not particularly deep though, so perhaps not ideal for carrots and parsnips

 

OH no!! Those Kilner jars should be filled with the produce after it's grown, not before!

Haven't the Italians been growing herbs in food cans for years?

My favourite is to get old lead cold water tanks - probably harder to find now as most people replaced with plastic ages ago - the sort with rivets down the sides. They make a really large planter suitable for big plants. I've got parsley in one at the moment - oops, better not ask @Dave DIY round for dinner!

 

@Madahhlia

Lead water tanks, food cans, I feel giddy just thinking about it.

I rather like this idea using plastic bottles:

 

Love the plastic bottles! Very cheap and low tech, the only tools needed would be a pair of scissors. Stringing them up might be a pain and would need a bit of thought and preparation. Presumably you would need series of strong hooks or battens along the top and bottom of the wall. The strength of the design comes from the organised and precise neatness of the ranks of bottles, so quite important to get it right.

This would adapt well to covering a wooden fence as you could use the arris rails for the supporting hooks. Watering could be problematic - I wonder if the 2 litre bottles would be too heavy? Harder to collect, also.

 

Not necessarily.
The ones above are all supported by wire normally used to hang up paintings (use the heaviest gauge).
Make small holes in the bottles (for the wire to pass through) and on the inside (at the top) wind some of this wire around a washer to make a knot.

 

Then at the top and bottom use this arrangement to secure the whole thing and make it taught.