To use plastic storage boxes as planters?

[yellowsnownoteatwillyou]

I'm new to this gardening malarkey and am about to plant up some veg.

Could I use plastic storage boxes if I put drainage holes in, instead of buying planters?

Yes. Drill holes and fill with compost. plant seeds and stand back. The bigger the box the less watering you'll have to do. I use those plastic fishermans boxes you see wAshed up on beaches.

put crocks over the holes so they do not get clogged with compost. (bits of rough stones work)

planters are ridiculously cheap at wilkos though.

Yep. As above, drill holes and remember that the roots may get a bit warmer than in other types of container. Not that needs to be a problem.

Supermarkets sometimes give away flower buckets too - you can grow a small crop of potatoes in each one, according to posters on my gardening forum.

Sorry but... normal plastic that's not designed to be used outdoors is not PV stabilised, so it disintegrates in sunlight. Containers meant for indoor use will get brittle and crack in less than one season - I have tried this BTW, not just speculating.

Covering them so they're not exposed to the light would help, though I'm not sure what you'd use to do that. Cheap planters from Wilkos will last much much longer though, or anything intended to be used outside, e.g. outdoor plastic refuse bins or water butts.

You can use those fabric eco-friendly shopping bags too- great for a spud plant. I get big ones from the pound shop so there's plenty of depth.

There's loads of stuff you can use -tyres,old bread crates etc
You can also build raised beds with pallets,bricks etc.

Thanks for all the info

I'm going to build raised beds but I wanted to start growing some things just now and have random boxes doing nothing.

So was looking for something to do with ds today as the weather is crap and we could have planted up the smaller ones in the garage before we put them outside.

I think even non-PV stabilised plastic should last one growing season. We have all kinds of plastic things kicking around the allotment/garden that aren't supposed to be there. They fade etc. but they haven't disintegrated.

If you want something to get going with this weekend, then go for it. My sister once grew potatoes in a double-thickness black bin liner. She had it rolled right down for planting, then just rolled it up as the plants grew and she earthed up.

If you bought young plants or are planting seeds today don't forget to harden them off before putting outside or else keep them under cover at night, not sure if you are far south but from midlands up you can still get frost up to May. Scaffolding planks are great and cheap way to do wooden raised beds, much cheaper than sleepers.

Was planting up strawberry plants. In Scotland.

Don't always assume everyone is in England.

But good idea on scaffolding planks, have been trying to decide what I'm going to use.

Right op you ready for this. We rent due to a varity of reasons flats. In our previous flats i have grown...strawberries, peppers, potatoes (yes you can just need bin and a balcony), huge amount or orchids, a fruit from morrisons (no idea what it is but its huge now), catus (i like to kill them as they hurt but dhs..) and my aloe vera plant which is taking over my flat at the moment..... Strawberry plants in those £1 long plastic containers... Go for it whats the worse you can do. Photo shows fig trees and aleo vera plant..

I never mentioned England specifically, I said the from the midlands up-that includes Scotland. I'm in Ireland anyway and was trying to get across the significance of latitude in timing the end of frosts that will kill young plants/seedlings, the country is irrelevant as I was referring to the island as a whole.

Lovely healthy aloe London, mine is all droopy even in a southfacing window.

Forgot to mention we also had a xmas tree and table and chairs on this balcony...

Thanks sheba only cost £1 but griw so much. Am breaking bits off and using gel on skin at the moment. Another photo. Sorry poor light.. Its huge on a south facing windowsill in the kitchen. I always wanted a aloe vera plant. Plan to get chickens one day but think i might have to get a garden for that.... Just shows you what you can do.