Winter Sprouts II: Potting

Remember my tiny baby sprouts from a couple of weeks ago? Well, they're not babies anymore, they've been growing every day at top speeds. My favorite thing to do in the morning is run downstairs and document their progress from the day before. It gives a girl something to think of. I realized at some point last week that most of these little seedlings would have to be transplanted into bigger pots right away. Several problems with this, including:

a. Garden centers are still closed, pots are scarce
b. If you do find a pot for sale somewhere, it's probably going to put you out at least $10.00.
c. I need 7 pots or more, Im not going to spend $70.00 on pots, you know me better than that.

I was at Lowes, feeling defeated by a, b, and c. As I was browsed through the paint aisles trying to lift my spirits, I found these little metal paint buckets, $3.00 each. They don't have drainage, but I knew I could come up with a solution for that ... Not only are these "pots" much cheaper than anything else you can find, I like them better.

I grabbed some plastic trays on my way out of the store for the pots to sit in once they are filled and holding by precious plants. This way I won't make a giant mess all over my dining room/green house.

The buckets are steel, rustproof, and leakproof. Make sure when looking for an item like this to use as a planter, that it wont rust or leak. 

Within about 5 minutes we were able to transform our bargain find (rustic looking) buckets into planters. 

What you'll need:

1. Drill

2. Large-ish metal drill bit (my technical terms are why the guys at Ace love helping me)

3. Husband, boyfriend, big burly man who likes to drill things (optional) 

Once you've drilled holes in the bottom of your bucket, set it in your plastic pot tray and you can transplant your babies into their big new homes. Steal buckets = Double Wide trailers (in plant world).

Need more info on how to transplant your plant? Check out eHow. I used peat pots which are biodegradable and the roots grow right through them, you can plant the whole thing in your pot or garden, making transplanting easy on you and your young plant. 

Done! Tutorial on my homemade trellis later!