Cardboard Flower boxes

A stack of cardboard boxes can offer planting space for an entire garden.

Container gardening offers a way for those with no yard to still enjoy growing their own food. Unfortunately, the cost of planters and flower pots can be high when you want to grow more than one or two plants. Truly frugal gardeners know it's not the way a planter looks, it's how well it performs. Cardboard boxes from liquor stores, restaurants and grocery stores are meant to be sturdy, and can provide a growing place for a number of plants - for free. The rectangular shape makes them easy to arrange in a side yard or on a patio, and the cardboard can be recycled at the end of the season, with new boxes filling in next year.

Check the boxes you get to make sure they are structurally sound. If you find any boxes that have been wet or have tears in the cardboard, discard them and find others.

Tape over the seam in the bottom of the box to reinforce it. Fold all the flaps down outside the box. Wrap a layer of duct tape around the outside of the box to hold the flaps in place. This will strengthen the outer walls of the planter.

Fit a garbage bag into the box and fold the top edges of the bag over the top of the box, enclosing the outside in plastic. Push the bag inside to make sure it fits into all the corners of the box.

Poke holes in the bag at the bottom and through the box at the bottom. These holes will allow excess water to drain from the soil. Put one hole every 4 inches over the entire bottom surface of the box.

Fill the box with potting soil to within 1 inch of the top of the box. Tap the box to settle the soil. Place the box in a spot where it will get sunlight for at least six hours each day. Once the boxes are planted and watered, they will be too heavy to move, so place them in their permanent positions.

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