How to create a vegetable garden in a used bathtub

How to create a vegetable garden in a used bathtub: creative recycling ideas to transform an old bathtub into a useful decoration for outdoor spaces. How to decorate the tub, what to plant, how to exploit vertical spaces.

What do a used bathtub and a home garden have in common? Apparently nothing, but with creative recycling it’s possible transform an old tub disused in ways absolutely surprising.

Its use as a piece of furniture – with purposes other than the original one – gives an eccentric and personal touch to the spaces of the house. An old bathtub it should never be destroyed or taken to landfill: if you know the right ways to reuse it, it could turn out to be a beautiful decoration for the garden or terrace.

For example, an innovative and fun way to recycle a freestanding bathtub is create a zero kilometer home garden inside. Imagine being able to eat seasonal vegetables that are always fresh, and being able to personally harvest them whenever you need them: wouldn’t that be great?

Read also: How to make a vegetable garden

You discover how to make a perfect home garden in a used bathtub, to be placed on the balcony, in the garden or on the terrace. Beautify the spaces of your home in a scenographic way, decorating your bathtub in original and creative ways: here’s how to create an eco-bio corner at no cost.

Table of Contents

How to make a vegetable garden in a bathtub: a practical guide

First of all find the most suitable place to insert the tub. The garden or the terrace are certainly to be preferred, but if you have a veranda or a balcony you can also fall back on one of these two.

The important thing will be make sure you have enough space and good sun exposure, which will allow your seedlings to thrive wonderfully. The second step will be take care of the preparation of the tank that will welcome your organic garden. Here are all the steps to follow:

clean the bottom and walls of the tub, eliminating any stains of rust with a small brush of iron
washes the inside and outside of the bathtub and rinse well, helping you with a garden hose
coat the bottom of the tub with wooden boards to keep the seedling pots more raised upwards
fill the tub with the vases of the seedlings you wish to grow. If the tub is located in the garden, you can also fill his directly interior with the topsoil specific to the type of plants you have decided to grow. However, remember not to plug the hole: it will be the drainage hole for the water and will avoid the formation of water stagnation in the soil.

How to decorate the bathtub

You may be interested in: Transplanting seedlings in the vegetable garden

Add color and pattern to give an even more creative and personal touch to your home garden! There are so many different ways to decorate the outside of the your Basin from bathroom. For example, you could repaint the walls external parts of the tub in a color you like, to add a touch of panache to the veranda or terrace.

If you love the Zen style you can opt for a decorative painting with a corten effect, which is also one of the hottest trends of the moment: tub walls will buy that typical rusty effect, which will give the impression of an aged furniture under the action of the sun.

Do you have problems with plants? Join the group

Self, instead, prefer a more colorful style, we suggest you cover the external walls with the broken pieces of terracotta, ceramic or colored glass you already have at home. Break the larger pieces with a hammer and use a clear cement mortar to glue the various pieces in bulk, in order to create a very beautiful decorative mosaic.

You can also opt for the creation of Greek or of little ones mosaic designs Alone along the top edge of the tub, so as to create a decorative design in contrast with the smooth walls.

What to plant? The home garden in a bathtub

Now that the tub is ready to welcome your garden, you just have to choose what to plant. Tomatoes, courgettes, carrots, radishes, onions, spinach or even lettuce: choose your favorite vegetables and sow at the right time, paying attention to watering.

The garden in the tub is particularly suitable for the cultivation of vine tomatoes: by exploiting the height of the walls they can grow to full height. When the plant begins to climb into the tub, remember to stick bamboo canes into the ground e from tie the plant to the reeds, in order to direct it to grow upwards.

If space allows, you might as well obtain a little corner for aromatic herbs, so you always have them fresh and at hand when you need them. Is the space of the tub exhausted? No fear! Let’s see how to use the rear wall to expand the garden in the tub with a vertical garden.

Small spaces? Create a vertical vegetable garden

You have run out of grow space in your bathtub, but want to grow more vegetables? Then we suggest you use the tub as a base support for a vertical vegetable garden, perfect for the balcony, terrace or veranda.

To expand your green corner you could recycle an old ladder to be inserted into the ground or to be placed on the rear wall: the pegs will prove useful for hanging suspended vases in which to grow aromatic herbs or edible flowers.

A very nice and absolutely low cost idea, that you can reply easily recycling alternative containers to traditional vases. How about, for example, growing your own seedlings inside tin boxes, toys or watering cans colored? Remember Alone to create some holes drainage on the bottom, to avoid water stagnation in the ground.