When you’re looking for fun DIY home garden projects to get the kids involved or even just keep yourself amused with, this one is perfect for a quick venture into garden innovation.
Have you ever thought that colander baskets would make the perfect planters? Well, now you know. The holes in the colanders make for easy drainage for your hanging plants.
Quick drainage is essential for some plants that don’t like having their feet sitting in water.
Not only are colander hanging baskets practical, but they are also quite beautiful in their shape and colour.
You can get all kinds of different kinds of colanders these days so that you can have a variety of colander hanging baskets – a feast for the eyes.
This idea is one of many DIY home garden projects that you could try. But colander hanging baskets are quick to make, so you get an instant result.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Here’s what you’ll need to make our DIY hanging baskets:
- 2 x kitchen colanders, used or brand new
- 2 x plants suitable for hanging, we have here in this example a spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) and a string of pearls plant (Senecio rowleyanus)
- 2 wads of coconut fibre, to be used for potting the plants in the colanders
- Potting mix
- 1 pair of pliers
- Pinnacle single jack chain, black 2.5mm
- 8 single-layer key rings
- 2 double-layer key rings
You can often find a strainer or colander at an opportunity shop or thrift store.
If it doesn’t come in your preferred colour, you can always spray paint it your desired shade.
STEP 1 – MEASURE & DRILL OR USE PRE-EXISTING HOLES
You can approach this step in one of two ways.
To make colander hanging baskets the easiest way, just use the existing holes in the colander.
Attach four key rings by threading them through the holes.
You can also measure out where you want your holes in the lip of the colander and drill them yourself.
But if you can’t be bothered drilling, using the existing colander holes will suffice.
STEP 2 – CUT LENGTHS OF CHAIN
Cut four equal lengths of chain using your pliers.
STEP 3 – ATTACH CHAIN
Attach your chain to the keyrings on the side of the colanders.
STEP 4 – GATHERING THE CHAIN
Then each piece of the chain will need to meet in the middle, attached by a robust double keyring.
All the weight will be on this keyring, so it is essential that you use a double rather than a single keyring.
STEP 5 – ADD FIBRE
Add your coconut fibre into your colander hanging baskets to create a padded area to pot your plants.
This coconut fibre also helps with good drainage and stops your potting mix from escaping out the holes in the colander.
STEP 6 – POT YOUR PLANTS
Place your chosen plants into the colander hanging baskets, teasing the roots of the plants out before adding any extra potting mix that is needed.
The first thing you should do next is give your plants a good drink, to help the soil settle in your hanging baskets.
STEP 7 – STAND BACK AND ADMIRE
Now it’s time to stand back and admire your handiwork.
It’s amazing how simple DIY home garden projects can fill you with a sense of purpose and satisfaction when you complete the job at hand.
Your colander hanging baskets will provide a dash of greenery on any porch, verandah, or courtyard. The possibilities are endless with this DIY project.
PINNACLE HARDWARE IS HERE FOR YOUR DIY PROJECT SUPPLIES
In the project above, we used our single jack chain, in black, sized 2.5mm.
Here at Pinnacle Hardware, we have everything you need to get all those DIY projects done around your house and garden.
You can trust us to provide excellent value home and garden supplies for renovations, home facelifts, or interior and garage storage.
See our hardware products online or check out our product lines at your local Bunnings Warehouse.
