The Key To A Beginner-Friendly Fruit And Veggie Garden Is Hiding In Your Laundry Room

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but few people realize the versatility of the humble laundry basket. Yes, it can be used to haul your dirty clothes, but it can be used to bring a groceries inside, to stash shoes in your closet, or to store favorite toys. This gardening season, green thumbs on a budget have found a new and creative use for laundry baskets: Adapting them as container gardens.

Growing your own herbs and vegetables is a fun project, not to mention very satisfying when you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. We've all seen inflation at the grocery store and, depending on what you plant, the yield from your vegetable garden can help your budget. Laundry baskets are much more affordable than buying metal or building wood raised beds, and they're small and portable enough to be placed on a balcony and easily relocated. The holes on the sides of laundry baskets offer both ventilation and drainage, which is essential for vegetables that require well-drained soil (such as carrots, tomatoes, and zucchini). To get started, you'll simply need a laundry basket; some burlap, coco liners, or landscaping fabric; a few bags of garden soil, and your seeds or seedlings. 

Start by drilling a few additional drainage holes in the bottom of the basket. Line the basket with the fabric of you choice and secure it in place with construction staples. Next, fill the basket with gardening soil, leaving a couple of inches of space at the top. Finally, you'll make holes in the soil to plant your seedlings. 

Herbs like basil, cilantro, oregano, parsley, and sage can all grow together in a large basket. Fresh herbs can be a wonderful addition to a recipe or harvested and dehydrated for later use. Tomatoes are a classic container garden crop. Tomatoes can get big, so only plant one tomato in each laundry basket. Varieties like cherry tomatoes thrive in container gardens. Cucumbers can do surprisingly well in laundry baskets as long as you grow a bushy variety that doesn't need to be trellised. Onions and strawberries can also be planted in the holes along the sides of laundry baskets — simply cut an "x" in the fabric and stick an individual onion or strawberry plant in the hole.

Potatoes are perfect for tall, round laundry baskets using a technique called hilling. Starting with a small amount of soil, plant the potato seedlings (or pieces of potato with an eye) in the soil, then lightly cover them with a layer of soil, leaving plenty of space at the top. As the vines begin to appear, cover them with a shallow layer of soil. Repeat each time the vines resurface until the vines begin to yellow, indicating it's harvesting time. Just dump the basket and collect your spuds.

Gardening can be a fulfilling summer project, but it can be cost prohibitive. This laundry basket container method is an easy, cheap way to grow your own produce this summer. The hardest part is being patient, but there are some veggies that can be ready to harvest in just a month.