https://www.bin-store.com/blog

Thinking about purchasing some plastic bins for gardening, but not sure if you should consider going with another sturdier material like ceramic or wood for your planters? It is understandable that you might consider these options, considering that plastic is flimsy and can break—but plastic bins provide you with quite a few significant benefits which other materials do not. Let’s check them out now.

1. Plastic bins are lightweight.

Think how heavy a large or even medium-sized plant can be with all the soil packed in. Now think how heavy a material like ceramic is. When you are trying to lift a heavy plant in a ceramic container, it can be incredibly unwieldy, and moving it from one place to another can be quite a challenge.

But if you have the plant in a plastic container instead, you do not need to worry about all that extra weight. Plastic weighs very little, so transporting the plant when necessary (moving it seasonally in or out of doors for example) becomes much easier.

2. Plastic bins will not be subject to rot or termites.

Another material used for some planters is wood. Wood pallet planters for example are particularly popular right now since they are cheap and easy to make as a DIY project.

Wood does have some advantages, but it has a couple of major drawbacks for gardeners. The first is that you have to treat it to protect it from the weather. And even if you do, you still risk wood rot setting in. The other problem is that pests like termites eat through wood.

Those are two problems you will never have with plastic. Plastic is resilient and can stand the test of time even in harsh conditions. Additionally, termites are not going to be tempted by plastic. So plastic storage bins as planters may ultimately be a better long-term solution than wood bins.

3. Plastic bins can be used for other purposes in your yard.

There are so many surprising uses around the yard and garden for plastic bins! If you no longer need to use a bin as a planter, but the bin is still fully functional, you could repurpose it, for example by turning it into a plastic bin for gardening tools. You can also use plastic bins as worm composting bins, or you can use them to create feeding stations for hedgehogs. You can even use a plastic storage tote as the reservoir for a backyard fountain.

Check out our archives for how-to articles on these exciting DIY gardening projects. Many of them are easy enough that even a beginning crafter or gardener can tackle them with very few supplies.

You now are familiar with several reasons why you might want to consider using plastic bins for planters instead of other types of planters made from other materials. Be sure to check out 6 Reasons Plastic Bins Make the Best Planters, Part 2 to learn several more special benefits of plastic containers for gardening!