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Description

You don’t need a garden to get growing – make some recycled planters to turn even the smallest space green.

Resources

You will need
A4 paper
Rope
Scissors
Sticky labels
Coloured pens or pencils
Seeds
Gardening gloves
Compost
Cotton wool balls
Garden fork
A sharp implement (like a screwdriver)
Watering can
Gravel or stones
Yoghurt pot
Kitchen roll
Cress seeds
Wood nails (optional)
Breathable membrane (optional)
Items to use as recycled planters such as old wellies, shoes, trainers, bags, old or punctured balls, pallets and so on

Instructions

Before you begin
Make sure you’ve risk assessed your meeting, and also have a COVID-19 safe risk assessment that’s been agreed by your line manager. You can check out more detailed guidance here.
Ask people to bring their own recycled planters to use. If they don’t have wellies, footballs, or pallets then they could use yoghurt pots or other items of clean recycling.
Use peat-free compost.
Choose plants that are native to the UK and pesticide and peat-free. Choose seeds that are organically grown and not genetically modified.
Different plants have different needs, so think about the seeds or plants that will work best for you. For example, tomatoes need a long, flat, stable container, while potatoes need a deep space for the tubers to grow. Courgettes, marrows and squashes need lots of ground surface around the planting area while raspberries and cherry tomatoes need space to grow tall and some canes to support them.
If you don’t want to get messy with compost, we’ve included instructions for making cress heads out of yoghurt pots and kitchen roll.

Get ready to plant
Everyone should find their own space that’s two metres away from everyone else.
Everyone should chat about what plants need to grow: light, water, and nutrients (usually from soil).
The person leading the activity should explain that you don’t need acres of green space to grow things. It’s easy to ransack the recycling and turn it into interesting and practical planters.
Everyone should hold up the item of recycling they’ll turn into a planter. They should look around the room and see the variety of different items people will use.
The person leading the activity should help everyone make holes for drainage.
The best way to do this depends on the item – you may want to drill holes or puncture the planter with a sharp screwdriver or sharp nail. Put something like a block of wood behind the surface you’re making holes in. We’ve included instructions for specific items below. Make sure an adult’s involved to keep this step safe.
Everyone should line the bottom of their planter with gravel or stones to help it drain.
Everyone should fill their planter with peat-free compost.
The person leading the activity should give everyone some plants or seeds to add to their planter.
Everyone should make the finishing touches: they could add labels to tell people what they’ve planted, stand their planter on a tray or plate to catch water, or figure out a way to hang their planter.
Everyone should take their planters home and take care of the plants by watering them every few days when the soil begins to dry out.
Shoes, trainers and wellies
Pull ripped shoes or trainers from your cupboards or fetch the hole-riddled wellies collecting water outside. They’ve got a new life as a planter waiting for them. You could also use old cloth bags or even old handbags – just make sure the owner agrees first!

If you’re using a shoe, remove the laces and pull out the tongue to get as much potting space as you can.
Make sure there’s drainage so extra water can escape. You may need to make holes in the soles with a sharp screwdriver or sharp nail – put a block of wood on the other side so the sharp end goes into the wood. An adult should help with this.
The adult should stay at a safe distance.
Line the bottom of the shoe, welly, or bag with gravel or stones.
Add some peat-free compost then put in your plants (or sow seeds).
Why not try adding different plants with different coloured flowers to attract different pollinators?
Label your planter so you know what’s inside and continue to add water every few days when the soil begins to dry out.
Decide how you’ll display the planter. You could stand it on the ground outside or use nails or tacks to fix it to a wall or fence.
Football or basketballs
You may not be able to play with punctured balls – but there’s no need to throw them away. Give them a new purpose and give a plant a new home.

Use sharp scissors or a craft knife to cut out a section of ball about two thirds of the way up so you can see (and plant) inside the ball. An adult should help with this.
The adult should stay at a safe distance.
Unless there are already holes in the base of the ball, stand the ball on a block of wood and use a screwdriver or large nail to make some holes for drainage. An adult should help with this.
Create a loop for hanging by make four holes equally spaced around the ball, about three centimetres below the rim. Thread strong twine or thin rope through to meet at the top and tie a knot.
You don’t have to create a loop – you could also attach the planter to a pallet, fence, or wall with nails or tacks.
Decide whether you’ll cut some slits in the sides of the ball so plants can poke out from all angles.
Line the bottom of the ball with gravel or stones.
Add some peat-free compost then put in your plants (or sow seeds).
Label your planter so you know what’s inside and continue to add water every few days when the soil begins to dry out.
Display your planter for everyone to enjoy.
Pallets
A pallet on its side makes a great vertical planter for trailing plants such as aubrietia or campanula. They don’t take up too much space on the ground so they work well in small areas – just make sure the pallet is solid with no loose slats and check for loose staples or nails before you begin.

Line one side and the bottom with a breathable membrane.
Secure the pallet to the wall carefully. An adult should help with this.
The adult should stay at a safe distance. You could stack two of three pallets up to create a wall effect but they must be secured very firmly to the wall.
Line the bottom of the pallet with gravel or stones.
Add some peat-free compost then put in your plants (or sow seeds).
Label your planter so you know what’s inside and continue to add water every few days when the soil begins to dry out.
Display your planter for everyone to enjoy.
Cress heads
Don’t worry if you haven’t got soil or compost. You can turn a yoghurt pot (or similar item of recycling) into a planter for some tasty cress.

Remove the label and draw a funny face on the yoghurt pot.
Put some wet kitchen roll in the bottom of the pot. Put some damp cotton wool on top of the kitchen roll.
Evenly spread cress seeds on top of the cotton wool and gently press them down.
Put the pot in a warm place that gets some sunlight (a windowsill is perfect).
Watch the cress grow. Be patient: it’ll take about seven days.
Take a photo of your cress head and share it with your group.

the original page is here:
https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/get-growing-with-recycled-planters/

badge evidence can be uploaded to the parent portal or sent to the group/leader email address as required.

Tags

• gardener badge
• Planting seeds

Badge Links

• Farming - Cultivate
• Farming - Grow
• World - Environmental project