Vegetable gardening with milk crates

My inspiration to try vegetable gardening with milk crates came from Fenway Park in Boston. Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Socks, has an amazing rooftop garden (see below). While their overall setup is rather sophisticated, I was able to model a few basic components. Let me describe how I do vegetable gardening with milk crates.

Benefits

There are lots of choices when it comes to containers and gardening. Here are the benefits of gardening with milk crates:

• Each milk crate is one-square foot and thus lends itself to square foot gardening design
• Because milk crates have handles, they are easy to move around
• It’s easy to calculate the space you will need because each crate is consistent in size and can be arranged in multiple ways
• Milk crates will not rot over time and can be used for many years

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Materials Needed

In deciding which materials to use, you need to think about your objectives. Two of my objectives were as follows:

• Clean organized look
• Minimize damage to the floor of my balcony (ceramic tile)

With these objectives in mind, I began my research. Here is what I chose to use:

• Four black milk crates measuring 13″ x 13″ x 11″ high
• Modular fabric pot 12″ x 12″ made of Polypropylene Non-Woven UV resistant Fabric. It provides good aeration and drainage.
• Aeration pads for under the crates 12″ x 12″. These raise the milk crate off the balcony floor and allow more oxygen to flow to the soil.

Assembly with these three components is super easy. One modular fabric pot goes into each milk crate. Next, place one aeration pad under each milk crate. Finally, fill with soil and plant your vegetables.

Soil for milk crate vegetable gardens

There are two considerations for filling your milk crates:  soil or soilless (synthetic) mixes. It is generally believed that soilless mixes are better for containers, such as milk crates, because of the following:

• Good aeration and holds moisture and nutrients
• Less heavy than soil and this makes moving containers easier
• Mixes are free of disease and weeds

Soilless mixes can be found at most garden stores (or you can make yourself). It’s important to educate yourself and read the ‘ingredients’ on the back of the bag to understand what is contained in both soil and soilless mixes. It’s also possible to make your own soilless mix. This Rutgers Fact Sheet provides a recipe for making a mix at home: horticultural-grade vermiculite, peat moss, limestone, superphosphate, and 5-10-5 fertilizer. For 1 bushel each of vermiculite and shredded peat moss, add 1 ½ cups of dolomitic limestone, ½ cup of 20% superphosphate, and 1 cup of 5- 10-5 fertilizer. All materials should then be mixed thoroughly.

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Caring for your milk crate garden

Four things to think about when caring for your milk crate garden: light, water, fertilizer and row cover.

• Light – Most vegetables require full sunlight for a minimum of 6 hours a day. Leafy vegetables can tolerate some shade. Find a spot that has good sunlight.
• Water – Proper watering is important. Water your milk crate garden once per day. Best if done in the morning. If it is very windy or your plants have a lot of leaves, it may be necessary to water twice per day. If you use the system I described, it’s easy to know if you are overwatering. Water will begin to flow out of the fabric pots and under the aeration pads. It’s also possible to test by sticking your finger in the soil.
• Fertilizer – Containers need more consistent fertilizer than garden beds that are in the ground. I prefer to use diluted fish and seaweed fertilizer (2-3-1). I apply this when I first transplant the vegetable and then follow up once per week.
• Row Cover – Depending upon the climate, using row cover can be very beneficial. Row cover can protect vegetables against fluctuations in temperature, insects and wind. I use this milk crate system in zone 9b (Florida) on my balcony which is on the west side of an ocean-facing building. Wind and temperature fluctuations have been constant. Row cover has protected my vegetables from wind damage and cold temperatures. To learn more about row cover, see my post How to use row cover in your organic garden.

A few last thoughts. Remember to check your vegetables every day. Water as needed and check for pests and disease. Good luck!

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Other posts that you may find interesting

• Open-pollinated, Hybrid, Heirloom, Organic, Biodynamic understanding the difference in seeds
• The complete guide to starting seeds indoors
• Five steps to start a vegetable garden
• DIY Wick Watering System