A wagon converted into a garden planter surely conjures images of fun childhood play in the minds of anyone who passes your garden. You can use a brand new wagon or use old wagons found at yard sales, flea markets, antique dealers or even in your own garage. Old metal wagons often have rust holes, making them unsuitable for childhood play, but the rust adds charm when added to your garden. Plastic toy wagons and even full-sized passenger wagons work as planters when properly converted to provide drainage for the soil.
Drill 1/4-inch drainage holes spaced 4 to 6 inches apart in the bottom of the wagon, using a power drill and a 1/4-inch drill bit. These holes provide essential drainage to prevent root rot and overwatering.
Cut a piece of wire mesh screen, such as a window screen, to fit the bottom of the wagon. You can cut the screen with a pair of household scissors.
Line the bottom of the wagon with the screen to prevent soil from falling through the drainage holes. If the wagon requires multiple pieces of screen to cover the bottom, overlap each piece by 2 to 3 inches to ensure no soil escapes through the joints.
Cover the screen with a thin layer of pea gravel to provide additional drainage, if desired. Use only enough gravel to cover the bottom of the wagon to ensure enough room to add soil for your plants.
Fill the wagon with potting mix, using a bagged mix or your own mixture of ingredients such as sphagnum peat, compost and perlite, vermiculite or sand. Leave about 1/2 inch to the container edge.
Plant small annual flowers, herbs or other small plants in the soil; plant each plant to the same depth as the original container. The wagon planter works well as a kitchen herb garden or an annual flower garden in which you can trade out plant species as the blooming periods end.
Park the wagon in a fixed location, if desired. If you used a working wagon, you can move the wagon to different locations throughout the garden.
Things You Will Need
- Power drill
- 1/4-inch drill bit
- Wire mesh screen
- Pea gravel
- Potting mix
- If you wish to keep wagon rails attached to the wagon, cut the screen large enough to fill the bottom of the wagon and cover the sides so the soil doesn't fall out through the slats in the rails.
- Metal wagons rust faster and wood wagons rot faster when used as planters because of the constant moisture exposure. If you'd prefer to avoid this rapid disintegration, consider using your wagon as a container for several potted plants.
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