7. Measuring cups

Even my largest trowel isn’t big enough to scoop soil into my containers. Which is why I’ve commandeered a 1-cup measuring cup for the purpose. Pick one that is sturdy and has a nice-sized handle. In the past, I’d used pots to scoop soil into other pots. However, most of them are made of such thin plastic, they just don’t hold up for that purpose. To be really thrifty, browse your local thrift-store for some real garden worthy scoop-finds for indoor gardening. 

8. Marbles or small rocks

Using a cachepot, or a decorative planter, is the easiest way to spruce up a gorgeous plant grown in a ho-hum pot. I use a variety of ceramic cachepots, woven baskets and sometimes metal containers to disguise a typical plastic pot that the plant is growing in. You don’t even have to take the plant out of the pot—just set it into the cachepot.

Cache Pots (photo by Jean Starr)

To prevent your plant from sinking too deeply into the cachepot, I use a layer of small rocks or other inert filler to give it a boost. This layer of filler also serves to prevent the plant from sitting in water, as the rocks will lift the roots above it. Pretty pebbles can be purchased at craft shops, but I seek them out on a nearby beach.

Other items that I have recycled for use at the bottom of a cachepot and indoor gardening include vase fillers — either glass or acrylic —  extruded clay pebbles used in hydroponics. (wash them well if newly purchased), and Scrabble tiles.

Drainage Bits (photo by Jean Starr)

9. Strainer

From time to time, the rocks at the bottom of a cachepot get dirty, especially if they’ve been sitting in water that’s gone through the soil in a pot. I remove the plant, pour the rocks and all through a strainer and into a plastic tub. Empty the dirty water and clean the tub. Replace the water with clean, sudsy water to which a small amount of bleach is added. Pour the drained yet still-dirty rocks into the clean sudsy water and swirl it around so they all get clean. Wash the strainer and strain the washed rocks. Rinse the rocks well while still in the strainer. Pour the contents into a strainer, letting the dirty water drain into a sink or extra vessel of some kind. I use an old plastic canister. It sounds complicated but isn’t, especially if you have a good strainer.

10. Saucers

Cups and the accompanying saucers have been eclipsed by the mug. But, saucers can be recycled as drip-catchers or furniture-protectors under pots with drainage. And who doesn’t have a set of grandma’s dishes? Most saucers have a small indentation where the bottom of the cup fits. It will beautifully catch a bit of excess.

I’m sure there are dozens more instances of inventive improvisations for indoor gardening. It helps to have a well-stocked kitchen junk drawer, a memory for where you put things you might have a use for, and time to go searching for an implement that will do the trick when you need just the right gizmo for the job. Gardening is the original make-shift hobby. After all, most plants won’t live in the same pot their whole life. They always require repotting, clipping, dividing, staking, and cleaning (hopefully) for a very long time.