7 Things to Do with Broken Plant Pots

For those who are hoping to grow food at home but working with little space, perhaps no yard, cultivating container gardens is a real option. There are loads of vegetables that can be grown in pots on balconies or patios, not to mention a selection of herbs and even vining fruits or dwarf fruit trees. What once was a couple of dusty chairs and a table on a concrete slab can quickly become a garden oasis worthy of sitting in.

One of the inevitable parts of container gardens, however, is broken plant pots. It happens, and that’s life. But, before heading straight to the garbage can with that shards of ceramic, we can start to reimagine our broken pots as creative opportunities. There are loads of fun things we can do with them that keep them out of the landfill and even gives them a new purpose. So, let’s turn our problems into solutions:

Source: Growing In The Garden/Youtube

1. Grow Things in Them

A slightly broken plant pot, say with a chip out of the top or a sliver missing down the side, is likely still functional. It may look all the same if the blemish is turned to the back. In this case, the easy answer to the broken pot is to keep on growing in it.

But, even pots with huge chunks taken out of them can often still function as growing spaces. As long as a little soil can fit into it, there are opportunities to grow something there. Sometimes it can be quite nice to have some salad greens or flowers bursting out of the broken section. Embrace the imperfect!

2. Create Habitat

Turned upside down, broken plant pots can make great habitats for little critters like lizards and toads. These can be tucked into corners of the little border gardens of a patio or even set up in the larger plant pots, say with a tree growing in it. Toss in some grass clippings, leaves, the remaining pot shards, some stones, or whatever else, and it’ll make something a nice home.

3. Decorative Touches

While the classic terracotta plant pot is hard to beat, there are all sorts of choices available to us these days, and buying pretty plant pots is part of what makes a container garden fun and attractive. When these break, all that means is we are left with a bunch of pretty pieces of ceramic (stay away from plastic pots if possible, particularly when growing food).

Well, little bits of broken ceramic can be really pretty when we make the most of them. A dish of broken bits can make a colorful centerpiece on the table. They can be used as mulch, much like little pebbles, in large plant pots with perennial vines or trees. They can decorate the bowl of a birdbath or fountain.

Source: Westwood Gardens/Youtube

4. Make Fairy Gardens

Fairy gardens have become a thing, and they are a really fun thing for children or light-hearted adults. A mostly intact but broken plant pot could be filled with little treasures, toys, feathers, jewels, moss, succulents, and whatever else to make a decorative element to a productive garden.

5. Mark Plants

This is a particularly good way to use broken terracotta pots: Take the bits of the broken pot and write the names of what’s growing in the garden to use them as labels. Just stick them upright in the soil and set them amongst the plants. In all likelihood, we’ll know what we are growing, but it’s an easy way to remember what is where or for visitors to see what’s on the go.

6. Use for Drainage

In terms of utility, broken plant pots can be saved to work as drainage spaces in the bottoms of new plant pots. Often growers will use gravel to put in the bottom of pots to help with drainage. Well, broken pots will work just as well, if not better (due to the shape). This, of course, makes a lot of sense as the gardening continues because one broken pot means a new one is on the way.

Source: Noelle O Designs/Youtube

7. Repair Them

And, there is always the virtue of patience and a tub of strong glue. If a plant pot is broken into dozens of pieces, it might make sense just to glue it back together. It’ll work just fine, and no one is coming over to play plant pot inspector. This will extend the life of the pot, and if the fix doesn’t take, we have six other options listed above to help with the container afterlife.

Part of growing food at home and getting into more sustainable solutions for our world moving forward is learning to make the most of what we have, demanding fewer resources from the planet. Utilizing things like broken plant pots seems small, but if we incorporate these little efforts throughout our lives, it can make a difference.

Related Content:

• 7 Things to Do with Broken Terracotta Plant Pots
• 6 Beautiful Indoor Plants You Can Eat
• Setting Up A Garden In A Small Space
• 5 Edible Plants for Hanging Baskets
• 8 Perennial Plants for Your Veggie Garden That Will Provide Years of Fresh Food!

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