Written by: Dominique Benton
It is the season for the sweet little citrus treats called Clementines. Instead of throwing away the boxes they come in and wasting good materials, it is possible to find a new use for them.
One really great use for the boxes is as a container garden. This can be a really easy way to add color and plant life indoors. All you need are an empty Clementine box, a plastic or newspaper liner, potting mix and seeds or flowers. There are a variety of plants that do can do well living in containers such as herbs, wheat grass or small flowers like pansies and violas.
To start, take the material you will use as the liner and place it in the box. This liner helps keep in the soil. If you use plastic, poke holes in it to allow for drainage. Next, add a couple inches of potting mix. If the potting mix does not have fertilizers in it, add worm castings to the mix. If using plants, remove them from their pots, break up the roots and place the flower in the container, then add soil to fill the box. When using seeds instead of flowers, follow the same steps but add a layer of seeds before adding the last layer of soil.
A container garden is one good option for reusing Clementine boxes, but if gardening isn’t your thing, you can use the boxes as organizers instead of buying something new. Be creative in your actions to reduce and reuse and make trash the last resort.
For more tips and idea’s check out You Grow Girl’s Grow a Crate o’Mache or this article on Things to Know Before You Start a Container Garden.