Last summer, we bought our kids a sandbox. I specifically bought one with a lid so I didn’t have to worry about the neighborhood cats using it as a litter box. I even hammered holes in the bottom of it so when my kids filled it up with water, it could drain through the sand. Little did I know that those tiny holes would prove to be the end of the sandbox.
One afternoon, I opened the lid and started gathering the sand toys for the kids. Just as my son jumped into the sand box, I noticed the sand was moving.
There were ants EVERYWHERE!
I pulled him from the sandbox as fast I could and ran screaming into the house. I guess my kids must have eaten one too many ice pops in that sandbox. And that was the end of that.
After dumping, scrubbing and rinsing it, I put it away. I figured I could recycle it eventually. I had a few great ideas:
I was going to make it into a kiddie pool! (Then I remembered the hundred holes I hammered into the bottom for the ants to use as fast lanes into the sand box.)
I was going to make a ball pit in my basement! (Then I realized I was going to have to pick up hundreds of plastic balls every night.)
I realized that my great ideas were not going to work and I gave up. Then, my sister came up with a great idea!
I could make it into a little garden. I would just need a few supplies and her gardening knowledge and I would be on my way to having an adorable little patio garden.
RECYCLED SAND BOX GARDEN
Materials:
- an old, no longer used, sandbox
- lots of potting soil
- plant supports for taller plants
- plants
- sunshine
Directions:
Step 1: Clean out old sandbox and find a sunny spot for it.
Step 2: Fill it with dirt (We used Miracle Grow’s Flower and Vegetable Garden Soil) and put in some plant supports.
Step 3: Add the Plants. We planted tomatoes, beans, eggplant, strawberries and marigolds to keep the bugs away.
Step 5: Soak the plants with water and wait for your little patio garden to grow!
Update: The sandbox garden is coming along quite nicely. Now that the tomatoes are fully grown, I’m very happy that we added plant supports to keep everything neat and tidy. I even managed to extend my little patio garden with some potted container gardens — my sister gave me some basil and it’s growing like a weed!
Do you have a garden? Is it big or small? Let us know below.
Happy planting,
Daniele
6
Did you cut out the bottom of the box or just leave it and add soil?
We left the bottom intact. Just make sure to pick short rooted plants and you’ll be fine. 🙂
What a neat way to re-purpose your sandbox. I have a custom build sandbox in my yard. It is the size of normal garden/ Maybe with a fresh helping of soil and sand, I can make my own garden. Can vegetation grow in sand?
Hi Alicia! I think I used two of the really big bags (sorry I don’t remember the size!) My tomatoes loved the sandbox. The plastic would heat up and really helped everything grow.
Tomatoes, beans anything that grows vertically is best for a small sandbox garden. My strawberries were too crowded on the ground and I ended up moving them.
Under grounders (carrots, potatos etc.) probably won’t do well as it isn’t that deep. Hope that helps!
I found you by googling a sandbox garden. 🙂 Yours turned out great. I’m about to do the same thing with a frog sandbox. Do you know ho many cubic feet of soil you needed to fill the box? Are there some vegetables that it is too shallow for? Thanks!
Thanks! It was really Denine’s idea. I will have to post more pictures now that it is finally growing!
great idea…