We love an old wheelbarrow. This particular guy doesn't roll anymore and has duct tape holding the front wheel together. You can see it if you look closely on the left there. No worries -- we will just cover that with hosta. You see, a nice old wheelbarrow is metal and solid and holds a great big amount of soil. Most planters cannot boast those charms and rarely are big planters free. Wheelbarrows however are easily found once they have given up the ghost on carting around gardening supplies. Who are we to say it cannot be put out to pasture and finish its life out in peace?

A wheelbarrow makes the perfect seedling starter. Pile her high with soil and compost, site the barrow right near your kitchen or your seed storage and check on her often. Once the seedlings are large enough, transplant them to a more permanent part of the garden. Make sure to give them good labels because any seed blowing by will jump at the chance to grow in this hussy environment -- talk about fertile and available!

Perhaps you would rather fill her high with lettuce or some other quick cutting crop? Crisp, fresh greens…

Purple Basil perhaps? Let it go to seed and you will get a second crop!

Here are a few crops to grow in an abandoned wheelbarrow:

Lettuce -- loose-leaf forms, purples, greens, butters, all of them

Herbs -- Cilantro, Italian parsley and Curly Parsley are all easy

Perennial Herbs -- Lemon Balm looks very nice in a short clump atop a wheelbarrow

Seedlings -- Pea starts, tomato starts and certainly any squash, pumpkins or watermelons

Flowers -- For a long, flat surface like this trailing plants used for hanging baskets are nice :)

To be honest, a nice old wheelbarrow is cute with flowers, but is far more functional when growing edibles and starting seeds. 

Tips for a Growing Wheelbarrow

• Make sure the wheel is at least half buried. If it starts to roll, the whole thing will tip over and out.
• You also want to dig the back portion of the barrow into the ground and secure with a little mulch.
• Consider drainage holes in the bottom or a rain protected area. The barrow can flood easily.
• Label, Label and Label again. You will absolutely forget what you have planted and if it is edible.