How to Grow Herbs in Recycled Containers

By Managing Gorse on a Garden Heath Patch
Comments 35
9 Jul 2026

How to Grow Herbs in Recycled Containers

Why Old Tins and Crates Make Brilliant Herb Pots

Herbs are the most forgiving plants in the garden. They ask for sun, sharp drainage and a bit of regular attention, and in return they keep a kitchen supplied from March to November. That makes them the perfect tenants for containers that have already had one life — a battered tin, a wooden crate that once carried apples, a galvanised bucket with a dent in the side.

Recycled containers have practical advantages beyond the obvious. Metal warms up quickly in the sun, which suits Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary and thyme that would far rather be hot and dry than cool and damp. Wooden crates breathe, so compost dries out more evenly and roots are less likely to sit soggy. And because you're not precious about them, you're far more likely to experiment.

The one thing that matters more than looks or provenance is drainage. Get that right and everything else follows.

Choosing and Preparing Your Containers

Almost anything will hold compost if you prepare it properly. Food tins, olive oil drums, old buckets (scrub them thoroughly first), saucepans past saving, wooden wine crates, washbasins, even a discarded wheelbarrow. Aim for a minimum depth of 20cm for most herbs, and 25–30cm for anything deep-rooted such as rosemary, bay or lovage.

A few things worth checking before you fill anything:

Old paint: avoid tins or containers with flaking paint that may pre-date modern restrictions on lead. Bare, rusted metal is fine — herbs genuinely don't mind rust.
Sharp edges: filed-down rims are kinder to your hands. A bead of silicone sealant around the cut top of a tin works well too.
Wooden crates: line slatted sides with a single layer of hessian or cardboard to stop compost falling through, but leave the base open so water drains freely.
Size: a small tin dries out in a day. If in doubt, go bigger — a larger volume of compost buffers both drought and heavy rain.

Drainage Holes: The One Thing You Mustn't Skip

Herbs die from waterlogged roots far more often than from drought. Every container needs holes in the base — three to five, roughly 8–10mm across, spaced evenly. A drill with a metal bit makes short work of tins; otherwise use a stout nail and a hammer, working from the inside out with the tin resting on a block of scrap wood.

Once drilled, stand the container on two bricks or pot feet so water can escape freely. A saucer underneath is fine for a fortnight in summer, but empty it after rain — a bucket sitting in a puddle is a slow death sentence for thyme or sage. A 2cm layer of gravel or broken crocks in the base is optional rather than essential; it doesn't improve drainage, but it does stop fine compost washing out of the holes.

Peat-Free Compost and the Right Mix for Each Herb

Start with a good-quality peat-free multipurpose compost. It performs well, it's widely available, and it keeps horticulture out of lowland peat bogs — which matters a great deal if you care about heathland, since those same bog habitats support sundew, cotton grass and breeding waders. Choosing peat-free bags is one of the simplest conservation decisions a gardener can make.

Then adjust the mix for the herb in question:

Mediterranean herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, lavender): roughly three parts compost to one part horticultural grit or perlite. Sharp drainage matters more than richness.
Leafy herbs (basil, parsley, coriander, chives): straight multipurpose is fine, with a small handful of grit for insurance.
Mint: richer and moister, but always in its own container — it runs underground and will smother everything else.

Avoid garden soil straight from the border. It compacts in containers, drains poorly and usually arrives with a free crop of weed seed.

Which Herbs Suit Which Container

Baked bean and tomato tins: perfect single portions of chives, basil or coriander. Punch holes, fill, sow, and don't overwater.
Large catering tins and old buckets: ideal for rosemary, sage or a mixed Mediterranean trio.
Wooden crates: brilliant for a low, wide herb garden — thyme, oregano and marjoram spilling over the edge.
Tall tins and redundant chimney pots: give mint or lemon balm the root run they want while containing their spread.

Siting, Watering and Keeping Them Going

Put your containers where you'll actually use them — a sunny spot within a few steps of the kitchen door. Most herbs want six hours of sun a day, so south or west-facing is ideal. Group containers together so they shade each other's roots slightly and shelter one another from wind.

Container herbs need more watering than border plants, sometimes twice a day in a hot spell. Water in the morning, aiming at the compost rather than the leaves, and check by pushing a finger in to the second knuckle — if it's dry down there, water.

Feed lightly. A diluted liquid feed every three to four weeks is plenty for leafy herbs; too much nitrogen produces soft, tasteless growth. Pick little and often, never taking more than a third of a plant at once, and pinch out flower buds on basil and mint to keep the leaves coming.

Come autumn, move tender herbs such as basil under cover, raise containers onto feet to keep them clear of winter wet, and refresh the top 5cm of compost in spring before the season starts again. A repainted tin or a rescued crate will give you several seasons of cutting if you look after the compost beneath it — and there's no better way to keep herbs close at hand.

Container Growing

Planning a Year of Colour in the Garden

Frost and snow make life hard for birds and insects. Leave seed heads, provide fresh water and create log piles for shelter during winter.

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5 Comments

Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply
- John Abraham says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
  
  I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
  Reply
  - Robert Sonnysays Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
    
    I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
    Reply
Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply

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