Peppermint Planter {Self-Watering}

I love my little corner patch! It's finally filling in and producing fruit and flowers!

I did a bad thing! I knew I shouldn't plant peppermint in the ground because it spreads and can be very invasive... but I did it anyway. 

I had it blocked off thinking I could keep it under control... but that wasn't the case.

It spread through the gravel...

it spread into our raspberries...

it spread into our oregano...

it spread everywhere!

And the bad thing was... I knew better!

SO... it was time for a new plan...

I dug it all up... 

I tried to get every piece of root... because if not it just keeps growing...

I laid down plastic

 to keep the peppermint and the weeds from growing...

and we spread more gravel.

.........................

I still wanted a peppermint patch...

but it had to be contained so it wouldn't spread.

I love these Self-Watering planters!

They are amazingly easy!!

They take a little work to build... but they are very very worth it!

..................................

- I bought a trough from Tractor Supply

if you get a trough you don't have to line it with plastic because it already holds water

- I used plant containers for the water reservoir 

(the water reservoir is about 10 inches deep)

- drilled the hole and put in the drain pipe

(the drain pipe keeps the planter from becoming soggy)

- put containers with holes in for the wicks (the wicks suck up the water)

- put a fill pipe down one side with holes in the bottom 

(don't forget to cap it to keep it clean, this fills your water reservoir)

- line the wicks and top with weed fabric 

(this keeps the soil from falling down into the water reservoir)

- fill with soil

- plant your plants

- water really good for a couple weeks until your plants are established

........................................

(if you need help figuring out how to put this together

search it on google,

there are so many great diagrams and videos to show you how)

I only have to fill it with water once or twice a month.

It's so easy to take care of!

Now I love my peppermint!!

Metal Wall Baskets

I love to decorate... and I love metal wall baskets! 

(there are no affiliate links in this post but I did include the ads where I bought so you can see the size and price)

We always have a hundred papers laying around that don't always need immediate attention but something we need in the future, so they need a place in view but out of the way.

So when I decided this space needed a little more storage I knew exactly what I wanted to use....

I bought two wire wall baskets from Amazon. 

They don't take up to much space but they are big enough to keep our papers off the countertop. 

They have hooks which are nice for hanging keys or whatever you need to hang. (they could hold something pretty heavy but if you want to hang something heavy make sure to secure the basket into the studs in your wall so whatever you hang doesn't pull the screws out of your wall.)

They are super handy and look nice as well!

I'm very happy with 

how they turned out!!!

(I'm thinking I need another one 

to hang my calendar on... 

it will need a bit of reconstruction 

but that shouldn't be hard)

2nd Basket

I also had a couple things outside that I needed to keep out of the way but in easy reach and use. 

So I ordered another basket to keep our bug spray and sunscreen handy but somewhere the wind couldn't make a mess of it. 

This vintage basket is super cute and a good size for these bottles but it didn't come with hooks on the bottom. 

So after a little research I found some metal hooks that just clip on. They worked AMAZING! They are heavy duty but you could bend them with a little muscle if you needed them slightly different shaped.

I just love when a project comes together 

and makes my life a little easier!!!

Good luck with your next project!