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Do you ever happen upon some piece of junk and think, "that is so cool, I just have to have that in my life"? I sure do. So when I was at my friend's lab at Caltech and he showed me this giant aluminum macaroni-like tube that they were getting rid of, I knew I had to have it. But what to do with it? I decided, after it sat around in my apartment for a while, to make it into a planter. This instructable is particularly geared to my particular piece of junk, but the method should work for anything.
This planter also has a vertical feature. I did not just want to leave that end covered up, so I fashioned a way to plant some sedums on the vertical face of the planter.
If you don't know folks who work in a science lab at a university, you might not come across suitable pieces. If you live near a university, however, you can always swing by the garbage outside of physics, chemistry, or engineering labs once in a while; often you can find some quality junk waiting to be thrown out.
This planter also has a vertical feature. I did not just want to leave that end covered up, so I fashioned a way to plant some sedums on the vertical face of the planter.
If you don't know folks who work in a science lab at a university, you might not come across suitable pieces. If you live near a university, however, you can always swing by the garbage outside of physics, chemistry, or engineering labs once in a while; often you can find some quality junk waiting to be thrown out.
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Signing UpStep 1Find some junk
The first step, clearly, is to find some suitable junk. Mainly, you want something that could stand up in some way and that has a cavity in which you could fit some plants, soil, and rocks.
My junk was formerly part of a plasma generating ring, seen here. This is a nice shape because you could place it in a number of ways: as seen in the picture, or on its rounded side, in which case you'd leave the rectangular plate on top and have plants growing out of the two circular ends.
What else you'll need:
Enough rocks - the amount of rocks needed depends on your planter size
Enough dirt - the amount and type of dirt depends on both your planter size and your plants' preferences
Some plants - enough to fill the space
Wire mesh - some fine mesh (window-screen mesh) and wider, stiffer mesh
If you have a vertical hole, you will need some kind of clamps or glue
Planter base
Caulk
My junk was formerly part of a plasma generating ring, seen here. This is a nice shape because you could place it in a number of ways: as seen in the picture, or on its rounded side, in which case you'd leave the rectangular plate on top and have plants growing out of the two circular ends.
What else you'll need:
Enough rocks - the amount of rocks needed depends on your planter size
Enough dirt - the amount and type of dirt depends on both your planter size and your plants' preferences
Some plants - enough to fill the space
Wire mesh - some fine mesh (window-screen mesh) and wider, stiffer mesh
If you have a vertical hole, you will need some kind of clamps or glue
Planter base
Caulk
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Thanks for the great idea!!