A few weeks back I found three old wire baskets at an op
shop. While the baskets were in good condition, they had no hangers on them so
I needed to make something that would be strong enough to stand the weight once
they were filled with soil. After a little contemplation I decided to chop up
some old coat hangers and bend the ends into loops. I also had to make some “S”
hooks which made great use of the leftover wire.
These wire baskets usually have pre-cut coconut fibre liners
in them but after a little bit of investigation I found you can now buy coconut
fibre in a 1m x 1m sheet. It is priced around $10-$12 for a piece this size but
is much more economical than the pre-cut ones. To line my three baskets (one
small, one medium and one large size) I used just over half a metre which means
I still have some for any more baskets I find. For the smaller basket I was
able to split the fibre sheet so it wasn’t too thick and I used the cut offs to
patch the thinner parts of the liner. Because the fibre is so stringy, it
easily attaches to the other bits and holds itself in place. It is very easy to
work with and makes for a very quick job.
Quick Tip – Once the basket is lined, place a saucer in the
bottom before filling with your soil/mix. Baskets can dry out quickly and the
saucer helps to keep extra moisture in your soil.
