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Dollar Store Garden Gathering Basket

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Gathering the fruits of our labor is one of a gardener’s greatest pleasures. Walking amongst rows, boxes, or pots and seeing what has grown under your care is truly amazing. I know our first year of gardening was (shockingly) fruitful. Our house was a new build on a former field, and the plants went crazy. I was giddy every time I gathered from the garden. It’s like going outside and discovering presents, and who doesn’t love presents?? But how to get all those goodies inside… enter our Dollar Tree DIY Garden Gathering Basket!

gathering basket

Gathering Garden Goods

Garden gathering baskets are nothing new. Every gardener needs something to collect his/her treasures in. It can be an apron flap, shirt front, basket, or just plain bare hands. I’ve used all of these options but have been wanting something easier. The basket I’ve used the past few seasons was always covered with dirt on the bottom. And I didn’t really love that sitting on my kitchen counter (especially with a preschooler who puts his hands on EVERYTHING). affiliate link policy

Pinterest, oh the abyss that it is, gave me an idea for a two part basket. The one they advertised seemed a bit pricey at $30, and I wasn’t willing to splurge. Amazon had a simpler version for a bit less (you can see it here), but it still wasn’t what I wanted. Lucky for me, I just happened down the aisle at the Dollar Tree and found the perfect sized baskets for my project. get rid of garden pests naturally slider

Dollar Store DIY Garden Gathering Basket

DIY garden gathering basket

The baskets were with the laundry items, and the basket with holes is slightly smaller than the handled basket. Perfection!! The smaller basket fits neatly inside, and I can use the handles on the large basket to easily carry them both around the garden. There is plenty of space for veggies, fruits, and herbs to be harvested.

gathering basket

Why do I need two baskets? I’m so glad that you asked. Once I’m finished gathering that day’s produce, I simply walk my basket over to the garden hose and clean off any dirt or soil clinging to the veggies.

gathering basket

I then lift the inner basket out and let the water drain off through the holes in the side. This can be done by holding the basket at an angle, or you can prop the inner basket up if you have other outdoor chores to do before heading inside. Once your veggies are drained, you can take the entire inner basket inside. Use the water left in your larger basket for watering plants as needed. No wasted water here!

gathering basket

And the added bonus is that this is a job the kids will love to do. I don’t know any little gardeners out there who don’t love any chore involving a water hose. Am I right? Once the veggies are taken out of the basket in the house, I bring the basket back outside to wait for its next use. This little Dollar Store hack has been such a time and resource saver for us, and I hope it will be for you as well.

I’d love to know how you bring your harvested veggies in the house, or if you’ve ever seen an idea somewhere and then created it yourself. I’m continually amazed at all of the wonderful ideas people have to make our lives just a bit easier. I hope you have a great week and happy gardening!

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Yield: 1 basket

DIY Garden Gathering Basket

gathering basket

Gather all of your vegetable garden produce with this DIY gathering basket that only costs $2 with materials from the Dollar Tree. And you'll be able to conserve water by reusing the water you used to rinse your fresh vegetables.

Active Time 2 minutes
Total Time 2 minutes

Materials

  • 1 open sided laundry basket
  • 1 handled solid laundry basket

Instructions

  1. Grab two baskets from your local Dollar Tree. Be sure one basket has open sides and the other is solid.
  2. Place open-sided basket inside solid basket.
  3. Fill with freshly harvested vegetables.
  4. Rinse veggies in the harvest basket.
  5. Take out clean veggies and remove the inner basket.
  6. Use water in the bottom basket to water garden and containers!

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[…] they can certainly cover most of the bottom. In fact, last week I sent Girly Gardener out with our Dollar Store Garden Basket and told her to bring in beans for dinner. She loved helping out, and I was thrilled at being able […]

Karen

Friday 2nd of June 2017

I love this idea - especially pouring the dirty water back into the garden. You're so smart and thrifty! Every gardener needs this. :)

Courtney

Saturday 3rd of June 2017

Thank you so much, Karen!

Carole

Friday 2nd of June 2017

I love this idea - it's perfect and any dirt that falls off from the washing can go right back into the garden too. You nailed this and just made harvesting larger crops so much easier. Fantastic!!

Courtney

Friday 2nd of June 2017

Thank you for the encouragement, Carole. I am loving the ease of harvesting with this!

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