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B4 and Afters

B4 and Afters

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Home » The Secret of My Huge Planter

The Secret of My Huge Planter

Have you ever wanted a gigantic planter, but wondered how you would ever move it once it was filled with dirt? I have a secret to share with you…..!

I found SIX of these gorgeous barrel planters in my neighbor’s trash. I was conservative and only took 4 of them…. I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason they got rid of them was because filled with dirt they would weigh over 100 pounds!!

barrel planter with yellow mums and purple heart plants
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How to Make a Huge Planter Lightweight

When I found them, they were not quite this pretty…. Let me tell you– you might be tempted to buy one of these jumbo planters because they are lightweight resin— and while that is true, what they don’t tell you is how much a ten gallon planter will weigh filled with dirt.

Can you guess? Around 120-130 pounds….! Yikes!! I was able to cut that down to half with my trick to fill a large planter, and 65 pounds is still enough to maybe send you to the chiropractor.

How do you make a large planter lighter?

You need to find something lightweight to fill it with besides dirt, that will not hurt the plants and will still let the roots grow down into it. So, what to use to fill large planters? You could use things like:

  • pine cones
  • pool noodles
  • plastic containers like gallon ice cream tubs with the lids
  • milk jugs
  • empty soda pop bottles
  • foam (think packing peanuts or discarded sofa cushions)
  • upside down cardboard box (use a strong one)
  • upside down bushel basket

I’m sure there are other great substitutes, too. What are your lightweight ideas for filling a large planter?

Feel free to rest your scrolling muscles and watch the video instead!


I salvaged 4 of these plastic jumbo planters from the neighbor’s trash. Filled with dirt, they would be very heavy, but I had a plan.

ugly black planter


I taped off the black faux metal bands.

blue painters tape
blue tape on black planter


I suspect the heaviness of these planters is why they were tossed out.

blue tape on upside down planter

I put on a very light coat of white spray paint.

white jumbo planter


Then I pulled off the tape…

pulling blue painters tape off


I put a 6 gallon bucket in, upside down.

bucket upside down in planter


Then you can fill in the space with pine cones, or any lightweight material.

pinecones in planter


I am going to use pool noodles!

3 pool noodles


I cut them up into sections….

cut up pool noodles


Then I filled it in with dirt.

dirt


I found these cute little mums for 75 cents each at Walmart!!

3 yellow mums


I already had the purple heart and the spider plant.

plants in planter


The pumpkins were given to me. Isn’t this planter so cute now?! It weighs 64 pounds.

plants in planter


Completely filled with dirt it would weigh 120 pounds or more!

jumbo planter for fall
flowers in planter
front step decorated for fall

I hope that you have enjoyed seeing my inexpensive large planter idea! Let me know if you make your huge planter lightweight with any of my ideas… I would love to hear about it : ).

large planter filled with lightweight material

Look at how I used one of the other jumbo planters!!

Three foot high Christmas tree in a jumbo bucket planter
how to fill a jumbo planter
how to plant a jumbo planter step by step

large planter for fall with lightweight filler
lightweight jumbo planter makeover

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About this blog:

Hi! I’m Liberty!
I write about practical, frugal, and creative crafty ideas that you can use as you put together handmade things for your home or for other people. I hope that my home improvement projects and crafty ideas inspire you to try your own ways of making your surroundings more enjoyable, more comfortable, more useful, and more beautiful.
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About this blog:

Hi! I’m Liberty!
I write about practical, frugal, and creative crafty ideas that you can use as you put together handmade things for your home or for other people. I hope that my home improvement projects and crafty ideas inspire you to try your own ways of making your surroundings more enjoyable, more comfortable, more useful, and more beautiful.
Welcome to my blog!

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