DIY Salad Bar

Last spring I found this trunk on the side of the road.  I grabbed it not really sure how I would use it.  One side was rotted out, and several spiders had taken up residence.  It was simply a shelf for potted plants for a year, but this spring I decided to give it a new life as a salad bar.

The first thing I did was to remove the lid and wipe down the trunk with white vinegar to get rid of some mildew.  Secondly I used wood cut from the lid in order to stabilize the corner that had suffered from rot.  After that I drilled holes in the bottom for extra drainage and lined the trunk with black landscape fabric.  I used my staple gun to attach it a little below the top of the trunk.

I filled it with soil and mixed in some seed-starting mix.  Potting soil is already a combination, so that would have worked as well.  I just used what I had on hand.  Garden soil itself will compact too quickly in a container.  After that I dug up some volunteer lettuces that had come up in a bed where I let last year's lettuce bolt (produce seed).   I transplanted several into one half of the trunk.  In the other side I sowed Spinach and Black Simpson Lettuce seeds.

In a few weeks I should have plenty of greens right outside of my door.  I will continue to sow seeds as I pick plants so that I will have greens all spring, summer, and fall.