Hi pm2. I am happy you've asked about potting benches. I've always wondered what one does with a potting bench! I envisioned it as a space for people who make fabulous containers, not for those of us who are just trying to populate our beds.
As to hauling stuff, I have a basket that holds all of the small stuff. I load it up with everything at the beginning of the season and then haul it around the garden. The big stuff (spades, rakes) I have to keep running back to the garage for....
How are your thoughts on sheds evolving?
ML

ML..I am very much on the fence still about a shed. We do have a one car garage, but between the car and the tools and the rubbish barrels and recycling and storage it is always full. I had carved out a small niche for myself in the garage with an old commercial butcher block island from a commercial kitchen. It made a perfect gardening bench. I set it up near the door as you enter the garage and it has now become a 'drop' area, somewhat like my Dining Room Table does. [g] I haven't used it in 2 years.

I was very tempted to just impulsively buy a shed if I found one at a good price, but when I started looking, I quickly realized that what I was going to want was going to be more expensive then I thought. Then because of the long warm fall, I just kept doing more spring prep in the yard and I just finished closing the garden for the season last week and now it's time for the holiday crunch. :-)

So I have decided that what I am going to do, is wait and think it through better so I am sure I know what I want to do. Next spring, I am planning to clean out the garage completely and throw away a lot of things. Then I am going to try to move my bench somewhere so it is not the drop area any more. I thought I might chalk off an area in the garage that would be the same size as a small shed and see how it works out before deciding. Try being a little better organized for a season. After all, if I spend the money on the shed and after a year or two it looks like my garage...what is the sense? lol Plus I would like to find out if using the bench is something I would find helpful or not.

I like your bucket idea. I tried setting up a little cart to bring around the yard with me, using a two wheeler and bungee cords. That was actually working out for me for a whole season. I did end up putting a little too much on it and it may have been heavy. I can't remember why I stopped using it. I have not tried the bucket idea. I have seen those canvas inserts for buckets that have compartments to keep things in. I am also thinking of getting a new rolling seat. Some of them have storage areas.

Are you thinking of getting a shed ML?

pm2

My potting area is usually by the retaining wall next to the old shed. This area is evolving into a temporary storage spot for one wheelbarrow, buckets of compost and wood chips, packages of potting soil, and my favorite shovel and rake. The hose bib is there too so I can rinse things.

I often sit on the retaining wall while I pot, and I often sit on the retaining wall anyway - I really like that retaining wall and it has a good view.

I would have trouble keeping a bench cleared off - I also have a problem with dropping things on flat surfaces. My kitchen island now contains a squirrel baffle waiting for installation, my field glasses to watch the birds out the window, my camera, a bottle of non-toxic bug repellent, two reusable shopping bags (and also some normal kitchen stuff). It will be emptied soon. Really.

Claire

I posted these on the other thread:

Portable Garden Sink

Garden Utility Sink

They're on my "think about it" list.

Claire

I bought a green plastic gardening tray with sides, good for use in potting up plants so that soil doesn't go everywhere. This sits on a work bench in my basement. I use it extensively for starting seeds indoors and then potting up the seedlings. I suppose I would use it for houseplants. I don't use it at all for outdoor potting up of dug up plants, or even for arranging small containers.

At this point, we have three of those trays. I bought the first one with my daughter, and she happened to see the label had a picture of a child painting in one and wanted her own. I highly recommend it for that purpose for anybody who has a preschool painter since it made the activity very easy to set up and clean up after.

Anyhow, getting back to the topic, I have a potting tray on an old kitchen table in the basement for winter potting. Summer potting I try not to do at home since Vanderbilt has a much bigger supply of potting soil than I do, and they get the plants anyway. There, potting it done on a piece of plywood set up on a couple of sawhorses. It's relatively easy to set up and take down if it isn't going to be used for a while. My DH set up a somewhat similar thing by putting an old piece of plywood on the half-walls of the basement porch. He uses it, but I prefer to just drag a bag of potting soil to the shade of one of the trees and repot there during the summer. It's closer to water, and the potting plants should be left in the shade afterwards anyway.

I just bought a potting bench today! I'm so excited. I found it on craigslist for a really good price, and the seller was wonderful enough to drive it down this morning in freezing rain from several towns over because it would not fit in my car. Wasn't that wonderful of her?!

I will most likely have a problem keeping it clear, like several of you. But I really need a work area. I pretty much have been using the top of a garbage can with the lid on, about 20 inches in diameter, and it's a curved lid with a handle that crosses the middle of the lid, so it is not easy to work on at all! I have my potting soil in a bag on the floor of the garage, I bend over to fill up a pot, flat, whatever, and then balance it on the top of the garbage can. I've lost more than a few pots off the edge of this thing!

So, since I have to clean out the garage anyway, I will make a space for this potting table, and I'm looking forward to having a dedicated space to work on. I have a big long table in the back of the garage which presently is my "dropping off" area, so hopefully I'll keep this habit and leave the potting bench clear.

:)
Dee

Claire...I have an area that sounds like yours...a wheelbarrel that won't fit in the garage at the moment, a pile of leftover stonedust, mulch, rocks, broken pavers and stones. Does anyone else have 'piles' in the yard?

Our main entry is the front door due to a poor original design of the house. The garage is on the wrong side. But, we have a small front entryway with a bench and and then a medium size table in the LR that you have to walk by and the Dining Room table all before you reach the kitchen counter, but I would say the Dining Room table and the LR table get to looking like your kitchen counter, Claire. [g]

I looked at the Utility Sink link. I have seen those before. I like using the hose outdoors. Especially since I end up working in lots of different areas, the hose is portable. I can't figure out what the use of an outdoor sink is. What did you think you would use it for, Claire?

asarum, I think this is the tray you were talking about?

http://www.amazon.com/All-Purpose-Tidy-Tray-Gardening-Cady/dp/B0009ILHDW

mad_gallica...that is a great tip about preschoolers and painting. Even for some adults who paint in their crafts etc. The sawhorse with plywood..another great idea, especially if you are prone to only pot up in spurts and don't have a permanent place to work.

The fact that you will drag the potting soil to the shade closer to the water...that is a good idea. I have done some potting up of winter sown containers in a mulched sitting area but I don't like to get the soil on the mulch, and I don't like to get it on the lawn either, so I would rather pot up in a empty space in a border if I have more than a couple to do and the mess stays there, and then the pots go along the fence where it is always shady. Great idea to pot up where the pots are going to go so you don't have to drag them all over there when you are done.

Dee, how exciting that you have a new potting bench! You are right, she was really very nice to do that for you. :-) So I guess you are very motivated to clean the garage now? [g] Keep in mind photos when you are done?

Reading your posts, it makes me think about how I do things and I am starting to think that the garden itself is the workspace, for me. I am not sure I need a potting bench, considering the way I work in the yard. I think I need better tools and products to keep the tools where I use them, and a storage place for all the supplies and tools I use to garden, more than I need a bench.

Here is a link to some very colorful tool totes that look interesting that I stumbled upon while searching for the the tray with sides.

pm2

Here is a link that might be useful: Colorful Plastic Totes

I just found this link discussing outdoor workspaces, with photos...made me think about something I don't do too much of and that is propagating. If I were to want to take a bunch of cuttings and use hormone powder and pot them up, I would want a table to do it on and hopefully a dry storage area where I would keep all those supplies nearby and not have to go to three places to find everything I needed.

Also, we often find ourselves mixing up our own soil mix in a wheelbarrel and we end up potting up right there in the wheelbarrel. I would like a garbage can with a lid to store a lot of potting soil so that you have it waiting for you when you need it.

In this article..the first photo looks so pretty, I can see myself not wanting to mess it up by actually using it for work. [g]

The second photo near the water with all the windows...Ahhh...but hot?!

The last two photos..the one on the left...looks very functional and useful and in a perfect location, but not as attractive.

The one I would most like to spend serious time in, would be the first 'Pair' of photos..the one on the right with the brick floor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Creating a dedicated outdoor workspace

I like that attached shelter, but agree it's not particularly attractive.

Maybe potting is the appropriate use for the garden gazebo, which has always made me a bit uncomfortable (except for one at the Bronx Botanical Garden>.

Something like this:

{{gwi:1095910}}

Arden Gazebo

It even has a solid back so you could attach a few shelves and tool holders.

Claire

DiggerDee: Turn the garbage can lid upside down and put it back on the can. Then instead of a domed work surface, you'll have a big deep dish to work in.

Re: Potting bench -- I just attached a shelf to the side of my shed and I use that for potting up cuttings, dividing small things, and generally puttering about. It has come to be one of my favorite places to be -- standing there in the shade of the spruce trees in my own little private gardening world.

GardenScout, I tried that, but since the lid is kind of warped, it doesn't always stay put. It will suddenly just fall inside the garbage can, lol, which makes for quite the mess - although, at least it's already IN the garbage, lol!

So I have to put the lid on right-side-up, tightly put on.

I'm a bit surprised at all of you who say you work directly in the garden. But then again, I do have a LOT of pots, as you all know, lol. My usual habit is to pot up a plant before I put it in the garden, and I pot up lots of winter-sown seedlings and plants, and I also pot up several pots of bulbs in the fall, so I definitely need a dedicated work space for potting.

PM2, in my excitement over my new bench, I forgot to address your second question. I put all my hand tools, scissors, thread, labels, markers, etc., in a five-gallon bucket and carry that everywhere I go. The bucket itself is not very organized, but I'm usually really good at putting things back in there, so everything is right where I need it.

I just have to add, if I had any of those sheds in that link, I wouldn't be potting in there - I'd be LIVING in there, lol!

:)
Dee

Gardenscout - yes, behind the shed. In my case, it's a 8'x4' piece of stockade fence with the points cut off, on taller sawhorses. Not really pretty, not entirely flat but enough so, and water will drain thru it. I keep my potting soil in one of those large tan wheelbarrels/garden cart things that I can move under and then out of the way. All potting, containers and other 'stuff' done out there. It is partially shaded by a very VERY large birch tree but when the sun is shining, I have an extra patio umbrella that I set up. Move the umbrella around with the sun.

Hi Kids,

I would love to have a garden/potting bench but I have a great retaining wall with a nice flat surface on which to work. I use it when I plant up my hanging pots/baskets in the spring. I have one of those big plastic tubs with rope handles that helps a great deal. Each spring, I dump last years dirt into it, mix in some compost, some Miracle Grow, or the like and then, refill the pots. The retaining wall is right off the deck where most of the pots are hung, so I don't have far to travel. I have a garage that is large enough to store all my pots, soil, wheelbarrow, etc. I could even use the garage to pot up my baskets but I like being out in the fresh air. I must say that I am glad to have the garage as an option during the times of high pollen or heavy rain in early June. I try to put my supplies away between plantings, but I'll admit that sometimes you might be able to drive by the back of my house and see a few odds and ends, here and over there...what can I tell ya...I try.

Dee, I like your idea of putting all the small tools in a five gallon bucket and bringing it with you. I think I am going to try my version of that with a two wheeler and a small beach umbrella. I like bringing shade with me and having a two wheeler to move something if I need it. I also have a way of using the 5 gallon bucket as a work surface while sitting on a riding seat. I had fun putting the whole thing together too. Had lots of places to put things like my water bottle, etc. I did that two summers ago and I forget what happened that I didn't last year.

I could move into one of those sheds tomorrow too Dee. Might make a nice get away, right in the backyard. Bring out a cooler and a comfortable chair, a few gardening magazines...make a day of it. :-)

Linda, the umbrella is a nice idea when you have to use a space that is too sunny and it helps when it rains to keep things dry if you haven't got any cover.

I also made a decision to try using the garage for one season and clear out an area that would be the same size as a small shed and see how it works before I commit to having a shed.

sooey, you sound pretty organized to me!

pm2

I do most of my work on the picnic table (it is used more for that than its intended purpose). I line up my supplies on the benches and the table is the correct height for working.

We have a finished, heated sunporch, (about one story up as our land slopes) but the underneath is closed in with wood lattice. I keep my things under there as it isn't far from the picnic table.

Now all my clay pots are stored in there, as well as bags of stuff I didn't finish using. I use a canvas carry bag for the small tools. The wheelbarrow is there also and I can use that for transporting stuff to the picnic table. The only downside to this is leaves do blow in through the lattice. I have to clean them out in fall and spring.

I invested in a potting table 4 or 5 years ago and it is wonderful. I have it in a 2-car garage in the middle the long way, separating the two bays.

Yes, its great for containers but I also like to bring my divisions back there and work standing up. Good for doing cuttings and houseplants and mixing fertilizers or sprays. All my pots and supplies are in the garage so its very easy to work there. And the garage is central to front,side and back of house so it works well.

I also have two sawhorses and a 2x4 melamine particle board work surface extending the potting bench to store even more things.

For working in the garden, I have a steel red wagon with a five gallon bucket with tools and supplies and another empty five gallon bucket for debris or whatever. I also can stuff a few long tools when necessary and kneepads and kleenex, mosquito repellent, radio, etc. it maneuvers easily everywhere and doesn't take a lot of room to store it.

If my garage stuff and my wagon are not in order, I am fairly dysfunctional in the garden! This stuff is very important to gardening. For me its all about supplies and keeping organized!

Wendy, that's exactly how I am going to place my new potting bench - the long way between the two bays.

You know, that makes me think - I can't really whine about wanting a potting shed. The entire two-car garage is pretty much my potting shed, lol! We have never kept our cars in there, and over the years I've taken over more and more of it. Other than my husband's motorcycle, and his and the kids' bikes, it's pretty much my domain!

:)
Dee

...which, by the way, means I can't blame anyone for the colossal mess in there but myself, lol!

:)
Dee

ah yes garage mess... I used to be able to manage 2 cars during the winter if I put everything up on the walls and shelves for the winter. But now I am down to a 1-car garage and that's only in the winter when I can stuff everything on the other side.

I have some mess issues in my garage also. I try to keep it organized and for the most part it is but, we have extra 'stuff' in there now, left over from our move in May. It is slowly being taken care of, but not fast enough. Lets just say...I have a place for everything but not everything is in it's place...drives me a little nuts.
During the growing season, most of the pots are out of the garage and up on the deck as well as the three 25 ft garden hoses. So much room, I could have a party.

But...even in the winter, with everything tucked and stored away, I can still fit my car and a truck, Ford Ranger, in the garage AND...close the garage doors...an accomplishment! I love my garage...it serves me and my garden well.

I also have a plastic, 5 gal pail that I carry my garden/yard stuff in. I put it in the wheelbarrow along with my rake, shovel and away I go. I also keep a small, galvanized garbage pail with a lid on the deck, tucked in a corner. There I keep most of the supplies I will need to tend the pots...Miracle Grow, small shovel, plastic bags, etc. It works for me.