From Plastic Mesh Produce Bag to Plant Hanger

Here’s to a good Halloween, fun for the kids. I don’t know if you agree, but it seems to me that as soon as the last tiny goblin or superhero has left the door, Thanksgiving rushes up to greet us. As you make your autumn meals, especially your Thanksgiving feast, do you ever feel as though the vast array of “stuff” on your countertops is closing in on you? For me, this is a yearly phenomenon… sort of a leftover from Halloween, quite spooky in its own right. 

Produce bags of root veggies, plastic bags of bread to be turned into stuffing, and more…. There is so much on the typical autumn countertop, it is amazing that any space is left for cooking to get done. For plant lovers who typically have containers of greenery on their counters, the problem is magnified. So this fall, why not clear your counters and elevate your plants? And why not upcycle some of what you already have in your kitchen as you do so?

This year, I am taking some of the myriad mesh produce bags that have entered the house for autumn cooking and turning them into plant hangers. Do I sound like I have lost the plot? Probably. But as I tore open an onion bag, the idea came to mind. The resulting plant hanger is attractive and functional for keeping such plants as my Sempervivum up high rather than on the countertop. And the best part is, I don’t have to beef up my macramé skills to get my plants hanging and out of the way.

I started with countertop pots of culinary Sage and Chives, small plants from a local market. I admit that I was keeping each in a small plastic grow-pot… functional, not fancy. While a little plant container does not take up much space, the problem is one of multiplication: Plant lovers like me have not just one plant but many. Space gets tight. So within the horizontal slit that my hand had made to pull out a red onion, I placed the Sage within the red mesh bag, devoid of onions and ready to look decorative. The Chives fit perfectly in a green mesh bag that had held avocados. Then I used a rust-toned mesh sack from my yellow onions to elevate a small container of Sempervivum, or Hens and Chicks, recently purchased for a project.

Before placing any of these plants—the Sempervivum, for example—inside the plastic mesh bags which came directly from the store, I tucked each inside a small cellophane bag, trimmed down to better fit the petite grow-pot. I love using food-quality cellophane bags to package cookies, so reaching for them to ensure that the Sempervivum and other hanging plants would not drip when watered was second-nature. But while cello bags are a “go-to” for me, any clear bag or wrap would work. 

With the grow-pot sitting inside the cellophane and the mesh holding everything in place, I hung my Sempervivum on a cabinet knob, elevated to the point of being out of the way. With my larger culinary herbs, I used other kitchen hooks, even higher off the countertop. And for a large but light-as-a-feather Prayer Plant, I hung its mesh produce bag hanger on a window latch, far from the kitchen.

I know this method of elevating plants would not work with plants which take residence in heavy pots. Although plastic mesh is strong, these would be too heavy for it. But if you are like me, with plant-starts in their original containers, this method works beautifully.

Now, Sempervivum is on the tip of my tongue because I have just purchased it. When I did, I had second thoughts about whether I would have the space for it at this time of year. I already have Sempervivum growing in a rock wall. I have more Sempervivum plants in a teacup display. Still, I could not resist adding to my collection, in preparation for a future project. I guess this addition, quite little and unobtrusive on its own, is what got me to make space for myself by taking it, along with other small plants, to a new level. My countertop items are no longer closing in on me. I actually have room to cook!