Succulents in a Chicken Feeder?

A few weeks ago, at an Illustrated Faith night, I fell in love with the craft table centerpiece. Tucked neatly into a long, galvanized chicken feeder, were a ton of colorful succulents, making a very striking statement.

So…..I came home and copied it….though on a much smaller scale!

Want something to go on a farm table, a picnic table or anywhere in the house or garden that gets good bright light? Here you go…try this:

I found a metal chicken feeder for $6.99 at Western Farm Center, added a bag of cactus and succulent mix and a little gravel…

Then had my helper put the gravel in the bottom of the feeder…Note: the top of the feeder is designed to swing back and forth to make it hard for the chicks to sit on the feeder – it also makes a really fun “dump truck” way to add the gravel as my little granddaughter figured out!

We took cuttings from  succulents  I had in the greenhouse (you can purchase small pots of succulents at any garden center if you don’t have any to clip)…

…added the soil over the gravel and  stuck the succulent clippings in place.  (Note: It’s a good idea to first let the succulent cuttings sit out in a shady spot for a few days to form a callus on the end.)

If the soil is really dry you might mist it a little but you don’t want the cutting in wet soil. They will root and grow without a lot of added water. Slightly moist soil is good enough.

Once you finish filling in with cuttings or small plants (leaving some room for growth) set your container in a bright but not sunny spot  and watch it grow!You can bring it indoors for short periods to decorate the table but they really do better outside in bright light.

So, off to the farm store and make yourself a sweet little centerpiece!