The Essential Garden Basket Guide
Featuring the five categories of garden baskets for all aspects of gardening and harvesting.
Oh how I love a garden basket. The worn leather in my hand, swinging as I walk to the gardens, the bottom filled with warm bagels, a storybook or two for the kids, the garden shears for a quick harvest, and a colander for strawberries. A basket makes the most of time in the garden, if its for transporting wine glasses out for a dinner party, or carrying fresh florals in. I have made the mistake of making my way out to the garden without a basket, and nearly every time regretted my choice, ending up with a shirt full of beans or tomatoes, or a bunch of kale tucked under my arm.
I realized I have quite a collection of baskets, and use different baskets for different aspects of the gardening process. Of course, any basket will do the job fine, but when you can use a basket for just the right use, it takes gardening up a notch.
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The five categories of baskets
Both flower and vegetable gardening require a range of baskets, and both include a mix of these five basket types: Cut, Haul, Wash, Winnow, and Store. I own baskets in all five categories, and do use each one regularly throughout the season. Below I break down each category and how you should use these baskets.
Baskets for Cutting
A long, trough-like basket with a balanced handle in the center is perfect for harvesting florals, onions, or dill–anything that could benefit from laying down and not putting pressure on the base of the plant, or crushing the tender tops. These baskets are really fun to source vintage or second hand, but I have curated a few that are really lovely and unique linked in the caption. I love my cutting basket for harvesting and storing apples and squashes as well–you can get an even layer of produce without piling on top of one another and keep it out on display.
Baskets for Hauling
I love my round woven basket with a leather handle for hauling produce in from the garden. It can hold a range of produce all tucked in around the sides, and the leather handle makes it easy to hold or support on your arm. I also have the mini version of this basket, which is perfect for harvesting berries and cherry tomatoes. This basket is also my go-to for market mornings, for its storage capacity and easy carrying.
Baskets for Washing
Any gardener should have a good colander for washing–I prefer ones that have a base/stand so you can stand it up in the garden while you harvest. I also absolutely love the Lee Valley Wash Basket. It is used nearly every day, and makes it easy to spray down root vegetables or greens before taking them in to the kitchen sink.
Lastly, I love a berry bowl–they are perfect for a quick morning harvest of snap peas, blueberries, cherries or strawberries an a quick rinse before breakfast. Berry bowls are good vessels to look for at a local ceramics fair as they are the most lovely when handmade.
Winnowing Baskets
This type of basket became my favorite this past year of gardening. A flat, tightly woven basket allows you to gather herbs, flower heads, and other seed heads for herb drying and seed saving. True winnowing baskets are designed to gently toss flower or other seeds that have been saved and dried into the air, allowing a gentle breeze to blow away the chaff (petals, husks, etc.) and leave the delicate, heavier seeds behind. I found this Bamboo Tray is perfect for harvesting and drying herbs, and have been keeping my eye out for a vintage winnowing basket-they are hard to find and worth the splurge if you find one!
Baskets for Storing
For the long storage crops like winter squash, onions, apples, and garlic, it is great to have a basket indoors to store your harvests in. Baskets for Breakfast have a swoon-worthy large basket called the Bounty Basket perfect for stashing away butternuts and pumpkins. All the baskets they make are stunning, worth giving them a browse for a special handmade piece. This red utility basket would be great to use for garden tools throughout the season, and bring it indoors to store harvests throughout the winter.
I find I get the most use out of a wire storage basket–these are easy to find offered in a range of sizes, perfect for smaller harvests like garlic or larger hauls like squash or apples. The wire basket allows for even air circulation which is very important for storage crops, as their skins still ‘breathes’ throughout the winter, allowing them to stay fresher longer.
I hope you enjoyed this round up, and find yourself expanding your collection by a basket or two. Please share of any other basket types you enjoy using!
